B
barrett
Guest
Hi, I have an abundance of slugs right outside my door that I have actually fed to my cfb's before with a modicum of success. They seem to be readily accepted although, I noticed one of them having a hard time getting one down. The mucus or whatever the slugs produce was caking up all over his face and the slug ended up getting away scott-free.
So, I do worry about that slime a little; whether it is unpalatable for the newts or even somewhat noxious. I Know they are not deadly but, perhaps not the best food due to a possible unpleasantness from the slime.
If that is not a problem there is always the issue of nutrition. They seem likely to be very high in fat.
If all is well though I would love to use them for several reasons.(1)They seem to be at home in the terrarium. I have some driftwood breaking the surface of the water with some moss on top and that's where they hide.(2)I can control when they come out. At night I will hit the fogger and they all venture out to eat or maybe even mate like worms do.(3)They are slow moving. I have tried putting earthworms in the substrate for the newts to find but, even if they are still alive and coming out they are very speedy when retreating back into their hole; sometimes too fast for me to catch when I am out worm hunting.
I think I will always have to supplement the newts' diet with hand fed worm segments(I started this project with the hopes of having a fully self-sufficient ecosystem but, that may have been a little presumptuous of me)however, if the swamphouse gang can actually go out and hunt for something, they might feel a little more at home than having my hemastats and LED light in their face.
Let me know your thoughts on this.
Bmurph
So, I do worry about that slime a little; whether it is unpalatable for the newts or even somewhat noxious. I Know they are not deadly but, perhaps not the best food due to a possible unpleasantness from the slime.
If that is not a problem there is always the issue of nutrition. They seem likely to be very high in fat.
If all is well though I would love to use them for several reasons.(1)They seem to be at home in the terrarium. I have some driftwood breaking the surface of the water with some moss on top and that's where they hide.(2)I can control when they come out. At night I will hit the fogger and they all venture out to eat or maybe even mate like worms do.(3)They are slow moving. I have tried putting earthworms in the substrate for the newts to find but, even if they are still alive and coming out they are very speedy when retreating back into their hole; sometimes too fast for me to catch when I am out worm hunting.
I think I will always have to supplement the newts' diet with hand fed worm segments(I started this project with the hopes of having a fully self-sufficient ecosystem but, that may have been a little presumptuous of me)however, if the swamphouse gang can actually go out and hunt for something, they might feel a little more at home than having my hemastats and LED light in their face.
Let me know your thoughts on this.
Bmurph
