NEW fire belly

[sarahdu]

I bought a Japanese Fire Bellied newt about 2 days ago. I put in gravel, a rock and a fake rock thing for him to climb and hide under. My tank is filled with about 5 in. of water and its in a LARGE plastic container you see sold in pet stores. This is all I can afford! I tried feeding him pellets but I now know that he doesn't like them since he hasnt eaten them. I also bought those dead crickets in a container from Petsmart, will he eat these? I am wondering if he can live in the habitat that I have created for him. He hasn't eaten anything and seems to stay on the one side on the fake plant I bought. He moves every once in a while to lay on a dry area. I havnt seen him swimming or even stay in the water for very long. I am afraid he wont survive....anything I should do?

 

[erik]

As far as not eating, I wouldn't worry about it just yet. It's only been 2 days. It may have been fed the day that you bought it so it's just not hungry yet. It could also be due to the stress of moving. My t. granulosa didn't eat almost a month. Contact the pet store and see what they were feeding the newts and try feeding it the same thing.

I don't know about the habitat, as I have a t. granulosa and I'm sure the requirements are different for the 2 species.

http://www.caudata.org/caudatecentral/caresheets/C_pyrrhogaster.html

According to that link, the Japanese firebelly is primarily aquatic, but as with all these animals, sometimes they go against what we would consider the "norm." If he doesn't seem to like water, try giving more land area.

Overall, I would suggest just giving it a couple more days to see what happens. Watch your water temperature (keep it below 72F), and vary your foods until you find something it likes.

I'm sure someone around here has much more information than I do, and might even correct me on some of this, but that is the best advice I can give for now.

 

[element]

my firebellies are so friendly its amazing. They eat off a twist tie, dried and frozen bloodworms are what they love best, and every once in a while some small crickets to change up their meal plan. Mine always stayed on rocks and seemed dry until i put a long vine of fake plants in there, some under and some over the water. They seem to love it, and now almost all are totally aquatic.