Tiger Salamander getting old and sick

I bought a tiger salamander in 1998, and have been keeping him happy for 16 years without any problems what so ever. This year i noticed he was getting fatter and assumed it was a diet of earthworms that I had him on. However as the summer has gone on I have watched his health deteriorate, and what I first though was him shedding has turned out to be a pretty bad fungal infection. I have gone into hyper-drive trying to cure him. He is in my fridge 23 hours a day, and have been giving him a daily salt bath. I have been trying to feed him but he has no interest in food. I am on day 3 of treatment, and althought most of the fungus has flaked off, it has left his skin badly damaged. I am also concerned that the fatness might be bloat. The pictures I took last night, is he curable? How long should I treat him before giving up the ghost and putting him out of his misery? Like I said earlier, even though I've had him for 16 years, this is my first time dealing with a disease like this.

Congrats on keeping him healthy for so long.

Was the fungal infection diagnosed by cytology? Any herp vets available in your area?

Hard to say whether you can provide a cure or just palliative care at this point, and whether euthanasia is your most humane option.

Hard to tell from the photo angle if he has a "bloat belly." There are a lot of factors that need to be considered. It's unlikely that he'll eat if he's being chilled for 23 hours a day.

Thanks,

The little guy is a warrior, I've had him through middle school, high school, college, and all the stops along the way. It's been a week, and the fungus is starting to clear up. I figured I'd give him every shot to get better before I have to euthenize.

No herp vets in the area. My friend is a regular vet, and said she might try suck out the juice with a cyringe (I've seen that recommended on here). But before I go to that extreme, I got ringer solution in the mail today, and will try to bath him in that tonight.

I will mark his progress over the next couple of days, maybe give him a day out of the fridge and see if he has an appetite.

Thanks for the feedback.

my good pal died after my best efforts to cure him. After buying Ringers solution I was able to cure his fungus, his bloat, and some other ailments. However, he never regained his appetite, and I believe he must have experienced organ failure. Despite this failure I am writing today to give follow-up to other amphibian owners, who do not have Ringer's solution on hand. It is something that I should have had on hand for the past 16 years of ownership, and I wonder if my salamander could have recovered if I had used it earlier in the process. and I was really impressed with how well it worked. The solution, once bottled doesn't go bad and can be kept on hand for an illness event.

This was the only place online I could find it for sale:
Ringer Solution, Amphibian, Laboratory Grade, 1 L | Carolina.com

What is ringer solution?


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