Not sure if this should worry me.

[xtinana]

Hello,
I have three C. orientalis in a half-filled 30g tank. They have been doing well for quite some time now. I wanted to give them a natural seasonal setup, so I let their water get down to about 8C this past winter in my basement. It is at 10C now, and they are getting more active again...during the winter they were very slow and only ate about two or three times per week! However, one of them is not so active. It hides in an underwater cave for much of the day, and I do not see it out at any time unless I move the cave. I am not sure if it is eating. It looks slightly thinner than usual, though. So I was wondering, is there anything I can do to help it come out more often? I am not sure if it is the two tankmates...the newt does not seem to have any injuries or medical problems. I thought of separation, or trying to slowly increase the water temperature. This could also be a normal thing and I might not have to worry...but I am not sure since the other two newts are always out in the open, active and plump. Please let me know what you think.

 

[Kaysie]

10C (50F) is still pretty cool for salamanders. I'm not surprised it's still not active. Try warming up the tank a little more and see if that helps.

 

[Azhael]

You may also want to try new foods. Offer earthworms or waxworms, those should help the newt recover some of its reserves.
As Kaysie says, though, at 10ºC is hardly surprising that they aren´t very active. Try to upload a picture if at all possible, maybe we´ll be able to tell if there is reason to worry.

 

[xtinana]

Thank you! I will try raising the temperature slowly and changing their food options. Unfortunately, I have to borrow someone else's camera to get a picture and it may be a while before I can do that...a while being at least a week. Hopefully the options given will work though!

 

[xtinana]

I have not had a chance to get them different foods yet, unfortunately, though I have heard about waxworms in my area. No matter what I do they are terrified of earthworms! When I did get the temperature up a tiny amount it seemed like the newt moved to different locations and was out in the open more often. It could just be that. Also, do some of them prefer hiding during the day possibly?

 

[evut]

Earthworms can be tricky - there are many species and some newts won't eat certain kinds because they smell and taste foul. They might also move too much and scare the newts. It might be good to get some young nightcrawlers and serve them chopped.

I noticed that my newts have different tastes when it comes to earthworms - my Triturus marmoratus will happily eat any worms, even Eisenia species, Cynops pyrrhogaster are more picky, and one of them refuses earthworms most of the time.

 

[xtinana]

I will keep trying, probably just have to chop them up a bit more than I have been. I'm a bit...squeamish when it comes to that part. :blush: