P. labiatus sick maybe?

[aaustin15]

I read in the information about paddle tail newts on this site that coming out of the water is a sign of illness?

i just got her today. this is the first time she went on the floating dock, and she only was on there for less than a minute but I'm worried. what should i be looking out for? she's been very active today.

thank you!

 

[jane1187]

If a paddletail newt comes onto land for long periods then yes you do have a problem, and it is usually water quality. This is true of many of the more aquatic species of newt (such as C/H orientalis, P. chinensis, etc)

However, since you only got the animal today it is likely the stress of moving to a new tank that led it to stay on the floating dock. Do not worry about this as it can take a while for animals to settle in, especially if they were in poor conditions previously or are wild caught specimens from a pet shop. Some animals can take weeks to fully settle into a new home. Try not to disturb them too much during the first couple of weeks.

Give it a week to settle in and if it is still emerging on to land for long periods of time then you need to check that your water parameters are OK. Someone can help you with that later.

Since you said its been very active I would not worry at all about illness. Lethargy is a sign of illness and if there are no other symptoms then I would not worry.

In future look out for changes in the skin (excess mucus, fluffy white stuff, cuts/sores), coming out onto land for long periods, not eating, and lethargy, which may signal illness. Other than that sounds like your newt is OK for now. Good luck.

 

[aaustin15]

thank you so much!