My peninsula newt larvae are supposed to skip the red eft stage... but how to care for them right after they morph?

[sharrakor]

I have 15 N. v. piaropicola larvae that are just starting to lose their gills and hang around outside of the water. What can I feed them now? So far, they have only eaten brine shrimp, though I do put crushed pellets into their tank every day.

My concern is that the newts that start hanging around on land don't seem to be going back down into the water to eat their usual brine shrimp... what can I do about this? The land areas are quite small, since this species almost always skips the red eft stage (I lack the means to take care of red efts, so this is convenient).

I do put some crushed pellets on the small land area, but they don't seem to notice them. So far, the ones that have morphed have gotten noticably skinnier than their less mature siblings.

Thanks in advance! I couldn't have gotten this far without you guys

 

[Brian M]

Your best bet is live food for the animals that have morphed and are now using the land area. In my experience newts and salamanders usually ignore pellets out of water and are attracted more by prey that moves. For small newly morphed Notophthalmus perstriatus I would try chopping small earth worms as their flailing around should attract the young newts. Also gut loaded pin-head crickets and fruit flies would work fine. If you don't have those available at a local pet store you could try collecting springtails and other small prey from leaf litter in any woods near by your house. Just be sure with what you collect outside that there isn't any chance of pesticides being used in the imiediate area. Good luck.