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Illness/Sickness: Newt just swallowed pebble! Help!

Cocoa

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I know... we feel very stupid to have assumed gravel was okay and should have researched more.
Baxter, my sisters Paddletail Newt, has been living on gravel substrate for over two years. Anyway, today, while feeding, we saw him swallow a decent sized pebble...
I searched some already but I am sorry if I missed this already posted.
How long should he live?
Is there ANYTHING I can do to help him survive or at least lessen the suffering? Is 'fridging' effective/safe for newts?
 

Azhael

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First, remove all gravel so that no further impaction is possible.
I would apply the same treatment that is generally used for axolotls and hope the pebble passes through.
 

Cocoa

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Thank you for your response. I did move him asap to a substrate free tank where he is still kickin... I feel so terrible :(
Should I feed him? I'm so nervous to put him in the fridge... I will be putting him in tonight though. Hopefully it's as simple as the only guide on the internet makes it look!
 

Azhael

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I wouldn´t feed because if there is impaction, it will only add to the problem. Provided that the animal is otherwise healthy, a few days without food should not be of any concern.
Make sure water conditions are good and that it is well oxygenated. It probably would be a good idea to keep the animal in relatively shallow water so that it can access the surface with no effort. I don´t know how large the pebble was but it might cause some hindrance for the newt when trying to get air.
 
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