Spinning strauchii

A

audrey

Guest
I just can't get these newts figured out! I posted a little while ago with moving questions and I got all of my newts moved successfully and everyone else is doing good but this little guy. I still have him in a little carring cage while his tank is cycling but I was told that that should be ok for a while. I am doing a 1/3 to 1/4 water change every other day in his little 8" by 10" cage and I have been trying to feed him cut up nightcrawler every day. He eats about every third or fourth day. He looks fine and is still eating though I found his shed in his cage uneaten. The problem is that when ever he moves he spins, like his body was a wheel long ways he just spins and spins whenever he tries to swim and then when he finally gets stopped by running into something, he hangs out upside down. He also gets into these really wierd positions that if any of my other newts were in I would immediately know they were sick. However, I am not familiar with this kind of newt.
His water is aged tap water with dechlorinator in it. He has a few rocks and some teracata pots in his cage. His temp is somewhere between 66-68F. I have read through his care sheet over and over again trying to figure out what I can do for him. Should I try to give him more of a land area, terrestrial set up? I asked the breeder who I bought him from if I should put limestone in his water, but he didn't use it and thought it might be more tramaticing to have another change. Can anyone please help me out here? I'm really concerned.
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I've never seen the behavior you describe in strauchii, or any other newt for that matter. What is the water pH? Do you have any test kits for other water parameters?

If he is truly disoriented, it might be better for him to be out of water to prevent drowning. Wet paper towels changed daily, and a water dish for feeding would be OK, if you want to go this route. Sorry I don't have any other ideas, this is an odd symptom.
 
I don't have any test kits for the water. I haven't had any problems like this before so I never bothered with it, but I can look into it.
What kind of dish would I use on top of paper towels? Will he climb into it to eat?(because I have had newts not understand the edge of a dish and never climb it to get inside.)
The other bad thing is that I am going out of town for five days as of the day after tomorrow and my mom is taking care of him and she will do everything I ask her to, but I don't know how to leave him. Should I just leave him on paper towels? I guess I'm a little scared to mess with him again. I feel like with feeding him daily and changing water all the time he is getting anxious. But if you think it will help him calm down, I'm all about it.
I forgot to write before that for all appearances he looks fine. He's thin but not skinny and there is no sign of injury or infection or any abnormality that I can see, other than the spinning!
I am going to try to get some pictures and post them tomorrow. It's really wierd.
 
I've got a paddletail displaying the exact same symptoms, she spins in the water like a corkscrew shape (See 'Corkscrewing Newt' thread) and i cant figure it out yet. shes eating well so im assuming she isn't too stressed out and the temperature is ok. I haven't done a pH test yet so that would be my suggestion too
 
Well I checked with the city and all of the water locally should be between a ph of 8.2 and 8.5 - which should be just fine for my little guy. Is there something else I should try?
Thanks for the help, I'm really worried because I'm leaving town.
 
8.2 and 8.5? I thought that a "safe" pH was between 7.0 and 7.8. Your pH seems high to me...
 
"The natural waters inhabited by these animals have been measured at a pH from 7.0 to 9.0"
I am just going by what was on the care sheet for strauchii in the caudata culture. Is that different for the kind of should I do something to lower my ph?
 
I wouldn't bother trying to change your pH. It should be just fine to the animals. As far as pH goes, all you want to do is make sure that the pH does not shift quickly as that is stressful to the animals. I maintain newts at a pH similar to yours.

As far as water tests go, Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are the most important ones. A lot of beginners assume that pH is really important, but it isn't really unless you are keeping wild caught animals with a known and very specific pH requirement as in some fish. Newts should be fine as long as extremes (above 9 or under 6) are avoided and the pH does not shift quickly.

I would get the Nitrogen kits (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) or have a local pet store run those for you. If you pick up the kits yourself get the liquid ones. They are cheaper, more accurate and really easy to use.
 
So I went to this petstore that is locally owned and seems to have mixed reviews. Sometimes their care is horrid and other times exceptional. I explained the problem to him and he said that he believes that it is internal parasites and he gave me metronidazole to put in the water(a very small amount)He said to watch for an hour and if it seems to cause my newt anxiety then change the water, but if not to leave it for three days and then to a water change. He said it was a 50-50 chance depending on how long he has been ill.
Does anyone have any experience with this?
 
I personally would stay away from any drug treatment unless you are reasonably sure of the cause of illness. Metronidazole is quoted here as being useful in treating anaerobic (those that need a lack of Oxygen) parasites like amoebas. I don't know if it will be helpful in this case, its hard to say if it is a parasite, let alone what kind (internal, external, nematode, trematode, cestode, protozoa, bacteria, etc) all of which have different drug treatments.

All drugs have side effects and "shotgun" treatmens can be very bad for the health of the newt.
 
For strauchii, a pH of 8.2-8.5 is fine. But the pH in an aquarium can be completely different from your tap water; it tends to drop over time. Next time you go to the pet shop, take a water sample along for testing.

I agree that metronidazole is a shotgun treatment. Without a diagnosis, there is no way to know if the advice happens to be right, or just a wild guess.
 
Well, I didn't get any responses before I went home, so I went ahead and tried it. I just figured I knew he was sick and I'm leaving town so today's the last day I can do anything until monday night. I'm just hopeing and praying he'll make it! He showed very little response to me adding the metronidazole...but I'll let you know how it turns out. thanks
 
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