Illness/Sickness: Infection on fire belly newt limb, help please!

[Batgirl3210]

I posted earlier and started salt treatments on my fire belly newt whose leg had sores on it, but i cant tell if his leg is getting better or worse. It almost doesnt even look like a leg anymore, Any suggestions on what i should do?

 

[RobM]

Keep him cool and continue salt baths. Most amphibians immune systems work better at lower temperatures. Other than that and give him a correct environment, there may not be a lot you can do.

 

[Terroricha]

If it is a fungus, a low concentration of Methylene Blue is your friend. As a matter of fact, there are three OTC medications that are every amphibian keepers best friends in the whole wide world.

Methylene Blue: Used to treat fungi, and ectoparasites
Tetracycline: Kills off most strains of red-leg
Panacure: Kills off most internal flagellates, cestodes, and nematodes. Especially important for wild caught specimens.

The salt baths dont seem to be working. I would recommend a low concentration of Methylene Blue, say... 3 mg per liter for five days or so. Not only will it stain the fungus, and let you see just how far the infection has spread, but it will kill it as well, without harming the newt.

That said, be careful not to get any in your eyes. It wont hurt, but you may end up having an urge to wander around in a desert riding giant worms and setting ambushes for people calling themselves "Harkonnen"

Oh, and this also where I say "I am not a Vet. I am just a biologist with a lot of practical experience fighting the usual infections that happen in large amphibian colonies. If you can, you really should take your newt to a vet"

 

[RobM]

Very informative post. I have always been too worried to use medication for fish on amphibians. I don't plan to have infections in the future, but I might get some Methylene Blue just encase of an emergency!

 

[Bellabelloo]

Terroricha, would you do the methylene blue treatment in a separate container or treat the whole tank?

 

[RobM]

Terroricha, would you do the methylene blue treatment in a separate container or treat the whole tank?

From the quick search I done earlier, I would say that it would be best in a separate container, because I read that Methylene blue can damage plants and filters.

 

[Terroricha]

Terroricha, would you do the methylene blue treatment in a separate container or treat the whole tank?

It kills off (and stains for microscopy) anything and everything that is not vertebrate. So if you have live plants or a filter, you will want to do things in a separate container.

 

[meowmags]

I'm having similar thing happen with my 3 week old hatchling, any updates on the other newt??