Is it ok for an eastern newt to stay on land?

[stefanie]

i have 2 eastern newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) in a 10 gal tank. the water quality (pH, ammonia) is optimal, temp stays between 60 and 68, they appear to be eating enough (i dont see them eat but they're getting fatter), the filter doesnt make a current, no signs of fighting between the two, plenty of places to hide both in and out of the water, and the tank seems to have a great setup as far as i can tell. however, one of the newts is rarely in the water. usually, he stays completely out of the water, but sometimes he'll sit half in the water on a lilypad. he seems healthy, but his skin always looks dry, so i've been misting him daily.

i've had these two newts for about 2 months, but i've kept easterns before and never had one that prefers land. this one used to stay in the water all the time, occasionally sitting on top of a frozen water bottle at night. but about 2 weeks ago, he decided to stop swimming and hasnt really left his log since. i was considering removing him to anothe tank so he could be alone, but there are plenty of hiding places and the other newt doesnt appear to bother him at all, so i'm not sure if that would make a difference.

is it ok for an eastern newt to stay on the land? i mean, assuming he continues eating and looks healthy, should i be concerned?

 

[shawn]

its sometimes normal some of mine prefer land and land plants over water but they should always go in at least once a day so they dont completely dry out. do you have any other animals in the tank?
Wolfie

 

[stefanie]

nope, just the other eastern. actually, i had 2 bronze corydora catfish and a small apple snail in the tank for about a week (their tank cracked one night and i had nowhere to put them), and he stayed in the water with them. about 2-3 weeks after i removed them, he started avoiding the water.

he went about 3 days without going in the water at all (at least, not that i could tell), and after that i started spraying him at least once a day. i was thinking about just putting him in the water instead, but misting seems less stressful.

if i were to leave him alone, would he go into the water when he needs to hydrate himself? he looked really dry a couple of times and he only seems to go into the water to eat every few days.

 

[shawn]

hrmm well one thing is you never put him directly into the water (like under the water) because it can actually drown him or give him air bubbles, what i would do is if you have a land area transfer him there especially if it has very low water like just enough moisture to keep him moist also do you know about how long ago he morphed from its land form? and do you have any pictures of him by chance?
Wolfie

 

[stefanie]

i have no idea when he morphed, as i got him from a pet shop that had no idea that they even morphed at all. no pics of him either, but if he starts looking sick, i'll manage to post some on here. right now, he looks fine, just a bit dry on top.

i'll definitely not put him right into the water if it could hurt him. plus, i think handling them causes unnecessary stress, so i touch them as little as possible.

he spends all day on a log- the kind that are cut into half-circles. i have it glued to the tank bottom on its side, so it looks like a tree stump, and it has silk flowers behind it. the log stays pretty moist b/c the water level is only 1 inch below the top of the log, but his back and the top of his tail still seem really dry sometimes. i dont really ever try to touch him tho, so i guess he could be less dry than he looks. he tends to sit on the parts of the log/plants that are wet from capillary action, so maybe that it enough moisture for him.

there are plenty of plants he can climb on, as well as the log and a silk lilypad. since the plants are half out of the water, he has options as to how wet he wants to be- either submerged, partially in the water, or completely out. there isnt any actual "land," but there are plenty of places he can climb on. i had a fake floating island in thee for a while, but they always use the plants and log instead, so i removed it. i was considering putting it back, but he stays much more moist on the log, and i dont really want to encourage him to dry out even more.

thanks wolfie

 

[chris]

He is an olive green color isn't he?

If he is more orange-red he could still be an eft and need a terrestrial setup.

 

[shawn]

dangnabbit chris you beat me to that lol thats what i was thinking but then again in observing my red spotteds i have a land area with a like iguana looking sculpture that my lil bro picked out and wanted it in there it has 2 live plants in it its kinda nice just bulky but my red spotteds love to hide out in areas like around the legs where they kinda squeeze into to sleep and they will stay there for 1-2 days before coming out and going back into the water. they have definately morphed a while ago tis weird definately but then again the answers arent widely known as there isnt as much collected data and information of most caudates esp the red spotted to tell if it prefers land or water of if in some instances it prefers a combo of both. i would just keep a eye on him and maybe wait a day or 2 seeing what he is doing he may go off the log at night when its quiet or while your sleeping if you have a camcorder set it up with a 4-6 hour tape and record their night time behavior

now that i finally got mine once i get my tripod tis what im gonna do so i can see how much more active they are at night etc.
Wolfie

 

[stefanie]

yea, he's definitlely a newt (olive green). efts are impossible to find in shops near me.

see, i'm mostly nocturnal (its 4 am here lol), and i havent seen him swimming at night, and no one else has seen him in the water during the day.

i think i'll stop misting him for a fay or two, and hopefully, he'll decide to go in the water on his own. i'm not too sure how long they can live without going in the water, but if he starts looking dehydrated, i can start misting again.

 

[shawn]

ive seen mine stay out of the water for upto 3 days at a time before dipping back in. but who knows im sure their very similar to humans in choosing likes and dislikes lol.
Wolfie