Bloated and spine showing on newt

[redwoodtree]

I have a taricha torosa newt that I've been concerned about. He hasn't eaten as much as usual in the last month and appeared to be thin. Previously, he'd been perfectly fine for four years. In the last few days, he moved out of water and appears bloated with spine and ribs clearly showing (photo attached). Does anyone have any advice on how to help him? I've moved him to a separate terrestrial enclosure. He won't eat now, but he has been eating well for the last week or so.

 

[Mark]

Hi Redwoodtree, Probably whatever stopped it feeding in the first place is what has lead to the bloat. Muscle absorption will sometimes cause bloating in starved newts. If you're lucky it was caused by environmental conditions, such as poor water quality or high temperatures and a terrestrial setup may help it recover. If it's something more complex such as organ damage or bacterial infection then you could be heading for a bad result. Either way, you're doing the right thing to isolate and keep it terrestrially. Keep it cool, give it a hide where it feels safe, a moisture gradient if possible and offer food daily. All the best, Mark.

 

[redwoodtree]

Either way, you're doing the right thing to isolate and keep it terrestrially.

I've seen this advice in many places, which is why I made a terrestrial setup, but I'm curious what the reasoning for this is. I gave my newt a little "bath" in shallow, clean water, and he immediately livened up; in the meantime he's been extremely lethargic on land. Could it be better to include a small pool of water as well, or should I completely avoid water while he's still sick?

 

[Mark]

The term “dirt quarantine” has been around for years in the newt hobby. By changing to a terrestrial enclosure it takes the animal away from any environmental stressors it had and reduces it’s exposure to infectious organisms that were present in the old enclosure. This gives the newt a fighting chance of recovery. It’s been noted that sick newts often take to the land and seek out dry microhabitats. Bacterial growth will be less in drier environments.

There’s no harm in providing a shallow water dish as long as you have a drier section that the newt can retreat to. Terrestrial newts can be very sedentary which could be mistaken for lethargy, but the chances are if it’s sick it won’t be very active.

How is it doing now?

 

[Caramello]

Having the same issue with my fire belly, not sure what to do... So fat he can't move... I've isolated and fone everything I can but not sure it's working at all

 

[Caramello]

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