How long do firebellies stay terrestrial?

[klyk]

I acquired a couple of chinese firebellied newts 2-3 weeks ago and they seem to HATE going in the water. I was told that often juvenile firebellies go through a terrestrial phase, and I was just wondering if anyone knows how long this phase lasts? They have easy access to shallow and deep water, water parameters are good, lots of hiding spots, but they still just hide on land. I am making an aquatic tank for them, but I don't want to put them in yet as it won't have a lot of land space for them. Can anyone offer advice?

 

[nate]

It's common for newly purchased adult C. orientalis to refuse to enter the water. This can be due to stress and chemical cues from their old water (the chemical cues put off by sick/dead newts or other species of amphibians), dirty water, high temperatures, or poor water chemistry. If you're sure there's nothing wrong with your water (you've done all the neccessary tests, the temps are good, other animals you keep do fine in it already, etc.) then I would force them aquatic. To do this, put them in a situation where they cannot completely leave the water and only feed them in the water portion. This will encourage them to get in the water and once they find food there, they'll probably not want to leave again. It's easier to get them to feed this way too.

Good luck.

 

[tara]

They may actually be jeuvies if you got them from a pet store since sometimes (more often than I would like) I see CFB newts that are smaller than my 1 year old jeuvies being sold in the pet stores - so I assume they too are jeuvies. My one year olds (about 1 yr, 2 months since metamorphosis) are still terrestrial and loving it; they do not even venture to the wetter parts of their tank. Someone who has some newts from the same batch keeps their newts in a more aquatic environment with rocks protruding out of approximately 2 inches of water and their newts will wade into the water on occasion.

I can tell you that they are terrestrial for at least 1 year if given the choice and if I had to guess they are probably mature and entering the water on their own by the second or third year.
I personally enjoy letting efts be efts, so if my newts want to be terrestrial i am not going to force them into the water. I even have an adult that refuses to enter the water (3 aquatic, one terrestrial) and has been this way for about 1 1/2 years. She was aquatic when we acquired her but at some point she just gave up on water. I enjoy her landiness...it makes her unique.

You newts may actually require changing the tank from what you want in lieu of what your newts want if they are in fact jeuvies. If you give them a humid environment with enough plants and places to hide in an emergency, they they seem to spend less time hiding and more time adventuring. Mine are often out in the open just wandering around the tank and climbing up the plants. This way you still get to enjoy your newts without them having to be aquatic. Plus terrestrial tanks with plants can be very pretty. Before you know it they will be all grown up and you will not ever get this time back...so enjoy them while they are young because to me the eft stage is the best stage.
Tara

 

[klyk]

ARGH! We determined they are adults, I have tried Nate's idea of forcing them aquatic, but they just try to get out of the water as much as possible. I have a fake lily pad floating in there, and some of the fake plants come up a bit out of the water and they are constantly trying to get out of the water as much as possible. Today I found one climbing up the walls, which they didn't do before. They are lots of hidey places under the water. So far I have had them in:
(1) a half and half terrerium with live plants, soil and sphagnum (they didn't eat, didn't go in the water, just hid under the sphagnum all day.)
(2) a sloped gravel terrerium (again, they hid all day, but ate earthworms for me, and bloodworms out of a dish... no swimming though, and I haven't found out how to filter the water, it's too shallow)
(3) an all aquatic habitat, (still eating, but they try to get out of the water as much as possible and look a little stressed b/c there are no hidey places out of the water... the whole underwater is filled with pots and plants for hiding)

Any more suggestions?

Thanks

Klyk

 

[nate]

Hi Klyk, It seems they have an aversion to your water for whatever reason. A few questions about their setup: How big is the tank? What filters are you using? Do you have any concrete, limestone, or marine decorations in the tank? Have you had the water tested at an aquarium shop?

Forcing them aquatic only works if they do not have a way to get out of the water completely. If they can get on that lilly pad and "dry off", it's not working. It can take a couple weeks before they settle down completely, but it seems from your descriptions that something else is going on here too. I've never had a firebelly that wouldn't happily stay aquatic after a couple weeks of eating in water.

 

[rob]

One of mine goes through phases. I used to feed it on land, but I raised the water level so even at the highest point it was partially submerged. I then stopped feeding it on land and only fed the same food as I did the rest. After a week without food it took to the water and was eating with gusto. I let the water level drop back to the usual depth over the course of the next month (some of the other ones would come out every few weeks to relax and then re-eneter the water, so I wanted them to have it back) and the little bugger went back onto land. I refused to feed him on land, and two weeks later, back into the water. Since then he'll spend a few days in the water followed by about 2 weeks on land. I've started to offer him food on the land again for fear he may starve himself, but quite the queer little fellow.

Oh, and my first CFBN larva morphed! It's quite tiny..more so then I expected! I have snails and ghost shrimp in the tank, and I did nothing special to raise the eggs they laid, and I have four larva that are approaching morphing (one of them has already). They seem quite hardy.

Just thought I'd share my experiences.

 

[klyk]

Thanks for the advice guys... I haven't had them in the tank too long so i'll keep waiting and see how it goes. Any recommendations on how to feed them in the water? They aren't interested in submerged bloodworms (or anything that falls to the bottom of the tank) so i've been holding earthworms pieces just out of their reach so they'll have to at least put their front ends in the water to get them.
As for the tank, I haven't gotten the water tested but I have at nitrogen test and it was non-existent. I will have to take the water in to get tested if i can find a place. I do know that we have fairly hard water here, but I'm not sure I can do anything about that. The tank is 10 gallon, about half filled with a sponge filter connected to an airhose. I do have a rock that seems to have a bit on concrete on it in the tank, so I will take that out, but otherwise it's just aquarium gravel, terra cotta pots and plastic plants.

Oh, and I hope I don't have a couple of those queer newts like Rob has, I'm gonna get sick of chopping off little earthworm tails for meals

 

[rob]

See if you can get fruit flies, white worms, or other small land food items that are alive. Should help you out a fair bit.

PS I heard you're Canadian. Me too..email me if you'd like to talk about newts and salamanders.

(Message edited by rob on July 30, 2003)