Illness/Sickness: Back legs not working, he's swollen, can't move right

It's now Day 8 of treatment and this morning I'm pleased to report that Newton eagerly consumed an entire frozen bloodworm cube. This is the first he has eaten in a few weeks, and I'm thrilled. I brought him up to room temp this morning and placed his sick tank on top of his aquarium so he could hear the water flowing (as he always has for 8 years) and I think it perked him up a bit.

I still am seeing that his back left leg is not moving well, and he is still swollen with some red veining along his side, where the orange and brown skin meet. I am going to call his doctor this morning to book a recheck and ultrasound to see if the pockets of fluid have dissipated at all. I'm not sure they have, but that he is hungry is a good sign (I hope).

If the pockets of fluid are still the same, I'm not sure if I should pursue injectible baytril first or just try to drain them. The risk being, of course, that we don't know where the fluid is...if in a gut or some other such thing, piercing it could send these fluids through his body and....well....not a pretty picture.

Thanks for following this thread...it's been a great help to have you all here to support Newton and me in crisis. I feel like Newt and I have a global virtual community of friends rooting for his success.

:happy:

Hi, it's nice to hear your newt is eating well again. Fingers crossed he can fully recover!

That's so good to hear! Hopefully now that he's eating, he'll have the strength to recover himself without invasive procedures.

Spoke to the doctor and he wants to keep Newt on the same course of baths for another week. His concern is that if Newt has "finally" eaten, we don't want to stress him by subjecting him to an ultrasound or even injections that may set him back. He feels even the smallest of steps are progress and that an animal eating is an animal feeling better, even if incrementally.

Of course, being Type A, I want miracles overnight..... but I guess this will teach me the art of patience.....

Well newts can be picky about food at the best of times, so its definitely very promising. I am hoping for the best!

Newton is lucky to have someone as dedicated, and it is also wonderful to find a vet who is caring enough to try so hard to help. Are they specifically interested in newts or did they just happen upon the case. If it is the latter, perhaps this case will change his interests. The more vets that get involved in other than larger and more common animals the better it will be.

Hi Rowan, how is Newt doing? Hope he's made a full recovery by now.

Hello Everyone, And so it has been over 3 months since I last posted to this thread. What I am saying, is that healing takes time....a lot of time....and a lot of patience. But it appears Newts are resilient little creatures with an amazing capacity to both adapt and heal.

Newton is doing amazingly well. After our first visit to the Exotics doctor at Tufts, we went back and made the decision to drain some of the fluid that was building up inside his body toward's his back legs. The fluid was sent for culture and did not exhibit any signs of bacterial or fungal infection. We had been giving him anti-bacterial baths which we then stopped. The removal of the fluid reduced his size considerably and within a week or two of the removal of the fluid Newt showed good movement in his back right leg, which was now resting on the ground. His back left leg continued to not improve.

However, I put Newton in his own little container....actually it was a large clear tupperward with some gravel and his favorite rock. I changed the water daily treating it for chlorine and chloramide (sp?) and to allow him to get to the surface for air, which he was unable to do in the larger 20 gallon aquarium.

Though he did not eat as regularly as he did in the past, over the next month he improved greatly and as of late February was eating a whole bloodworm cube every day. He shed a lot...twice weekly, and even now he is shedding but that is because he is now gaining his weight back (but in a good way, not a bloat way). Both his back legs are now functioning, and though he is not yet in fighting form, he is moving lickety-split around his little home, and I hope to move him to a larger (though not deeper) container soon.

This morning, lo and behold, I looked in on him where he sits in the back window (shaded by trees, and shaded by a small dishcloth) and the little guy had his front legs perched high on his rick, his face out of the water and pointed straight to the sky, little back legs holding strong ......and he was doing a mating ritual (I think). His little throat was pulsating and he was looking as happy and proud as can be.

I have the doctor statement from the 2nd visit, which I can pull from my records and post, in the event it helps all of you.

I can't tell you how happy I am, and how happy Newt is, and all because of a very caring doctor who checked in on him 2 and 3x a week to ask about progress, and who gave of his time willingly, (and at very discounted rates....even free on the last goodbye visit --- he left to take up residency in Georgia!). We will miss him, but he has given me his contact info and told me to get in touch ANY time to discuss Newt.

Happy Spring!

Rowan and Newt

That's so fantastic!!

And I'm glad you had a vet who was willing to work with you. I know the vet I used to use was fantastic about cutting me deals because 1.) he got to work with such unusual critters and learn something, and 2.) I was a poor college student!

Glad to hear Newton's doing well. Give him some worms for me!

That's fantastic news!
I suppose it hasn't been established what caused the problem? Did the vet have a theory?

Honestly we were stumped. He ran every culture and test, and nothing came to the fore. He kept telling me though that they have a remarkable ability to regenerate and that he was very hopeful. Even when I was in despair, he remained positive, and kept cheering me on.

And he was right, because the little guy has made an about face ....I do believe that the removal of the fluid, as risky as it was (there was a chance we'd puncture intestines or other organs and cause more damange) was the ticket to his recovery....prior to that he seemed depressed and was unable to move his legs at all. Within a few days of removing the fluid I saw a few toes on his right leg move, and that was a breakthrough (at least for me). The other thing that I did was the constant changes of his water in his container. I even floated little plants inside so the he'd have cover, though I was cautious to remove them at the first sign of decay. I am determined to keep him in a container that is easy for me to do daily or every other day water changes and not some big heavy glass container that may introduce bacteria or other organisms. Even though bacteria was not the cause, nor fungus, I am shell-shocked. I have the view of "if it isn't broke, don't fix it." And that he got up on his rock today like he used to in the old days, really gave me a thrill.

Again, I'm off to the city tonight for some relaxation, but will post his doctor record from the second visit tomorrow when I have more time.

Thanks to all of you for all your constant encouragement, advice and support. I can't tell you how much it meant to me to have you out there, in the virtual world, wishing Newt and I well.

:happy:

I understand you are worried now that putting Newt back into a tank might be detrimental but a well maintained cycled tank is not dangerous just because there are bacteria etc. Of course you have to be careful and monitor the water quality and make sure you don't drag something into the tank with plants and decorations but an established tank doesn't need a lot of work.
I personally can't imagine having to do such frequent water changes in the long term, mainly because it gets complicated when I need to leave for a while.

My biggest concern with a tank lately is that the tank I currently have has fish in it as well. I can't lower the water in that tank to accomodate Newt without jeapordizing the fish.

On the other hand, I was looking at other tanks just for Newt but then was confounded by the filtration systems. Most of the filtration systems hang off the side of th tank and the water needs to be at a certain level (read "to deep for Newt) to operate. I looked at undergravel filtration but then was concerned the current of water pulling through the bottom would upset him (he likes the calm water, and even when he was in the larger tank he gravitated away from the side with water movement.)

Any recommendations are very much appreciated.

Here is client report from when Newt had the fluids removed.

"Thank you for bringing Newton to see us. Since his last appoointment, you have reported that he has started to eat, but only occasionally, and he is still bloated. On presentation he was bright and alert. On physical examination, all his vitals were within normal limits but he still isn't able to move his back legs. We believe he is less bloated than on the last appointment, especially on his right side.

An ultrasound was performed with him in the water and on the hand. The two previous fluid filled structures were still present. As discussed before, we tapped part of this fluid using a needle and syringe.

The fluid was clear. The smears revealed a small amount of bacteria which may be related with environmental contamination. The density of the fluids was the same as water and there was no evidence of protein or blood. We have offered to send this fluid for culture and sensitivity. These results will be available soon; as soon as we have it we will contact you.

Because the fluid appears to be water-like, we have offered to remove a larger amount of it. While the procedure was performed, some slight movements of the back legs were noticed, mainly the right leg. In the meanwhile we will change his antibotic. The medicated water should be mixed everyday and he should be kept in it for one hour. Do not feed him while in this water.

Othere than the hour when he is in his medicated bath, he can be kept in his normal enclosure. Keep him in shallow ater or offer him substrate that has different levels so he can come up to take a breath.

Medication: Oxytetracycline 100mg/ml
Directions: Mix 1 ml per 1 liter of water and keep him in it for 1 hour a day for 2 weeks. Prepare a NEW bath everyday.

(2 weeks later)

This was an oral conversation, no paperwork. The results of the culture were negative. We did not resume the medicated baths. We waited another 2 weeks, but still nothing. Since that time Newton has made remarkable progress and uses both his legs to steady himself, and to walk. The back left leg remains a bit weak, and he favors it, but otherwise he is gaining weight and looking good.

I think Tetra Reptofilter might be a good option for you but I have no actual experience with it.
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It might be a good idea to add a lot of plants to help with the water quality. Something like hornwort or elodea could work.

Eva, thanks so much for the pointer/link. I will investigage and then go to my local shops to see if they have it. Don't you just love elodea? It goes on and on and on and never dies even in less than sunny conditions. Over here in the States, they banned it because they said it was taking over the waterways..... . I was devastated. I have an outdoor koi pond and relied on this plant as an oxygenator. They replaced it with something I think is called horsefeather...it's very feather and fluffy and olive green. The stuff is horrible. Outdoors it can do well in the summer, but the minute we get any cold, or when I put it in my indoor aquariums, it falls apart and rots. I have tried various types of plant lighting but nothing works.

I've been canoeing and kayaking up and down rivers looking for my long lost elodea to no avail. I'm not sure what the heck the authorities are talking about, because to date (and it's been two years of paddling) I have been unable to find any of it.

(sigh)

Elodea isn't banned in the US. There are even native species of Elodea. Some species may be banned in some places, but it isn't a nation-wide ban.