Should I do something or nothing....??!!

[mummyhamster]

Afternoon everyone!

I had 2 Chinese Fire Bellied Newts (Cynops orantalis) on order from a pet shop more than 2 weeks ago, they arrived yesterday - before anyone says anything (already had a bit of an ear bashing!!!) They are the last Amphibs I will buy from a pet shop unless I'm certain they are captive bred. They are both quite big, around 3". They are in a quarrentine tank with land and water. When I got them home I put them both on the land, one of them jumped straight into the water and seemed quite happy, that one is doing great. It's not very active at the minute but it has eaten about 10 bloodworms which I fed using the tweezers while it was in the water as the B/Worms were frozen so to kind of immatate it moving a bit - which worked :happy:, this was last night and this afternoon).
The second one has been in the water a couple of times but every time it gets it's feet wet (so to speak!) it has this major panic attack as if it can't swim! Once it rests on something with it's head above the water it calms down, but it soon scrambles out on to the land. It hides under a piece of bark. I've checked on it a few time today and everytime it's a dry as a bone so I spray it gently with some water. I've tried to get it to eat but it won't.
So after all this rambling, my question is, should I take it out a put it in another tank with some areas where it can get some of it's body out of the water, but not all of it. Or should I just leave it alone and keep my fingers crossed that it knows what it's doing and all will come right in the end. I know that if it dries out too much it will die, and obviously it would be easier to feed it in the water - and yes I do plan to get some live food and give that try.

Thanks in advance :happy:

 

[Jennewt]

For the setup, you could go either way. As long as it is eating, it will be OK in the present setup, or you could make a super-shallow setup to try to get it aquatic gradually. In the current setup, can you raise the water level just until the top of the land area is barely wet? Try feeding it the BWorms from a toothpick or tweezers. Chopped earthworms also work well and are nearly irresistible to newts.

 

[mummyhamster]

Thank you for your reply. I think I'll leave it alone for the time being and just keep spraying it with water and hope for the best. Like you said, if I can get it to feed things should start to look up. I have tried offering the BW with tweezers but it just backs away. It is currently curled up a bit like a cat fast asleep....???!!! Maybe it just needs a couple more days to settle in.

 

[dipsydoodle]

Sounds like you have a terrestrial newt on your hands. I have one in an aquatic set up; he has a turtle dock and a little bowl. Mine didn't eat for weeks but he was persuaded by some frozen brine shrimp. Try the brine shrimp and see if he likes it.

Sometimes they just sulk for a little while (mine even sulk after cleaning out).

 

[Azhael]

Don´t worry if it appears to not move at all for long periods of time, it´s perfectly normal.
The terrestrial one won´t go aquatic again unless you provide excelent conditions in the water. Plenty of plants that reach the surface are a great help in making them comfortable in the water. It really does make a difference.

 

[mummyhamster]

Thank you for all your replies. I have just checked on it again and it's still up on the land. If I'm honest it doesn't look great, it's all curled up, but it's just a waiting game really. I have sprayed it again. Will get some live food tomorrow and see if that helps.