My fire belly newts are not eating!

I

iamtheguy

New member
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
26
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
canada
Country
Canada
So i got them a few days ago and recently attempted to feed them. Today I found a nice small worm and cut the worm up into small peices so the newts could eat them. I put the worm in front of them and they aren't eating the worm (the tiny peice I cut off) What should I do now? They are young and always stay on land.
 
Are you just assuming they are young because they are small?
They can be mature at 5cm, so small doesn´t necessarily mean young.
If you bought them from a shop, then they are almost certainly adults.
If they are terrestrial is because they are severely stressed, so give them some time to recover and offer them optimal conditions.
 
Also what are some ways I could go about feeding them pellets and freeze dried bloodworms. Please just give advise and not say that they are junk, I cant feed them anything else :p
 
o_O And how does that make it acceptable?
Please, don´t tell me i shouldn´t be feeding tofu to my lion, because it´s all i have...
Well, don´t have a lion, then...
 
Maybe ask the pet shop what they were feeding them. My blue tails only eat a lot when in breeding condition.
 
Newts can go without feeding for weeks, unless they are already thin and sick. I think the most important thing for you now is to get them into water. You have to make sure the conditions are optimal - tank set up and water quality are very important if you want your newts to be aquatic like they should be. Read this caresheet and relevant articles here (housing, water quality etc.- you really need to understand these thigs to be able to look after your newts well).

Your newts need cool water, a small land area and will appreciate lots of live plants. They don't like moving water so a small sponge filter or no filter at all are best options. A secure (preferably breathable) lid is a must.

You will find that feeding them is a lot easier once they are in water. While on land, you need to offer something that moves, earthworms being ideal. In water, they are more likely to accept pellets or defrosted food, even though you should still feed some worms as well.

A lot of people experience similar problems with newly purchased firebellies - this what searching the Help section of the forum with the keyword "firebelly" throws out. You should spend some time reading through these threads as many deal with the same issues you are having.
 
I agree with what's already been posted. My firebellies when I first got them did not move for 6 days off the land area I had given them and did not eat for 2 weeks. As Eva has said once they were in the water they started eating once they found the variety of food I was offering. almost 100% of pet shop fire bellies are wild caught so you have to be patient and understand that they have flown lord knows how many miles to get to you, and in all sorts of boxes and crates and other poor conditions.

Let them settle in in a quiet and darker room and they'll soon come round as they are bold little critters.

As for feeding I'd wait until they are in the water. If they aren't in the water soon then try chopped earthworms, like Eva said so that they are alive and moving.

Keep us updated though!
 
Thanks for your help guys, that was very informative and now i guess I should be monitoring the water temperature and wait for them to go in the water, and then make my next feeding attempt!
 
Rather than just temperature, you should make sure all parametres are adequate...ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH...
Once they are fully aquatic they are tolerant to a wide range of parametres, but when they are terrestrial, they will only enter the water if everything is optimal..they get VERY picky....
 
Last edited:
I dont think this is a very good thing but just now I walked into my room and found my fire belly newt a few inches deep in the water amd lieing on his belly, I really do not think that is a very good sign. He can swim but he sorta swiggles his body, i dunno if thats naturel or not but what do I do, is she gonna die or what? Thx
 
NM I looked at her again and she was dead :( It cant be the water quality though, I tested it out with these aquarium sticks. I think it was stress and all that stuff. I dunno whats gonna happen to the other one i have :(
 
Firstly, don't lose heart. I'm sure someone could here could give you a reason for the death but it could just be stress. These things sometimes happen. As long as you're testing the water parameters and everythings OK (by the way would you be able to post the results on here?).

Focus on the one left now :eek:

If you still want to keep newts after, and if the other one survives, try and get captive bred or long term captive rather than from a pet shop if you can. They do much better at adapting to new environments and are generally healthy and happy when you get them.
 
Yea, i guess thats what I should do, And I'll give you guys the ph conditions sometime tomorrow
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    There are no messages in the chat. Be the first one to say Hi!
    Back
    Top