He DOES eat!

[joan]

I have one skinny little male, and 3 great big females in a 40long. The male only eats on occasion, and usually throws it back up, no matter how big or small the earthworm.

Today I fed him, and was THRILLED when he ate. So I kept an eye on him, and sure enough, not 5 minutes later, up it came.

So I got to thinking, and decided to put him in a small tub with some blackworms that I have for my turtles. I didn't think he would eat because he'd just thrown up. Oh he was in newt heaven! He ate up every single worm in there, with gusto!

So now I'm thrilled because he is eating, and he's full of worms, so I'm sure he feels better. I guess now I'll just have to feed him separately from the girls.

 

[jennifer]

That's odd. I wonder if he has some abnormality that prevents him from eating chunks of food - perhaps a partial blockage of his esophagus or something. It's pretty unusual for a newt to throw up, unless they are totally overstuffed. I'm glad you found a way to get him to eat.

 

[joan]

I think he wants to keep his trim figure for the ladies.

Seriously though, I dont know. He can eat small chunks, and occasionally keeps them down. And he had the whole piece of worm down (about an inch) for about 5 minutes before he threw it back up. I don't know. But he happily eats the blackworms, so as long as he's eating, I won't complain too much.