Juvenile Newt Care...PLEASE HELP!!!!

[SamanthaE]

I have just purchased two newts and they are juveniles. I have been reading up on them for the past 48 hours. I am hand feeding thawed out frozen blood worms with tweezers. This is not going the best, but one of them ate a worm. My question is about the tank set up. I had it set up for aquatic adult newts. I read somewhere that juveniles can actually drowned. Therefore, I took all the water out besides about a half inch. I am keeping the tank moist with a spray bottle and they have plenty of things to climb on and hide under. Any other suggestions? Is this even the right set up? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[SamanthaE]

Feeding Juvenile Newt.. HELP

I just purchased two juvenile newts and they both have to be hand fed because they will not enter the water. I have been trying to feed them with tweezers and it’s not going as planned. I have had them for three days and only one of the two has eaten. He only ate one blood worm and didn’t want anything else to do with food. Is this normal? Also, I had to coax him into eating. How long does it take a newt to eat the food offered on tweezers? Do they normally eat it right away or do I need to move it around in its face for a while? Thanks!

 

[Ltdanicecream]

Re: Feeding Juvenile Newt.. HELP

Hello.

Sorry but did you say what kind of newt they were? Are you sure you don't have a terrestrial species, like a crocodile newt? Also, many newts go through a juveniele stage of life which they spend completely on land, called an eft. If you have a firebelly (black) or an eastern(green adults, red juvies) which are the two most popular in the pet trade, then it's probally a baby and needs land not water. They could also be stressed by water quality. Are there an fish in there? If so, separate immediately. How about temp.? Most newts need it a little under 70 degrees, so if you have any kind of a heatlamp it's gotta go. Also try earthworms. They're so good as far as calcium and protein go, and you can feed them to pesky newts that won't go into the water.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Jennewt]

Re: Feeding Juvenile Newt.. HELP

Here is a link to Samantha's previous thread, just for continuity
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...f47-newt-salamander-help/67799-baby-newt.html

I merged your two current posts into this thread, as there didn't seem much point in two threads. It helps the people answering if they can get the whole picture.

To me, it sounds like you are on the right track. Keep up the hand feeding. Yes, you often have to dangle or wiggle the food for a while until they take it. You'll need some patience at first, but after they learn where the food comes from they'll get quicker.

Try to use earthworms if possible. See
Caudata Culture Articles - How to Feed a Large Worm to a Small Newt

 

[SamanthaE]

Re: Feeding Juvenile Newt.. HELP

Thanks for the help! I guess I am on track. I took almost all the water out of my tank yesterday because they are fire belly newts so I am assuming they like the land versus the water (hints why they don't go near water). I will keep trying to feed them by hand. If they are hungry, I suppose they'll eat.