NEWT NEEDS HELP...LOST LEG

[billie]

Hello, I have a trio of Chinese Warty Newts... 1m,2f... Last night I noticed that the male had his front leg BADLY BIT. SO bad there is nothing but white stump. I have to remove the dead part of the limb to prevent fungus infection...WHAT ELSE CAN I DO FOR HIM??? Will it regenerate the limb like other newts do?

I think it was the largest of the females that did it..BUT they had been together for almost a year..NEVER a sign of aggression.. THe only thing that was different, is that I cleaned the tank.. Usually I remove them but this time I just removed the water.. Should I move him to a sick tank? Or just treat the water with sulfa block.. THESE guys are 95% (male has never left the water)aquatic so applying anything to limb/stump wont work.

ALSO, I called EVERY vet in the phone book and none knew anything about them..ONE DIDN'T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT A NEWT WAS..

ANY ADVICE????PLEASE..

HARPY

 

[nate]

That's the breaks...a lot of people here complain that people need to take newts to vets instead of trying to care for them yourself, but there are so few vets that know anything about newts that it's just not realistic for the vast majority of newt keepers. The limb will regenerate, but Paramesotritons have been known to pick at weaker tankmates and you may have to remove the injured newt. If the water remains as clean as normal, there will probably be no need for additional treatment.

Paramesotritons, like Pachytritons, are wild cards. They can be fine for years and then one day rip each other open. There's really no way to avoid this 100%. All you can do is try some strategies to minimize the risk. The first strategy is to give them an oversized tank relative to their size. Another strategy is to keep one male per 1 or 2 females since males tend to be the most aggressive. Again, sometimes females get violent too, so it's no guaranteed fix. Try to give them as many large rocks and plants as possible. This helps to break up the tank into territories and prevents constant visual contact among tankmates. When doing water changes in the future, you might want to remove all 3 newts like you normally did. Some claim this helps to erase old territories and put all the newts back on equal terms when returned to the water and minimize bullying. Good luck.

 

[sarah]

Look on Caudate Central to find some tips on injuries. I had two traumatic injuries with my HKWarty, and it would have helped a lot to have known this site existed when they happened! If part of his leg looks "white and frayed", try and amputate that part (I assume it did not come off at the trunk)leaving a clean cut to heal. There are several solutions you can swab on the amputation site to make your newt heal faster. Whatever you do, MAKE SURE YOUR WATER is CLEEEEANNNN. Your newt will begin to regenerate his limb within a few months.

 

[billie]

Hello, and thanks for the advice. I did remove the dead part of the leg. But it was hanging on by only a piece of skin. The stump is white, but looks good. The odd thing though..the newt left the water yesterday.. THE FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN him do THAT...

ALSO< DO you have a pick of HK warty, i am still looking for exact species of mine..& would love to see others..

thanks again,