ALPINE NEWT BLOAT? Please help!!

[tzamora816]

Ok, starting off, I’ve been researching and getting really deep into the identification, causes, and solutions to bloat in newts. I have 6 alpine newts 3 are in a 2.5 gallon and 3 are in a 10 gallon. The ones that are in the 10 gallon are doing perfect 100%, but a female I had in the 2.5 gallon a day or two ago started getting a swollen throat and looking really fat with a puffy top of the head. The other female and male I have in with her are also a little chunky. I separated her from the others and put her into a quarantine tank. The next day I noticed that the other two newts that were in the same tank as her are now having a slight puffy throat. I feel stupid for keeping the trio in a 2.5 gallon but didn’t know that this could happen until recently. I’ve been feeding every 3 days a decent amount. I’m going to be getting a 10 gallon and new filter to see if that can help a little bit. I really don’t know what to do I just know I love them and want to make sure they are the healthiest they can be. Kind of stressing, but have have came across this ringers solution but am really confused how to use it with newts, especially aquatic newts. Please help!! I’ll post pictures.

 

[Fishfrogsandfriends]

A 2.5 gallon is way way way to small for 3 adult newts. It looks like they have bloat. Bloat is a symptom of multiple diseases however. My best guess would be poor water quality causing organ damage. This is only based off of them being in a 2.5 gallon. How often were you changing their water? As far as remedies you’ll have to take them to a local vet who specializes in amphibians and reptiles. They’ll be able to diagnose through tests and then treat with the appropriate antibiotic. If it is internal organ damage then there might be little they can do. If there are no specialists near you or if you can’t afford to go to one, then you can try your hand at antibiotics. This is also risky because of dosing and which one to try. Antibiotics can also rough on their internal organs as well so it could make the condition worse. If I was in your shoes I’d get either a 20 gallon tank minimum for 3 newts. If a tank of too expensive then I’d get a 20 gallon tote. Fill it up with de chlorinated water . Add a sponge filter and take your ten gallons filter media and try to squeeze the mulm from your other tanks filter to seed the 20 gallon with beneficial bacteria. If all three newts seem to have bloat then they all have probably been infected for the same thing I would place them in the 20 gallon. Add a piece of floating cork bark to give them the option to rest on land just in case. I would then give it a day to see if the conditions improve, while researching local specialist. If you can’t find one or if it’s too expensive then I’d research antibiotics from a pet store and treat the water per 10 gallons. This would be a last ditch effort in a sense. You either risk the animal dying to disease or you trying to treat a disease which makes it sick. So that’s the risk you run. Also test the water every day and make sure to check temperature. Hope this helps.