New young FBN, feeding question

[sparky]

Hello. I am new to the forums & new to newt ownership. I set up my 29 gallon tank as mostly aquatic with land for climbing. I have large gravel and a in-water filtration system. We have no other fish or anything in the tank, but plan to add otto's in a few weeks. My husband has kept newts before, but I am hew to this.

So we went on a wild hunt for fire bellied newts. We found 4 youngsters at a local pet store. We took 3 of them (the 4th was extremely thin, like a skeleton). My husband and I were pretty upset with how these little guys were kept at the pet store. They had dirt-like substrate, with a water bowl that was too shallow for swimming. We took them home, and as expected, they cant swim. We placed them on a ledge that is the same level as the water. After nudging, they all swam, at least for a second. This was last night. None of them seem to be interested in the pellets. They are used to being fed small crickets, but how do you feed crickets in aquatic environment? I think we are going to buy some frozen bloodworms today to try that.

It looks like (based on tails) we have 2 males & 1 female. The female shed last night and was much more active afterwords. One male is very lazy. We think he maybe full-bellied, we call him Tubby. And the other male was quite scared yesterday, but doing better today. He's happily hanging out on some floating plants.

These three youngsters are under 3 inches, maybe even under 2 inches. The Tubby one seems to be missing all but 1 toe on his hind leg. I hope this doesn't effect his swimming ability. Even with swimming (from one island to another) they stay at the surface of the water. I believe in time they will adapt to this aquatic environment. We are just concerned about food. I know it has only been 1 day since the habitat change, but I hope they eat something soon. The smaller male seems a little thin, but more active now.

Tubby was out of the water all night last night, but moved most of his body into the water today. His skin seemed really dry, so it made me happy seeing him in the water. I was so worried last night when none would swim. But, like I said, they all seem to be doing better in the water today.

So, should I go and try frozen bloodworms? Since the pellets do not interest them? Or keep trying the pellets?

Thanks
Gayle in Michigan, USA

 

[Azhael]

If you do a quick search you´ll find plenty of different threads answering all of your questions.
Anyway, as you witnessed with the emaciated newta t the shop, these animals arrive in a bad shape, after a terrible importation from China. The stress of the process leaves them with their inmune system virtually crashed. Some enter a terrestrial phase as a defense against bad water quality, and heat...so if your newts refuse to go into the water, don´t force them, just provide suitable terrestrial areas with hiding places and offer apropriate foods like earthworms, small slugs, isopods, crickets, waxworms...
If they are under 2 inches they may not yet be adults which means they´ll be fully terrestrial until they mature. They can drown so beware....a fully terrestrial tank is best for juveniles. At that size sex is sometimes impossible to guess too.

If they are adults they should be aquatic so if they are not, or frequently go to land, check that the temps are apropriate(best below 20ºC), and the water chemistry is ok.

Also, read the articles in Caudata Culture, they contain valuable information on captive care for your newts(including a specific caresheet) and important stuff like cycling a tank. For any other doubts or questions, we are here to help.

 

[sparky]

Thank you, azhael

Yes, I have read much of the information provided on this website, as well as many posts.

Thank you for the info about drowning, I had no idea. They tend to walk along floating plants and definitely seem to prefer land. We have quite a bit of terrestrial islands that are easy for them to climb on. We also have several land based caves and crevices for them. They have not found the big cave yet, but they have found many other small hiding spots.

Thank you,
Gayle

 

[vistajpdf]

When I got my pair 15 mos. ago, they did not enter the water for a very long time - many, many months. They returned to the water and haven't been seen on land since. They've also reproduced (was a surprise to me - bad info from the pet store) and knowing what I know now, I'd never support a pet store and their WC animals. However, I am glad these two fell into our hands and not someone else's as I'm not sure what would have happened to them.

Mine exclusively ate frozen and thawed bloodworms until the larvae appeared and I found this site. They now eat a variety of white and blackworms (both available on the For Sale/Trade part of this site and arrived in excellent condition) and the bloodworms. We have four larvae that I suspect will be morphing soon and they are almost 2 inches long. I'm paranoid about them drowning, so if yours are really tiny, beware that they must just be juveniles as Azhael said above and in a terrestrial phase.

Good luck,
Dana