New Fire Belly Newt owner

[ctnjoker]

Hey everyone! This is my first post here! This site is really great, full of helpful tips. Anyways, I thought I'd share some information about my new pet as well as ask a few questions.

Now, I'm no new-comer to having "reptiles" as pets. My girlfriend and I currently own 8 Crested Geckos, (my first one died a few months ago) 2 Leopard Geckos, and 2 Pygmy Leaf Chameleons. These are all at her house.

At my house, I personally own 4 Fire-Belly Toads and my new Newt! My father owns 4 turtles (2 red-eared sliders, 1 musk, 1 softshell), is raising his own tadpoles/green tree frogs, has a gray tree frog, and also is raising 4 more baby red eared sliders and 2 baby painted turtles.

Now that we've got THAT out of the way, I bought a Fire Belly Newt recently (yesterday). I have heard about them before, but basically all I knew about them is that they are semi-aquatic, mildly poisionous, and cannot live with the Toads.

My toads are in a 10 gallon glass aquarium that is all decked out, however I'm looking to sell them so that I can put my newt in there. Currently, the newt is in a little 3-4 gallon "Kritter Keeper."

I love the little guy, it's adorable, it's sleek, ect. However, my room temperature gets about 82F degrees during the summer. This is a problem. Until last night, I didn't realize how MUCH of a problem. I thought the newts like 75-80F temperatures, but I guess they like really cool temps, like 55-70F. I've heard that 75F is pushing it for them.

Scared, I drop ice cubes into the water portion, and currently to remedy the problem, I'm sticking several ice cubes into a fabric "drawstring" type pouch which I hang from the lid, and it cools the air significantly in there. Right now, it's reading about 72F. This is still higher than I was hoping for. Even so, it works for now.

Anyways, the few questions I had were - the little guy seems small, and has only been in the water a handful of times - does this mean that he doesn't like the water yet? I heard they are terrestrial until adulthood. Should I just make a terrarium instead?

And, does anyone have any pictures of these guys in their natural habitat? As a goal, I try to recreate the habitats for my animals as closely as possible. All I've heard about where they live is that they like ponds that have sand/mud bottoms, no rocks, and they like moss. No running water or current. Is this true?

Thanks everyone! I'll get pictures up soon!

 

[fire_newt]

Since you say that he seems small he's probably still a juvi. I would not make a terrestrial habitat for him as they will out grow their land stage and become purely aquatic sometime betwwen 1 and 3 years (dependent on the newts habitat and diet). At this point, if your determined to make a nice land area for him, you could do a 50/50 split (half land half water).

Pictures:
ood luck finding any. They are few and far between. I've seen posts from several posts from people looking for images of FBN natural habitats but it seems that their a rare comodity.

sand vs rocks:
I'v heard many good things about sand, but not to go over 1 inch. Gravel is the most commonly used, but gravel tends to trap unused food and poo and will make a tanks water spoil sooner. Another option, if you are looking for cleaning ease is a bare bottom, with a few scattered "shiney things". This is the best option for the heath of your newt as their "icky things" can been seen and cleaned before they begin to spoil the water. With this option you can always place an image of ground covering under the tank (so that the picture faces up). This way it looks like you have a nice bottom with the ease of a bare bottom.

Filters/running water:
it is a good idea to filter the water, but you want to keep the flow at a minimum. This is pretty easily done by placing an object ( I like to use the plastic green poofy plants you can get at the pet store) under the water off shoot. Just something to break the flow up a little. No filter is also an option, but water replacements will have to be more often.

 

[ctnjoker]

Well I sold my firebelly toads, cleaned out the 10 gallon, and put the newt in there! He seems to love it. As I type, he's cuddled in a ball under a leaf sleeping. I've got about 4 liters of water in it, and there's a filter going. There's also a fan running, keeping the air temp at around 70F. Very happy, pictures tomorrow.

 

[evut]

If the filter has a motor then it would be better not to use it, especially in such a small volume. These filters produce heat and too much current.
If the newt is still terrestrial (which is either because it's a juvenile or because of stress), you could try to encourage it to go in the water with shallow water with plenty of spots to emerge and a lot of plants, on which it can feel safe. Something like hornwort or elodea is ideal. It also helps if the land area doesn't allow the animal to be completely dry, e.g. because it's covered in moss that soaks up moisture from the water body.

When the newt moves into the water, you'll want just a little island for it and as much water as possible. Avoid gravel because it can cause impactions. Sand or bare bottom is best. You can use an air driven sponge filter or just have lots of aquatic plants. There are many threads about these things so use the search function. There are also many useful articles here: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/articles.shtml

When you post the photos, you should also say how big the animal is.

 

[ctnjoker]

I am pretty confident it is a juvie.

The filter IS motor powered, however I have the current blocked, and it is tucked away in the corner of the cage, mostly covered by rocks.

The land part has several plants, and a portion of the soil is moss, covered by an elevated piece of bark to provide some shade.

The water portion has a live plant as well, giving some cover.

The little guy ventured in the water briefly before snuggling up under one of the leaves, so I know he can swim and can get out of the water securely.

 

[Azhael]

Even if it looks small, it´s most likely already an adult. Anything bigger than 5,5-6 cm long may look tinny but is an adult. This is a small species.

The filter is entirely redundant if you substitute it with lots of plants like Eva suggested. These newts like their water to be completely still, and currents can cause stress. The recommended minimum volume of water for even a single of these newts is 10 gallons. So if it is in a 10 gallon tank, but you are not using all the volume for water, it´s too little water. With less than 10 gallons, you don´t have much stability and maintaining water quality is very difficult. Cycling the tank will be imperative. Your newt NEEDS excellent conditions in order to recover from the hell it´s been through. It won´t become aquatic again unless water quality is excellent.

 

[fire_newt]

if your concerned about water quality take a small vile of it to your local petsmart and they will do a free water test, it only takes a few minutes.

Can't wait to see the little guy and his new tank!

 

[ctnjoker]

Since I plan to go to Petsmart anyways today, I'll do the water test thing.

These pictures were taken with my cellphone when he was in the small "holding tank." I'll take better/newer ones at some point today.

 

[ctnjoker]

Some better pictures with my camera.

The tank setup as of now. Pretty terrestrial, I know. I'm in the process of changing it. The filter is under the larger rock in the back right corner. The stream is pointing straight up, hitting the underside of the rock, thus blocking the current.

Another view of the tank, it gets slightly hot so there's lots of shade for it to hide under.

There it is just sittin' tight on the shoreline.

And here it is after swimming a little bit, resting atop one of the aquatic plants.

 

[Azhael]

It is indeed an adult.
While the tank looks really nice, it just won´t work for this species. My advice is to take it all out, fill the tank with water, add LOTS of plants (really, lots), put a small piece of floating cork bark and monitor the water chemistry until it is cycled. No filter, no extensive land areas, just water, plants, a couple of hides and the floating cork, that´s all you need.
Don´t use gravel as a substrate, it´s terrible, not only it traps vast amounts of debris and uneaten food, but it´s also a hazard as it can be accidentally ingested. Either use fine sand, or no substrate at all.

 

[ctnjoker]

Is there any way to tell the age? Thanks for the tips!

As I said before, I bought it on a half-ased whim, without knowing fully about the species. I'm in the process of gathering things to make the tank better.

I plan to use sand for the bottom as well as larger rocks and stuff to create "dry spots."

As an adult, do they really not need ANY type of land at all? Just kind of something to grab onto?

 

[Azhael]

It´s not possible to tell the age. It could be 3 years old...it could be 15...
Yeah, most healthy, well housed Hypselotriton orientalis won´t need any land at all, ever (or almost). At most, the piece of cork bark i mentioned earlier is all they´ll ever need to occasionally haul onto and rest a bit or to get out of the water if something goes wrong with water chemistry or temperature.
Focus on water quality and forget about dry areas or land. What matters is the water being in excellent condition. Make sure to read the articles in Caudata Culture (check my signature) addressing this species, cycling a tank and other water quality issues, etc.

 

[ctnjoker]

Grrr. It's just that aquatic setups seem so bare and unnatural.

So basically I should think of it (in the landscaping terms) as an aquatic turtle setup?

Trip to the pet store is approaching...

 

[ctnjoker]

Bought some frozen bloodworms and some aquatic plants, pictures of the re-vamped enclosure will be up tonight!

 

[ctnjoker]

I know, I promised pictures. I got busy. But I still have a few questions. The tank I have now (I was told) is a 5 gallon long terrarium. It's a little more than half way full of water, lots of platns, and I have a piece of bark in the corner from the guy to get out of the water.

However, for that past couple days, he's been strictly on the bark. Never seen him in the water. Is this normal?

I was a little concerned about him eating, so I used tweezers to hand feed him bloodworms, and he ate 3. Which brings me to my next question, about how many bloodworms do the little things eat?

 

[Jennewt]

It's fairly normal for these newts to go through terrestrial phases. If less land area were provided, he'd be more likely to be aquatic, if that matters to you. The only real problem with them going terrestrial is that they're hard to feed.

3 bloodworms seems like a fairly small meal. I'd suggest feeding him daily. If he only eats that amount, it's certainly enough to sustain him. Also try tiny bits of chopped nightcrawler if you can.

 

[ctnjoker]

Well, he only ate one bloodworm today. I re-did his enclosure, and there's a few bloodworms sitting in a dish at the bottom of the water, so maybe he'll be more inclined to eat them himself. Anyways, here's some pics of him enjoying his new house.

Upon further research, it seems that I really have to pack the water with aquatic plants...

The air temperature flucuates between 70-75F, but the water temperature stays at a solid 67.5F. Is this too cold or just right?

He spends 99% of his time under the bark in the back. I'm tempted to take it away to make him be aquatic.

 

[Traxolotl]

Really cool looking where did u get ur firebelly at?

 

[ctnjoker]

A pet shop about 45min from my house.

 

[Jennewt]

I assume you took the tank lid off for the photo? This type of tank has a sliding screen lid, right? How do you seal the tank securely with the cord/cable that comes in at the right-rear corner? I'd hate to hear that your newt did a Houdini.
Caudata Culture Articles - Preventing Escape