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Illness/Sickness: Bleeding vent - unsure if sickness, mites, or scrape ...

CosmicEscapist

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Please note that I'm going to describe animal blood and injury, if reading this may upset you, please steer clear.

Hello,

I've been raising Oolong, a wild-caught Northwestern Salamander (ambystoma gracile) for a little over a year so I know this might be difficult to diagnose ...

He's been hiding / burrowing more and more lately. I usually let him be since unearthing him or extracting him from under his pool / moss stresses him out, but he wasn't pursuing bugs I offered him, so I took him out for a feeding to see if he'd respond to anything. He turned down what we have (red wigglers, mealworms, and waxworms) and I noticed his skin looked drier than usual. I misted him, noticing a clump of dirt stuck to the area where his back leg meets his tail ... he started thrashing even though it was a gentle misting, and to my horror blood was present under the dirt. He's bleeding from his vent area, it spooked me badly but he doesn't seem to be bleeding quickly. The blood that came off with the dirt was moderately thick and like a gooey strand, likely clotting to begin healing.

I put him in a spare "quarantine" tank that's bare except for a clean athletic shirt (smooth moisture-wicking fabric, I'm hoping to keep track of his bleeding without aggravating his skin this way) and one of his pools that I cleaned very thoroughly. He is in the guest bathroom, since it is cooler in there, it can be kept dark like he prefers, and receives no foot traffic. I am hoping this will keep him less stressed.

I went for his tank next and went searching for problems. I found the following :

- there are tiny, almost non-visible little white bugs hanging out near his second pool. I can't identify them. The only traits I can distinguish is that they are vaguely oval shaped and white ... he had orange mite-looking bug problems once many months ago but everything in his tank had been replaced after that.

-his old bug problem had them clinging to parts around his legs, presumably where he couldn't reach. I had to scrape them off. Notably, this problem is different. I don't see bugs on him, and it's one seemingly large spot, unless it's illness related bleeding.

- his digging unearthed some rocks that I had used to anchor some fake plants & weigh down the corners of a drainage mesh. A scrape is possible.

-he has always done little hiccup / burb looking motions when he's distressed (if I've handled him) but those are usually full-body. He appears to be doing a twitch on his right side between his foreleg and back leg, as if he had a very quick cramp. Normally, this motion seemed to be to make bubbles if he's in water ... I'm afraid to dunk him in water with what might be an open cut so I don't know if he's bubbling but my gut says he probably isn't.


There's an "exotics" pet doctor a friend recommended that I call tomorrow when they open but I wanted to see if anyone would have any leads, or tips ... many thanks for reading. I'll keep this updated in case anyone in the future comes up with a similar problem.
 

jewett

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The vet is definitely in order and will give you the best results. I question if the salamander has internal parasites. You also mentioned rocks in the enclosure - depending on the size of those rocks and if they were ingested, they could be causing a GI impaction.

The jumping bugs you describe may be as benign as springtails - I have sprintails in most of my terrestrial setups that I use coco fiber in, as well as some that hang out on the surface water of some aquariums. So if they are springtails, I would not worry about them; in fact, I like the presence of springtails because I feel they can be a good indicator for soil health, as well as act as a food source for small caudates/ caudate larva.

Please do keep us updated! I'll keep my fingers crossed for the little guy.
 

CosmicEscapist

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Unfortunately I don't think they're springtails. I haven't seen them do any jumping. These are extremely small, 1/2 a milimeter or so



He's still alive for now ... He was able to poop last night. He's been in his pool. I was able to very briefly lift him to find a light pink mass coming out from his cloaca area. He started to struggle and I'm afraid to hurt him or let him hurt himself so I lowered him back down. I don't think I could get photos of it without him getting hurt.

It was squishy looking like intestines but I have no way of knowing what exactly it was. I'm suspecting prolapsed cloaca. Following some advice I saw online I put a little sugar and more water in his pool, which I'll take him out of in 40 minutes if I can ... I don't think he'd cooperate with the q-tip part of the procedure and I don't think I'll be able to get him to a vet... This hit me at the exact wrong time where my car broke and got towed, so I have no transportation, no money, no nearby amphibian specialists, and I'm under Jury Duty Summons so I'm screwed on my schedule, I can't do planning. I don't know if there's anything I can do if he doesn't heal.

If things get to their worst, I'm wondering what a humane way to euthanize would be if it comes to that. :( I don't want him to suffer slowly to death.
 

CosmicEscapist

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I elected to use a benzocaine euthenization of little Oolong ... he only became increasingly lethargic, even pale. He was barely bothering to struggle when I transferred him back into a non-sugar bath. I didn't want him to suffer any more ... he can be fiesty when handled and this led me to that conclusion. Thank you caudata forum members for all the help I've received while caring for Oolong ... I don't know that I will be owning a new herp any time soon just because I think I'll be a bit too sad to do it. :(

I still have no idea what caused all of this. I will try to figure out what I can from his tank. I don't have the fortitude to attempt an autopsy. If I discover a more concrete cause I will share.


Thank you all ... take care.
 

jewett

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I am so sorry to hear of this outcome. Given all the circumstances of this situation, I think you did the exact right thing for your Oolong.

Take care.
 
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