HELP! just acquired a 13yr old newt..

[nizzard]

i just acquired a 13 yr old firebelly newt from a friend who took exceptional care of it. it is a japanese firebelly. i took him out of his tiny goldfish bowl tank and put him in a 5.5 gal all by himself.

he has been there for a week, problem is he wont eat (has been fed stick food his whole life) he wont eat the sticks or any live food ive tried. also all he does is claw (sometimes very, very, profusely almost seizure like) the glass and try to escape. he is shedding his skin right now but im not sure if that explains any of the behavior.

any suggestions out there on food or his erratic behavior?

 

[mark]

what type of setup are you keeping him in?

 

[rancidevilpingu]

shedding skin? sounds bad

if its because hes stressed leave him alone make sure its queit

 

[nizzard]

ok, i got him to stop clawing the glass cause i put a huge rock in there that he likes to lay on. but..he still wont eat, ive tried feeding him the pellets that the previous owner had fed him for the past 13 yrs and have dangled earthworms in front of him...HELP!

 

[kaysie]

he's probably stressed from the mood. or may just not be hungry. read the caresheets on caudatecentral and make sure you're keeping him in the correct setup.

shedding skin is completely normal. it happens to almost all newts.

try just putting food in there at night and turning off the lights and walking away. a lot of people say their animals wont eat when they're around.

 

[jesper]

Are you sure that the water quality is alright?
Him trying to get out of the water can be a sign of poor water quality.

 

[kaysie]

mood, how about move? der... sorry

 

[nizzard]

ok it has been 10 days since the move, and still not eating...i tried frozen bloodworms today, and still no..
he is in the correct caresheet according to the caresheet..water quality is clean and dechlorinated..tried putting in food at night and its still there in the morning

he is 13 yrs old..maybe its just his time
any more ideas
*lost*
mike

 

[nizzard]

*correct setup according to the caresheet*
sorry for typo

 

[jesper]

How about too high temp?
I know pyrrhogaster tolerates rather high temp, are u sure he is not orientalis?
Try giving him some more land area if that is what he wants.
Have u tried what Kaysie said about food?

I would guess that the water quality is different and he's shocked by that and the move. The water doent necessarily have to be bad, just different to what he is used to(like old people u know )

 

[kaysie]

try live earthworms... wiggle them at him, biff him in the nose with one...

maybe he's just not hungry right now. but 13 is getting up there... some may live as long as 20, but 13's pretty old in caudate years...