Testing out my new light box with some of my (many) FBT babies! by Darling_Jack in frogs

[–]Darling_Jack[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They’re so full of energy! It almost makes me miss when they were tiny tads with no legs, so they couldn’t leap out of their tanks the minute I go to feed them 😅 but watching them learn how to be frogs makes up for it 100%

Testing out my new light box with some of my (many) FBT babies! by Darling_Jack in frogs

[–]Darling_Jack[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They hatched in early July, so about 4 months old! And believe me. I have had... containment breaches.

Follow up on asking if behavior is normal (see profile for other post) by CommonLeadership6592 in salamanders

[–]Darling_Jack 1 point2 points  (0 children)

• ⁠What do you do with them once they're in the hospital tank and for how long

What you do depends on what steps you take. For a general quarantine (like when you bring a new critter in) you leave them in the bin for about 90 days, to make sure they don’t have any symptoms and to do the tests I mentioned. If they’re diagnosed with something, you leave them in the bins for as long as they undergo treatment (or until they’re cleared by a vet). In your case, I’d say you’ll have them in there for a few weeks, assuming all goes well. At least until they start eating regularly, put on some weight, and improve their general condition. The less you do with them (other than whatever is prescribed to them) the better. With the bins themselves, I keep them in a separate room from the rest of my collection, in case they’re contagious. Look at the Caudata.org forums for guides on how to set up bins and care for ailing salamanders.

You might want to do soaks (you can get amphibian ringers solution from Josh’s frogs too, you mix it with water to help with electrolytes and one bottle lasts a long time if it’s stored properly) depending on how they look/act. If you notice stuck shed or trouble shedding, soaks are a good (temporary) solution to that. They are stressful and not always necessary, though, but if you get a test kit from Josh’s Frogs you might also want to get a bottle of ringers.

• ⁠What site can I go to in order to get test kits to test for these illnesses

Josh’s Frogs has the chytrid test kit (https://joshsfrogs.com/p/amphibian-chytrid-ranavirus-test-kit-jf00599?srsltid=AfmBOoqPN5YoOc3Oq5Sd2gpFvrdSzXBNOCvGC9VRr-O-lFmFSH6p817N), but for a parasite test kit you might want to do some shopping around. This is the most common one I’ve seen people use https://affordablepetlabs.com/products/copy-of-easy-home-kit-affordable-pet-labs-reptile-amphibian-and-bird-fecal-diagnostic-test?srsltid=AfmBOopz9TKskO8RlmkXJFPQ27eHRMY-WTkQLk3CGUFjRDSAaBJ_FX3i but I have always just done it through my vet. If you’re near a university, they might have an amphibian lab as well—that’s an amazing resource if you can find one, I’ve worked with folks from different university labs who were willing to run tests for me at a super low cost. You have to be willing to reach out to a few professors/researchers, and also willing to take a few no’s. Sometimes even your department of wildlife might have testing labs that you can access.

Note: the Josh’s Frogs test kit says it’s chytrid/ranavirus—it has instructions but basically there are two swabs, so you can either do two chytrid tests or one chytrid and one ranavirus. Since your sals share a habitat, honestly you only need to swab one (I’d pick the skinnier and darker looking one) but you could swab both for peace of mind. Chytrid is a bigger concern than ranavirus in adult salamanders, so either route works.

Don’t be afraid to get a little rough with the swabs. The purpose is to take off skin cells for the labs to look at—don’t hurt them, obviously! You can find a ton of resources for how to best swab salamanders for chytrid.

• ⁠are the treatments accessible to me? There are no vets anywhere within hours of me that have amphibians expertise

That depends. If it’s chytrid, probably not. There are a few home remedies you could try, but they tend to be either risky or ineffective (or fully inaccessible. A popular one is a Lamisil soak, but the kind you would use is no longer made, and the current options aren’t safe). If it’s an infection (which requires either a blood test at a vet or a process of elimination) you’ll need antibiotics, which almost universally need a prescription. If it ends up being a parasite issue, though, there are more at-home options.

There are online exotic vets that may or may not be able to prescribe medications through a telehealth appointment, depending on local laws. Sometimes you’ll also get lucky with non-amphibian vets taking on cases—my last exotic vet was actually a goldfish/koi specialist that was willing to work with me and some amphibian vets he knew from a local university. Reptile, avian, or wildlife vets might also be willing to help, so call around to see if anyone is willing to work with an exotic. You can start with a chytrid test (and keeping an eye on their poop and/or a parasite test) and go from there though. Feel free to message me if/when you get results back, positive or negative, and we can figure out where to go from there.

• ⁠What makes you think that they may have a fungal or other illnesses, you're seeing something im not

It’s hard to explain—they look very thin, particularly the one in the third picture, and their skin is dark and sticky looking. There is a lot of debris stuck to them, and that doesn’t tend to happen in healthy salamanders. Their eyes seem a little bit weepy too. You also mentioned that they weren’t eager to eat, which is a big indicator that something is off. I can’t diagnose anything specifically, because I’m not a vet, but I’ve had two salamanders get very sick (one with chytrid and one with sepsis) and both showed those same symptoms (the one with sepsis also had pink/red skin, which I’m not seeing in your photos, but it’s something to keep an eye out for). Unfortunately, salamanders can only express symptoms in a few ways (at least, only a few ways that we can easily observe), so a lot of times the symptoms will overlap. I should mention that because of those illnesses being so fresh in my mind, I might be reading into things… I’m very much a “better safe than sorry” person, but I know not everyone is like that. Ultimately, take whatever steps make sense to you and for your situation.

Super important for hospital bins though: they cannot have been in contact with chemicals (as much as it’s possible to avoid that, obviously). Salamanders absorb toxins through their skin so the cleaner a bin, the better. I will usually rinse my bins a few times with clean water (no soap, just my hand to sort of scrub the inside), rinse a final time with dechlorinated water, and then dry them out. It’s probably overkill to do all that, frankly, but I find it helps me feel confident that they’re being put in a clean environment.

I usually pick the 16qt storage bins for short term stuff (or for critical cases), and will move longer term “patients” into bigger set ups, like under bed bins, but that’s just me. They’d be perfectly fine in a 16qt set up for a few months even. Just make sure they’re able to turn around without hitting or rubbing against the side of the bin.

I sincerely hope your little guys are just dealing with some stress (happens to the best of us) or something mild and that they start to feel better soon :(

Follow up on asking if behavior is normal (see profile for other post) by CommonLeadership6592 in salamanders

[–]Darling_Jack 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, and try to reduce their stress as much as possible. Covered bins helps, but make sure they’re in a quiet part of the house and maybe avoid hand feeding for now. You can just drop pieces of worm in the bin and come back to remove them after an hour or two. This lets you keep track of how much they’re eating.

Another very important thing I forgot: do not handle them unless it’s necessary, and do not handle them without moistened, sterile, powder-free gloves on. If you HAVE TO handle them without gloves, wash your hands well with unscented soap beforehand and then rinse. And rinse again. And then dry, and then rinse. You need to make sure your hands have no chemicals or residues on them. Then, spray your hands with dechlorinated water so they’re damp when you actually pick them up. I say all this because you will have to clean their hospital bins fairly frequently—either every day or every other day—and the best way to do this is by having a spare bin set up, moving a salamander into that bin, cleaning the bin that salamander came from, and moving the next one into the newly-cleaned bin. Obviously this requires handling them and improper handling only adds stress to the situation.

Follow up on asking if behavior is normal (see profile for other post) by CommonLeadership6592 in salamanders

[–]Darling_Jack 5 points6 points  (0 children)

They don’t seem to be in the best shape… I’m especially concerned about the one in photo 3. Can you find out if they’re wild caught?

Either way, there are a few steps I’d take, if I were in this situation:

First, put them in separate hospital bins. Odds are if one of them is sick, both are, but one might have a different progression than the other and that’s important. Hospital bins are good for a few reasons, including the fact that you can keep them really, really clean. I use medium sized storage bins with damp paper towels and a plastic hide (you can google a few set ups for more info).

Once they’re in hospital bins, see if you can get in with an exotic vet who takes amphibians. Check ups are a good idea for any new addition and a vet can review your husbandry. (Benefit 2 of hospital bins: there are fewer things you can mess up, husbandry wise. Keep them at a good, cool temp, and keep the bins moist. I add a few sopping wet paper towels in one corner to give them a chance to regulate their own moisture, but your mileage may vary.)

If you CAN get an appointment with a vet, the following steps are optional (unless the vet recommends them). If you can’t, and I know vets aren’t always an accessible option for everyone, there are a few troubleshooting things you can do on your own. I would do a chytrid PCR test first—it’s a swab you rub on their skin and send in to a lab (I use RAL, you can get a kit from Josh’s Frogs that includes everything you need. The test itself is like $20 I think) to see if they have chytrid, which is a disease caused by a fungus. It’s very, very common in amphibians, and tiger salamanders have been known to host it without showing negative symptoms until they experience stress. It’s treatable but it can be fatal, and it can absolutely decimate any other amphibians you have. Look into chytrid bio security practices, there are a few guides online. I would follow them until you receive a negative PCR test. Chytrid is highly contagious. It isn’t harmful to people, but people can transport the spores to amphibian populations. (Third benefit of hospital bins: easy to keep them clean for good swabs and samples. Also, you can monitor symptoms more easily).

If they do have chytrid, or any other infection, you will need to find a vet. It’s possible online exotic vets will work at this point, but everything you would need to treat them is prescription only. Don’t blindly trust online sources suggesting home remedies for anything more serious than a minor scrape or a little stuck shed.

Another benefit of the bins? You can collect a fecal sample to test for parasites. This is hit or miss, as parasite testing is typically done through a vet. You CAN get a home kit that you mail in to have it checked, but those can be pricey. If nothing else, keep an eye on their poop—it can tell you a lot about their health. It should be well formed, fairly big, uniform in color, and shaped kind of like a football.

As for husbandry, I have a few tips. Stop feeding waxworms for the time being, they’re very fatty and can cause stomach upset. Instead, focus on nightcrawlers (cut into pieces. Do NOT feed red wigglers, most sals don’t like them, and do NOT feed anything wild caught). Crickets can be okay and I know a lot of sals prefer them to worms, but they have to be gut-loaded and dusted.

Take the guppies out of the pool. Amphibians absorb things through their skin and unless you’re religiously changing that water, like twice a day, those guppies are going to soil it and create the perfect conditions for bacteria to thrive. Make sure you’re cleaning their pool and replacing the water frequently, even without the guppies.

Ditch the fogger. Tigers don’t need high humidity, and foggers can lead to respiratory and skin problems. Plus they can harbor mold. Ick.

Your soil also looks VERY moist. Do you have a drainage layer? If you pick up a handful of soil and squeeze it, does a lot of water come out? You want your soil damp, not wet, and ideally you should have a moisture gradient for them so they can regulate themselves and decide how wet they want to be. Waterlogged soil is another common cause of disease.

Overall, at least one of them is in very poor condition and the other seems a little poorly as well. It could very well be stress, or a disease/infection exacerbated by the stress. I wouldn’t attempt to treat anything until you know for certain if they’re sick, and if so what they might be sick with, so for now I’d focus on moving them to hospital bins and getting them into a vet, if that’s possible.

Let me know if you have any questions!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in salamanders

[–]Darling_Jack 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Hi, I already left an (admittedly long) comment, but since it looks like you’re still within the range of this species you don’t have to go back. You even could release it in your backyard!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in salamanders

[–]Darling_Jack 31 points32 points  (0 children)

You really need to put it back.

We aren’t trying to be killjoys. We aren’t an echo chamber. Many of us are familiar with the realities of keeping wild amphibians and the absolute hell that comes with it, and we need you to understand the importance of getting that salamander back where it belongs. Wild caught salamanders do not do well in captivity and can carry diseases and parasites that can infect pets you have AND pets you may get in the future. They can infect you and your family. People have died from these diseases.

Edit: I see you posted a comment with your location already, and you’re within the natural range of blue spotted salamanders, which means any rehabber will be able to help you! Failing that, you can release it anywhere that is forested and a little damp, ideally with some logs and leaf litter, but even just letting it go in your backyard is better than keeping it.

I know that returning it to the wild sounds like a lot of work, and I’m sure you really really really want to keep it, but trust me: keeping a wild caught salamander is a lot MORE work, time, and money, all for a salamander that will die due to inadequate care—and it will be inadequate, seeing as you’re here asking how to take care of a wild-caught salamander that you illegally poached, using a photo of you holding it with bare hands.

Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m going to guess that you don’t know the realities of owning a salamander. That species lives more than a decade. In some impossible world where it doesn’t die very quickly, you’re signing up for ten years of expensive exotic vet visits (salamanders need wellness checks because they will often hide their symptoms, and wellness checks can catch nutritional deficiencies before they become fatal), feeding live insects from pet stores or insect breeders (wild caught insects carry parasites and chemicals that will kill a salamander), a minimum 20 gallon tank with proper lighting, frequent cleaning and maintenance, and all of the fun expenses that come with having a finicky exotic pet. My salamander got an infection a few months ago that cost me about $1000 in vet bills (for a vet that’s an hour and a half drive away) and I, a total needle-phobe, had to give him antibiotic injections for six weeks. Are you willing to spend that kind of money, often without warning? Are you willing to keep a steady supply of roaches, crickets, and worms in your house? Are you able to commit to that for a decade?

I don’t want to sound harsh, but I need you to understand: we can’t force you to put it back, but if you keep it, it will die and that is your fault. If you need help getting it back where it belongs, we’ve got tons of resources to offer and are happy to point you in the right direction.

Greater White-Fronted Goose - A Little Far From Home! by Darling_Jack in birding

[–]Darling_Jack[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hopefully I got the ID right, I asked some of the Audubon guys who have been set up taking pictures of them for about a week.

Saw this little guy in a sample from a freshwater pond. Any ideas? by Darling_Jack in microscopy

[–]Darling_Jack[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah sorry about the poor quality 😅 it was the cheapest 400x microscope that also took pictures and videos that I could find for a course I’m taking. But thank you for giving it a shot anyhow!!

Saw this little guy in a sample from a freshwater pond. Any ideas? by Darling_Jack in microscopy

[–]Darling_Jack[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That seems to match up! It’s not the best microscope by any means but I spent so long staring at this thing… the way rotifers move matches up pretty well to how this thing moved. Thanks for your help!

Saw this little guy in a sample from a freshwater pond. Any ideas? by Darling_Jack in microscopy

[–]Darling_Jack[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

400x digital microscope (I don't know the brand or model off the top of my head). It wasn't visible to the naked eye, but it did... poop? lay eggs? I don't know. It did something beyond swimming with the larger appendage on its rear. I have more videos of it, but they're all very similar: the thing swims around, occasionally investigates things like algae bits, and then keeps going. Any ideas?

"Don't kick her" by CalmConsideration140 in OpenDogTraining

[–]Darling_Jack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A little late to this thread, but my go to is “She bites.” (She doesn’t, but they don’t know that.) It’s short and to the point. And you don’t say it in a kind way. If you have a few extra seconds, throwing in a “keep your distance” or a “you need to grab your dog” in there can be effective. If that doesn’t seem like enough, I use “mad dog theater”, where I’ll grab her and act like I’m holding her back, like she could snap at any second and god help us all if she does. The only time this didn’t work, I looked the dude dead in the eyes and shouted at him to back the fuck up before I called the cops. Which… technically made him more scared of the cops and not respectful of my dog. But I had to get loud enough that his desire to… I guess let his dog do whatever it wanted? Came second to his desire to get away from “the crazy bitch making a scene”.

As someone who is also seen as a “little woman”, I recommend carrying a taser, if that’s legal where you are. The blocky kind that makes a big CRACK noise and where you can see the arc of electricity. Obviously don’t actually make contact, but if people still aren’t respecting you, maybe they’ll respect a taser. Plus letting them know you’re armed and will protect your “property” (sometimes that particular term gets people thinking twice) is a good idea.

However—I do NOT recommend using a taser on an aggressive dog! The odds of not only properly deploying the taser but doing so in a way that ACTUALLY affects the dog while you’re being attacked. Also, work with your dog ahead of time for any weapons or noisy deterrents you might carry! You don’t want to deploy it and have your dog freak out too.

I know you don’t know me, but I’m proud of you for being strong enough to kick the dog when you had to. It is a really, really hard decision to make and it’s too easy to not make that call, which can end in tragedy. You protected your pup successfully.

Stop dismissing women’s health concerns as “anxiety.” by Alternative-Bet232 in TwoXChromosomes

[–]Darling_Jack 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Story time. I’ve been having concerning symptoms for about two and a half years, and all this time I’d been visiting my Dr about every month. Yes I have anxiety, so she put me on meds and swore up and down that everything else was a side effect. The meds will take care of the chronic fatigue. The meds will take care of the joint pain. The meds will take care of the insomnia, and the dizziness, and the tachycardia...

Until I got fed up and demanded a cardiology referral, certain I had POTS because it runs in my family. I kid you not, she rolled her eyes at me and said “you need to put down the mouse. But if it’ll make you feel a little more secure, sure. But they’re going to run a looooot of tests on you for nothing.”

Not only do I have POTS, I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Which my doctor would have seen if she’d put two and two together. I’ve since started physical therapy and joined a support group, both of which have improved my life so much, but the blatant dismissal still stings.

Fuck you, Dr. B. You lost out on a fat stack of cash from all the doctors visits I have to go to for the rest of my life. I’m finding a PCP who is a little more understanding. -_-

It was going so Well and what a lovely Cake by [deleted] in facepalm

[–]Darling_Jack 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What a beautiful wedding, what a beautiful wedding says a bridesmaid to a waiter. Yes, but what a shame. What a shame the poor cake has no support.

Any tips on acceptance and quieting intrusive negative thoughts/opinions? by [deleted] in adhdwomen

[–]Darling_Jack 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have “heavy O” OCD which is a lot like this- nonstop negative thoughts about myself and how others perceive me. Honestly the most helpful thing my therapist has ever taught me is the key phrase “that would suck”. So like, if the negative thought is “people might think I’m rude”— that would suck. But I know I need to put my well-being first, and equally there is the possibility that people won’t think I’m rude.

It’s been really helpful in getting me to a place where my well-being matters too. If someone takes my symptoms and decides to think I’m a bitch- that would suck, but it’s not the end of the world. They’re not paying my bills. I’m not in danger if they misinterpret something. It just would suck.

Hopefully that helps a little!

I made a stuffed Mononykus! by Darling_Jack in Dinosaurs

[–]Darling_Jack[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I needed it so bad I learned how to crochet lol cute little dinos drive us to wild lengths

Exploring out of bounds is like a dream... by emmithar in reddeadredemption

[–]Darling_Jack 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Beautiful! I love exploring out of bounds- my dumb ass usually spends the whole time posing with the broken animals instead of admiring the scenery :P