Not Eating

[sooperscooper]

I currently own three 3 month old California Newts who are not eating. My tank is half land, half water with no adjustments to the heat or humidity. It is always moist on the land. I've had them for about 1 and a half months and as far as I can tell they have not eaten once. Is there something I'm doing wrong? If so please tell me. Pictures are not available.

 

[Jennewt]

When you say 3 months old... do you mean they are young juveniles from a breeder, or do you mean that someone got them from a pet shop 3 months ago? What have you tried feeding them?

There are some questions related to this in the FAQ
http://www.caudata.org/cc/faq/FAQcar.shtml

 

[sooperscooper]

I got them from a breeder; Josh's Frogs, at a local show. I tried feeding them frozen blood worms. I heard chopped up earth worms work well so I went out and caught some. Will those work? P.s. they stay on land all the time.

 

[sooperscooper]

Cali. Newts and Earthworms

Hello there. I own 3 California Newts which are around 2 inches long. They, as far as I can tell, have not eaten since I got them about a month ago. Will chopped earthworms work. I hear a lot of newts like them. Help!!

 

[Jennewt]

Re: Cali. Newts and Earthworms

I merged your two threads, as it helps to have some continuity. Since they are staying on land, your options are somewhat limited. The following should work.

• Chopped pieces of earthworm fed by a toothpick or tweezers. May take several attempts until they recognize this as food and try it. You can also try this feeding method with the thawed bloodworms, but nothing is more tempting than earthworms.
• Live fruit flies or pinhead crickets. It will be difficult to use these in a semi-aquatic setup, as they will all end up in the water. So this may require moving the newts to a simple terrestrial setup for a while.
• Live whiteworms. But it will take you some time to obtain them and get a culture ready to start harvesting.
• Live blackworms. Some pet shops sell these (may take some searching). Can be fed from a shallow dish (wading depth for the newts).
• Small waxworms or any other live grubs or slugs. Could be challenging to find, but if you can find them the right size, these are almost guaranteed to work.

I would also suggest contacting Josh's Frogs and asking them what they were feeding them. This may or may not be a helpful answer; some retailers don't really do a great job getting animals to eat, they just sell them off as quickly as possible.

 

[Dcerdeiras]

I had the same problem with my california newt a few months go, though he is over 5 years old. I kept him in a small tank with not decorations, rocks, plants, moss, etc. just clean, cold water and waited 2-3 days before I fed him again and made sure he was producing feces (I changed the water 100% every time). After a few days in the cold water, I fed him and he was fine. Hope this helps.