tem
New member
Hello everyone. Yesterday I emptied a body of water in my backyard which is typically used for decorative reasons, etc. About 5 feet away, I also have a large pond where annually I have many newts and toads visit.
Occasionally, they will hang out in the other "pool" (it's not a pool, but I don't know what else to call it). Before it was emptied, I transferred the newts and toads into the neighbouring pond, alongside any leaves that may contain eggs, etc.
I noticed there was a large crack forming within the pool, so figured I needed to seal it before adding water again. It was getting late, so I decided to do that tomorrow. It occurred to me later that night that something could have fallen into the empty pool and had no way to get out, so I got up and checked. Unfortunately, it was true. Two newts had fallen, one was completely fine, and the other had some issues.
I filled up the pool immediately to prevent this from happening again at any point in the night. After checking the injured newt out, I noticed she had a ruptured eye and a few grazes around her head. I wondered if she would still be able to swim, but when I placed her into the pond, she kind of just turned upside down and sank. I decided to create a sort of emergency rehabilitation tank, filled with moist algae for her to settle on. She doesn't really seem comfortable when it comes to motor functions. She twists around occasionally, and her tail starts to wiggle in a really strange way. However, she can walk, she just doesn't seem very interested in doing it. When I pick her up, she almost ragdolls in my hand instead of squirming like typical newts.
I coaxed a small earth worm into her mouth, but she spat it out.
She also started laying eggs all of a sudden, but it's more-so that they're just popping out of her body.
I'm wondering if I should leave her a couple of days, see if she improves or not, or if I need to do something drastic like putting her down. I don't live near any vets or anything, but if I did travel, I'm concerned they'd rather euthanise her than care to do an actual checkup since she's wild.
What should I do?
Occasionally, they will hang out in the other "pool" (it's not a pool, but I don't know what else to call it). Before it was emptied, I transferred the newts and toads into the neighbouring pond, alongside any leaves that may contain eggs, etc.
I noticed there was a large crack forming within the pool, so figured I needed to seal it before adding water again. It was getting late, so I decided to do that tomorrow. It occurred to me later that night that something could have fallen into the empty pool and had no way to get out, so I got up and checked. Unfortunately, it was true. Two newts had fallen, one was completely fine, and the other had some issues.
I filled up the pool immediately to prevent this from happening again at any point in the night. After checking the injured newt out, I noticed she had a ruptured eye and a few grazes around her head. I wondered if she would still be able to swim, but when I placed her into the pond, she kind of just turned upside down and sank. I decided to create a sort of emergency rehabilitation tank, filled with moist algae for her to settle on. She doesn't really seem comfortable when it comes to motor functions. She twists around occasionally, and her tail starts to wiggle in a really strange way. However, she can walk, she just doesn't seem very interested in doing it. When I pick her up, she almost ragdolls in my hand instead of squirming like typical newts.
I coaxed a small earth worm into her mouth, but she spat it out.
She also started laying eggs all of a sudden, but it's more-so that they're just popping out of her body.
I'm wondering if I should leave her a couple of days, see if she improves or not, or if I need to do something drastic like putting her down. I don't live near any vets or anything, but if I did travel, I'm concerned they'd rather euthanise her than care to do an actual checkup since she's wild.
What should I do?