L
lauramacf
Guest
My son's firebelly newt has been with us close to a year and is still terrified of his mostly aquatic tank. Since my son is just 7, the newt care has fallen to me; I'm a total newt newbie looking for guidance.
I've tried several aquatic arrangements for Fireball but he spends no time in the water. The closest he got was to climb out on some of the aquatic plants for a few minutes once. The most recent set up is almost entirely aquatic, with just a large rock sculpture island in the center and a floating rock wedged so it it's stationary; he climbs around on both, but never ventures more than a tail into the water. Anytime he ends up in the water he acts frantic and wedges himself between the wall and the filter.
We've tried two types of filters, most recently the undergravel kind modified for a lower tank level; the previous filter created too strong a current, even with the rock sculpture breaking the flow. I know myself well enough to know that constant water changes will not happen, I do a poor enough job taking care of the water with a filter's help--so I won't go filterless (unless you can convince me it's a breeze and such), so I've decided to go terrestrial.
Do you have any opinions about my general plan: terra-lite on the bottom, mesh between layers, co-co bedding as substrate, and a few terrarium plants, wood and accents and finally a very large "reptile rock" water bowl used as a swimming pool should the urge ever strike him to take a dip. I figured the "pool" will be easy enough to refill, remove, and clean--but I'm seriously doubting he'll go near it. I've just ordered the supplies and plants from Black Jungle because a nicely landscaped land area is something we haven't done for him yet--so even if my ideas above don't pass muster, I plan to do something with terrestrial plants for him. Please share any thoughts you have about terrestrial firebelly newts, too; I'm just feeling like he is just miserable surrounded by all this water.
I've tried several aquatic arrangements for Fireball but he spends no time in the water. The closest he got was to climb out on some of the aquatic plants for a few minutes once. The most recent set up is almost entirely aquatic, with just a large rock sculpture island in the center and a floating rock wedged so it it's stationary; he climbs around on both, but never ventures more than a tail into the water. Anytime he ends up in the water he acts frantic and wedges himself between the wall and the filter.
We've tried two types of filters, most recently the undergravel kind modified for a lower tank level; the previous filter created too strong a current, even with the rock sculpture breaking the flow. I know myself well enough to know that constant water changes will not happen, I do a poor enough job taking care of the water with a filter's help--so I won't go filterless (unless you can convince me it's a breeze and such), so I've decided to go terrestrial.
Do you have any opinions about my general plan: terra-lite on the bottom, mesh between layers, co-co bedding as substrate, and a few terrarium plants, wood and accents and finally a very large "reptile rock" water bowl used as a swimming pool should the urge ever strike him to take a dip. I figured the "pool" will be easy enough to refill, remove, and clean--but I'm seriously doubting he'll go near it. I've just ordered the supplies and plants from Black Jungle because a nicely landscaped land area is something we haven't done for him yet--so even if my ideas above don't pass muster, I plan to do something with terrestrial plants for him. Please share any thoughts you have about terrestrial firebelly newts, too; I'm just feeling like he is just miserable surrounded by all this water.