Paddle tail newt help

[newt_guy]

I have a paddle tail newt he is 8 years old and he is in a 42 gallon tank.What types of food can he eat and how much should he be fed each time and how often?When i clean the tank and put him back in he goes nuts and swims everywhere like mad and trys to jump out of the tank but he calms down in a few hours.Would it be safe to put other newts with him or a bad idea?Would it be possible to breed him with a different kind newt?

 

[hayden]

No Mixing Species. First rule of keeping newts.

I don't know why he 'goes nuts'.

 

[william]

feed him on earthworms or nightcrawlers about 3-4 times a week. what water do you use when you clean the tank? it is very very difficult to breed paddle tails, so it's best to keep them on their own.

(Message edited by will_j on March 16, 2006)

 

[newt_guy]

No worms they gross me out.I use tap water.

 

[s1ren]

Congrats on having him for so long - hope you have many more years together

What are you feeding him now?
Worms are the best food for him; but if you really can't handle them, he can eat frozen beefheart and bloodworms as well.

Do you age the tap water (in order to let the chemicals evaporate - 24-48 hours), or use some kind of dechlorinator in it? If not, that may be why he goes nuts.

 

[jennifer]

newt guy - when you clean the tank, do you change ALL of the water? If so, this is NOT the best way to maintain the tank, especially a tank that large. The newt is swimming frantically because of the shock/stress of the water. (I assume you use a product to get rid of the chlorine from the water?) If worms gross you out, I do not recommend keeping newts at all - the next best thing would be good quality carnivore pellets, if he'll accept them.

 

[newt_guy]

He was only feed newt and salamander bites.Where do i get blood worms and beefheart?I'am sure i used too feed cubed blood worms too a fighting fish i used to have but they were very small.There is no chemicals are nothing in the water.He seems too do that anytime u disturb the bottom or put him in a smaller tank to clean it.I can't really let that much water stand overnight.It is mosly earthworms that gross me out.I clean the whole tank 2 times a year.He is fine now since i gave it a really good cleaning he has been up all day and night long.

(Message edited by newt_guy on March 17, 2006)

 

[jennifer]

If he accepts the Newt bites, those are OK. Has he been eating that for 8 years? The main problem is that the uneaten ones disintegrate in the tank and are hard to clean up (which is why you are having problems with tiny wormy things in the tank).

When you say there are no chemicals... do you mean no chlorine, or do you mean you don't add any chemicals? If it's ordinary tap water, you need to add de-chlorine drops to it.

 

[newt_guy]

Theres no chlorine.We have never done anything.

 

[william]

there is <u>always</u> chlorine in tapwater. you cannot smell or taste it, but it can be deadly to all fish and amphibians

 

[newt_guy]

How do i get the chlorine out?I cannot let this much water sit anywhere, unless i put him in a smaller tank for the night.

 

[s1ren]

They make water dechlorinators that do the job, and they're not expensive at all - you can get them at any local fish store, or at big places like Petsmart and Petco, in the fish section. Look for one that removes chlorine and chloramines, and just follow the instructions on the bottle.

I use Reptisafe, myself, which is made for reptile and amphibian water bowls, and you can find that in the reptile section of the big stores.

 

[jennifer]

Any pet store will sell you a liquid product (not expensive) to get rid of the chlorine. You just add a few drops. Putting the newt into chlorinated water is cruel.

It is not entirely correct that there is always chlorine in tap water. Some people have their own well water, but that's pretty rare. If it's public water (not from your own well) then it has chlorine in it.

 

[pamela]

If you don't want to use chemicals then "air out" tap water in buckets for s couple to several days and use that water for chages. You can also buy drinking water and use that for patrial water changes. As mention, the dislike of "worms" is not condusive to keeping newts. But do try to feed bloodworms, very nutritious, and an easy food to give. Also, try live plants, they not only make your newt feel "at home" they aid greatly in water "purification", and help towards maintaining a balanced, healthy tank.

 

[joseph]

In some places they use chloramine which I believes does not dissipate as fast as chlorine. Best to use water conditioner to be on the safe side but outside in my ponds I haven't had fish die for chlorine poisoning unless I do 100% or more waterchange.

 

[david]

Interesting... I knew nothing about the effects that tap water may have on amphibians until recently, yet I've had my three newts for 13, 10, and 7 years respectively. I noticed that they are usually a little restless whenever they are placed into the new environment after their tanks have been cleaned, but no more so than after they are handled in general. Is the water in my region just less toxic than usual, have they somehow adapted and developed immunities to these conditions, or have I been killing them very, very slowly?

(Message edited by amphiuma on April 20, 2006)

 

[ian]

Chlorine wouldn't normally kill a newt but it will stress him.You should also try to make sure the water is the same temperature in the tank,when you put him back in,as the water in the container he was kept in whilst you cleaned him out or this will shock him.You can get beefheart from the butchers, just cut it up into bite size pieces and keep it in the freezer.

 

[jennifer]

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>Quoting David E. Mitchell on Thursday 20 April 2006 - 09:24 (#POST92940):</font>

Is the water in my region just less toxic than usual, have they somehow adapted and developed immunities to these conditions, or have I been killing them very, very slowly? <!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>
My guess is that your water doesn't have a very high amount of chlorine. (Some places have tap water with enough chlorine in the water to smell it - more than in a typical swimming pool.) And you probably have chlorine, not chloramine. The other reason is that you probably have a hardy species (I'm guessing it's Cynops pyrrhogaster). I don't think you are doing them any long-term harm, but it would still be better to dechlorinate their water, and better to do frequent partial water changes rather than occasional total changes. These methods are "standard practice" with fish, and aquatic amphibians can be just as sensitive to their water as fish are.