Dazed newt!

[Shannon]

Hi everyone, I currently own 5 Japanese fire-bellied newts ( 3 adults & 2 babies ). I went to bed lastnight at 2am and all the newts were fine before I finally managed to doze off.. It was probably about 11am when I came to check on the newts and I realised one of the babies had gone from the tank! it had somehow managed to climb all the way up the glass and escaped through the lid and then having to face a 4 foot drop to the floor!. So after a good 30minute search I found the newt about a metre from the tank crawling slowly under my couch covered in fluff basically fully dry! I Immediately got a bowl with some tank water and placed the newt in there delicately pulling all the fluff off his hands and legs, once I was satisfied that he was okay I put him back in the tank and he kept very still almost as if he was dead (which he is normally a very active newt who loves swimming in alot of water). I watched him for a while and when he finally went for a swim I noticed he has lost all sense of direction.. kind of doing somersaults in the water ending up on his back and not knowing where the water surface is! I'm just concerned as if he can't swim properly he might end up drowning in the tank.. Im wondering if he is dazed due to the height he must have dropped whilst escaping the tank! Should I be concerned or will he eventually recover? :uhoh:

Kindest Regards.

 

[evut]

I think it would be a good idea to set up temporary accommodation for the newtlet - shallow water with some stones if it wants to climb out, with a hiding place, and keep it somewhere cool and quiet. I think you will just have to wait and see if it recovers.

 

[ACEPHONECHIC]

word of warning even with a tight fitting lid i have managed to loose two newts before they are incredible escape artists.The tank lids are no good as they do not fit tight enough.
In the end husband made a tight fitting wooden frame and attached a very tight fitting mesh cover. This is double layer of a brand new laundry bag as the mesh is nice and small to breathe through and not allow any escapes.
Agree with the previous post keep the escapee nice and quiet and hopefully will recover as you say very dis orientated.
good luck

 

[Shannon]

I checked on the little guy today and he seem's to be doing great, he seems to be his own self again very active and being a nuisance climbing on the adults although I havn't seen him enter the water yet but I guess only time will tell. He seems happy wanting to climb all over my hand aha, & I'll take your advice on the lid! currently just have a big heavy book on top of the lid but it's only temporary. Thank you for the advice and support guys!

 

[Linus]

I had a juvenile N. Kaiseri escape, was probably out of water 6-8 hours. He walked about 30 feet across my room, down an entire flight of stairs, and was found flailing next to a recliner covered in dog fur. I quarantined him, and removed all the other newts from the bowfront tank he escaped out of into a new enclosure.

After a few days I could see he was sloughing skin on his tail and on the top of his head, I freaked out thinking it was some flesh eating bacteria.. in reality those two areas just got too dried out during his break-out and the skin was just sloughing. I put neosporin -pain reliever on his slough areas 2x daily for about a week, and he got so used to it he is now the tamest one I have, and has the best personality.

Today he is doing fine, and is aquatic with his brothers and sisters and is my favorite one!