My newt doesn't want to eat.....

J

jessy

Guest
Hello!

I've had my fire bellied newt about a month now and the only time I've seen it eat was one day when it shed it's skin and swallowed it whole... The guy at the store was feeding them flakes, but I heard that was bad so not knowing any better I got some pellets.. when it wouldn't even look at that I tried some blood worms and they didn't get a reaction either. I've tried flakes as well thinking they might just be familiar and eating something is better than nothing, but I don't think those are disappearing either. I really REALLY don't want to cut up worms or bugs or anything living... is there anything I can do to maybe coax it to eat? thanks!
 
I feed mine live blackworms (some miscall them bloodworms at the petstore). The petworld by me carries them. Live food is most always accepted. You are going to have to cut up some small earthworms if the petstore doesnt have any blackworms. blackworms are very small and all I do is pick some up with a tweezers and drop a clump of them infront of my newts face and they go to town. If you dont want your newt to die, you will have to feed it live food. Go outside somewhere were you dont think pestisides could have been sprayed, I use my garden. Dig up the ground and look for the smallest worms you can find. Cut them in half or 4ths and feed them to your newt. You might have to hold it on the end of the tweezers for your newt to see it moving. Then he will take it from the tweezers, otherwise just drop it infront of his face. You will just have to get used to bugs if you keep newts or lizards. I got used to them. Once you do it long enough, it wont bother you anymore.

Hope that helps.
wink.gif
 
my newt wont eat either... ive bought it everything... all it ate were two live crickets one day, im gonna wait a few days and i guess the black worms will be my last resort...
 
newts only eat every 2-3 days. So wait a 2 days or so between feeding.
 
my newt is eating! Unfortunatly he seems to be a picky eater and won't touch anything other than fish flakes.... anyone know of any flakes that might be better for them? more nutritious flakes? anything?
 
Choose a fish food that is mostly meat (fish, shrimp, blood, etc). Don't use goldfish food, as they are mostly vegetarian. But really, no fish food is going to be as good as bloodworms or blackworms. Most fish stores have frozen fish food, and frozen bloodworms are MUCH better for the newt. Another option is dried gammarus, which they sell for turtles, but again, dried food is not as good as frozen/live.
 
Jessy,
If you look carefully in your lawn soil (unfertilized), you may find some VERY small baby worms, usually about an inch in length and 1mm thick, and I'll bet your newt would really appreciate that for a nutritious treat. That way you wouldn't have to cut anything up, either.
 
Jessy did you even try anything I said. I bet if you did your newt would eat. I suggested just about everything you could do. So get to it. Fish food is not a good source of food.
 
Success! about 3 days ago my newt crawled out of the water looking very skinny and kinda weak, so I crossed my fingers and tried the blood worms again. He has suddenly turned into a pig! he's eating anything I put in front of him and seems to get annoyed if I cut him off.. don't want to give him too much all at once... will he over eat if I give keep feeding him? I mean how fish will just eat untill the burst? or will he stop when he's not hungry? thanks so much for all your suggestions, I'm not sure what part worked, but something sure did!
 
Yay, glad to hear it's eating! Newts will not overeat. However, when an animal is recovering from starvation, too much food all at once can kill it. Limit the amount of each feeding, but feed it 1-2 times every day until it gets back to a decent weight.
 
lol that's exactly what I've ben doing and he seems a lot more active... looked like he was chasing his tail last night... thanks a lot guys!!
happy.gif
 
ahh... im glad to hear your newt's eating now but mine still wont eat.... argh....
 
can i feed my newt out of the water with worms, i tried these tiny blood worms for fish but it was a no go, he is a fbn and hates water...
 
Chopped earth worms are good food for newts. Is the water deep enough? Some newts wont enter water if it's too shallow.
 
Max, did you try offering the food on tweezers? Also, it would be easier to feed if you can induce it to enter the water. See FAQ at:
www.caudata.org/cc
 
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