How long can FBN's stay on the land safely?

[james]

I have recently got a new tank and decked it out with a nice rocky (moss covered) area for the newts to run around on. Three of my FBN's love this area and never leave it. The moss is damp, but their skin seems to dry out. As an experiment I took the newts and moved them onto some plants on the other end of the tank, but within 5 mins they were back on the moss - so they obviously like it. Do I need to get worried if they spend days on the land ? They are about 3 inches big, so not really babies.

 

[benjamin]

If you feed them, they can stay on land indefinately but they are much easier to feed if kept in water and they won't breed on land, so you should try and encourage them back into the water.

 

[jennifer]

Right, the only problem with them staying on the moss is that they probably won't eat. To get them aquatic you'll have to keep their skin wet, which may mean depriving them of their comfy moss.

 

[james]

The funny thing is that before they moved into this tank they were almost 100% aquatic. In the previous tank there was only a small rock for them to sit on, but they never went onto it. Do they like moss that much? I popped them into the water today and fed them, but within 10 mins they were back on the moss all cuddled up in a ball.

 

[jennifer]

A newt's behavior will often change very much depending on the setup they are in.

 

[james]

Every morning I pick up the four land newts and dump them in the water on a plant on the far side of the tank. Usually I put in a few bloodworms around them. They eat the bloodworms then scuttle back to the rock. Their latest trick is to bury themselves under the moss. I have put live Daphnia in the tank which they seem to enjoy, but within 10 mins they are back on the rock. Should I just fill the tank up with water to cover the rock? Or should I just leave them be?

 

[james]

Here are some pics:

These are the mostly aquatic newts at feeding time.

These are the land-based newts about 10 minutes after being fed in the water ....

My pics of the whitish newt didnt come out well. Will try to get some more of him if I can find him at night in the new tank !!

 

[kristy]

I would say leave them be. I think that they should always have access to land and water. Mine stay out of the water most of the time too. They have been doing this for a long time and they are fine. Mine eagerly chow earthworm bites while on land. When they first began spending so much time on land I got worried about them not eating so I fed them some waxworms. Waxworms are high in fat so I don't think they should be fed these too often.

(Message edited by Ssativa on May 16, 2005)

 

[ashley]

I keep my newts in a tank with rock on the bottom and a big deep dish of water , leaves around the tank and a cave .... during the day they mostly stay in the cave and at night or when my room is dark they come out and get in the water .... is that bad , should I have them in a tank of water instead of like that ?