Critically ill T.shanjing

[TJ]

Here's a T.shanjing in truly appalling condition that I received from a pet shop for free Saturday after convincing the staff (at my wife's behest) that it would die if left untreated (though to be perfectly honest, I did buy something there in order to sweeten the deal). It may die anyway, but at least with us it still has a fighting chance

It's condition on Saturday was a such:

In my limited experience with T.verrucosus (I haven't any experience with T.s but surely the same holds true with this species), when the body becomes glossy like this it's a sure sign the newt is seriously ill.

The left legs are both missing the bottom portion and bone is protruding from the rear one. The two right legs are intact though.

 

[TJ]

Here it is at home Sunday having a soak in Ringer's solution followed up by a soak in water containing the antibiotic Enrofloxacin -- pending an opportunity to get it to the vet for proper treatment. It refused to eat the two crickets I left in with it overnight, and also declined frozen bloodworm.

 

[TJ]

With me still acting as amateur-hour vet, here it is after having its legs treated with an anti-fungal powder that I've found to be very effective and an antibiotic ointment that is difficult to apply due to its consistency. I was later told by the vet not to administer both treatments at the same time like this. Also, I was informed I could have applied the Enrofloxacin liquid drops directly to the wound instead of the ointment.

Bit of a messy job but I cleaned her up after snapping the pic.

 

[TJ]

To make a long story short, the newt is now hospitalized...and may even pull through

...though it's too early to tell.

The vet says he thinks that despite how bad it looks, it may now be over the hump as far as illness and injuries are concerned. While it obviously still needs treatment, nutritional intake may be the most important thing at this stage considering how famished it is. This may or may not entail forced-feeding, he says.

(Message edited by TJ on July 27, 2004)

 

[jaia]

Wow....best of luck.....I really hope she makes it.....your her hero!!

 

[edward]

When we got shanjing in this condition we tube fed them feline clinicare.

Ed

 

[TJ]

Thanks, Jinxx. Ed, I've heard that Reptomin can also be tube fed.

I forgot to mention that the newt also has some white fungal patches on the vent and tail:

 

[mark]

How about an update Tim?

 

[TJ]

I'd like an update myself, Mark

The vet is closed on Thursdays so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out. Hope the poor thing pulls through!

 

[hayden]

I hope the best for your T.Shanjing...Keep us updated.

 

[mark]

Fingers crossed Tim!

 

[TJ]

Thanks a lot. My wife has adopted this one as her own so she's really concerned about it. The vet says it hasn't taken a turn for the worse... but nor for the better. That's not necessarily a bad thing as even before being brought to the vet, the newt was not as lethargic as one might expect given its condition. It's so far been given three tube feedings and will remain hospitalized for a while.

 

[joseph]

I wish this guy(or gal) luck.

BTW, she looks like she is almost plump in the belly shot...?

 

[TJ]

Thanks, Joseph.

By the way, please don't mistake my silence since last week for bad news

The fact of the matter is that the newt remains hospitalized and is getting better with regular tube feedings, moving about more vigorously. It still hasn't started eating on its own, but some waxworms are due to be delivered to my home Saturday and I will take some over to the vet, who I think has been trying something else, crickets maybe.

(Message edited by TJ on August 06, 2004)

 

[edward]

Tim,
Just a thought. If you have access to them, pieces of earthworms may be a better choice as they are not as calorically dense as wax worms and are easily digested (and most caudates readily consume them) may be a better choice.

Ed

 

[pin-pin]

Tim's a squeamish worm lover, Ed.

He's going to make it to worm heaven, unlike 90% of caudate owners....

 

[mark]

I'm one of those people who will not be going to worm heaven, as i regularly chop them up to feed to my newts..... Evil me

 

[edward]

If they could I'm sure the worms would burn me in effigy.

Ed

 

[hayden]

Tim-Update?

 

[TJ]

Hi Hayden. Thanks for your concern. I had been receiving telephone updates so far, since the vet is located so far away from where I live and where I work, but I visited the vet today to deliver some waxworms and found the newt...well. let's just say "alive", which I guess is in itself a bit of a miracle after a whole month.

The newt is still in miserable shape but the vet is confident it will pull through with continued tube feedings with mashed Reptomin and with medical attention.

I may just be prolonging its suffering, but having come this far, I decided to leave it with the vet and hope for the best.

The belly has healed nicely but it looks like it will lose part of its tail. A good sign is that it still is attentive and raises its head. The newt didn't accept the worms that were offered it, but the vet, looking on the bright side, saw it as a good sign that the newt turned away from the worms, rather than just ignoring them. Ill newts sometimes reach a point where nothing will phase them, and go downhill from there. I'll post some pics...