Terrestrial setup for poorly C. orientalis

[paul]

Hi 1 of my 5 remaining orientalis has taken an extreme disliking to water and only goes in when he is mistaken for food and bitten and dragged in by his tankmates.

This is pretty harsh for him and he is getting too skinny( you can see his spine and pelvic girdle) as he has never been a strong eater and his growth is very stunted.

I am going to setup a small terrestrial tank for him using an old baby snake tank.

I also have some inert soil substrate left over from my scorpion tank.

I'm looking for some advice as to what a terrsetrial orientalis will require and how to setup the tank and maintain it - misting etc.

Thanks for your time and help

Paul Johnston

 

[dean]

Remove the other newts or put him in is own tank! He will be stressed and getting bullied keep him seprate then he will eat and be happy! Kepp him in a 50/50 or full aquatic tank with a peice of land to break the surface!

 

[samuel]

Hi Paul, u can try using moss to keep the land portion dry without making mud. I'm sure u know that only dechlor water must be used when misting, just reminding. Daily mistings both on the moss and the newt. Try small live earthworms to get it to feed. Hope this helps a little.

 

[jesper]

I never dechlorinate my misting water Sam! *loves to argue with Sam*
I believe that the surface area are so big when you mist that the chlorine evaporates immediately

 

[jesper]

If you have chloramine in the water you need to dechlorinate it though!!

 

[paul]

yeah thanks guys.

i have to treat the water to mist the scorpion tank anyway so i'll just use the same water.

Do you think i should construct a little hiding cave for him too?????

 

[samuel]

Yeah, that'll be great Paul, it'll give it a place to hide so it'll not be stressed. But u have to make sure u can check on it easily and frequently to see if it has developed any external sores characteristic of internal infections.

Yo Jesper, i love to argue with u too, haha heck ilove to argue with everyone!!! I'm not sure abt the evaporation bit though, to play it safe, i would still recommend using dechlor. Btw, why do u think chlorine would evaporate more easily than chloramine during misting? Hydrogen bonding in the latter?

 

[samuel]

Paul, just a suggestion, but i love to use ceramic mugs as caves. No sharp edges and if u use a white mug, u can see the newt more easily.

 

[paul]

Thanks a lot everyone