FBN may not be eating

[jessica]

Hi all
This is my third FBN and I wasn't going to get anymore after my first two died but I saw this one was eating. He seemed to eat bloodworms fine the first few days. I think three days ago I gave him mini mealworms and since then he's not interested in food. He took them from the feeding tongs, now he turns away. I try to clean out leftover bloodworms with a turkey baster but most of it seems to just shoot over to the gravel. Do you think he's just full? Maybe he's eating leftovers at night. He's about 2 inches long and kind of fat in the belly. Any thoughts appreciated. thanks in advance.

 

[kaysie]

most newts and salamanders dont need to be fed daily. i feed mine every other day or every 3 days, and this is sufficient. he's probably just stuffed.

 

[jessica]

ok thanks so much. I just read that when they were small they need to eat daily. If you or anyone else has an opinion about filters with them I'd like to know. What I've read so far is that tend to be annoyed with filters but if I don't have one I need to clean his tank often thus moving him in and out of the tank more often and that could stress him out. I'd like to not do that. Also do they seem to be ok with those in-tank foggers? And if anyone in the Phoenix AZ area has tried sand with FBNs what sand is safe to use? The pet stores only sell that calcium enriched stuff which is usually geared for the leopard geckos, not sure if calcium safe for FBNs or if the the dye they use on the sand is safe. Thanks again in advance.

 

[jennifer]

Jessica, stick with bloodworms, the mealworms are harder to digest, which could account for his lost interest in food.

Calci-sand would raise the hardness and pH of your water. Probably not a good idea. I've heard that the sand made for swimming pool filters is better than regular "play sand", which may have too much powdery material. How about a tank with NO sand or gravel?

 

[jennifer]

For info about filters, see:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/filters.shtml

 

[jessica]

Thanks so much Jennifer. My newt seems to like to be half in the water half out and even more so now that he has more plants.

I bought two more plants yesterday and he seems not just let himself dry out as much. (sometimes in the morning I would find him in the drier area of the tank with his skin kind of dry). I also picked up a small submersible filter so I'm going to try to keep the gravel because he seems to like to hang out on it. I'll skip the sand idea then. I'm just a little panicky after losing my first two newts, trying to make sure he's comfortable. And I'll stick to the bloodworms, I just wanted to try a little variety. It's just I have no problem feeding live food, but cutting it is another story. I just don't have the stomach.