Un-active Japaneas FBN

[lee]

**I hope this works this time otherwise i'm giving up**

Hello,

I have a Japaneas FBN who spends all his time on land, vary rarely moves, doesn't seam to eat the bloodworm i feed him, and never uses the water. he is still alive (i've checked) but is this normal behaviour or is something wrong??

 

[joan]

The not eating or entering the water is a sign of stress. How long have you had him? have you recently changed his setup in any way? Do you handle him? What are the water parameters (nitrites, ammonia, hardness, pH, etc) The rarely moving thing is common to most caudates, who spend their time doing nothing.

 

[lee]

i've had him for about a month but i did recently change his set-up. i try not to handle him... i only touch him when i need to check that he is alive. i tend to just use de-chlorinated tap water.

my setup is mainly land with a "tuperware box" sunk into the gravel as a sort of swimming pool... i only did this for easy water changes.

how can i get him eating again?

 

[jennifer]

Have you seen him eat anything in the month you have had him? If so, what did he eat and where?

Here is some info that might help:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/faq/faq.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/firebelly.shtml

 

[mark]

I think he needs more water. More of a chance for him to realize he is a newt.

 

[gabby]

If you also moisten the land so that the newt can't get anywhere where its dry so its always wet this will help him realize that water isn't so bad after all and he probably won't be as sceptical to go in the water.

g.

 

[dani]

do you have anything else in the tank with him? my brother in law had the same problem with two chinese firebellies, so i had him lower the water level a bit [it was about 10 inches deep], put in some plants [real] and get rid of all land above water - leaving some resting areas just a touch below the water surface so they could bask/rest without getting completely out of the water. i also had him remove the three small guppies and a very agressive chinese firebelly with a sore on his face he had in the tank. since then, the two newts are in the water and plants all the time and eat normally.

 

[lee]

i only have a small water area because he has never really expressed an interest in the water. he did occasionally dip his tail in. there is nothing else in the tank with him.

he has eaten frozen blood worm before but i haven't seen him eat in about a week.

 

[jennifer]

WHERE did he eat the bloodworm previously (in the water, or on land, or hand-fed)? Try to go back to whatever was working before. Or try dangling a bit of bloodworm or chopped earthworm in front of him with tweezers - it may take several tries until he learns to feed this way.

 

[lee]

i think he ate some last night. i've moved his food area into a very secluded part of the tank where he spends most his time. i think he maybe starting to calm down.

Would adding a couple more newts help him settle down do you think, or maybe do more harm than good?

 

[jennifer]

Adding additional newts won't help settle him. Plus you'd have the whole quarantine issue to deal with (they might bring new germs, or he might infect them).

I'm still concerned that he might not be eating. A newt can go for a month without eating and still look OK. Are you 100% sure that he has eaten since you got him? Did you actually see him eat? How are you feeding him the frozen bloodworm, if he refuses to go in the water?

 

[TJ]

I have a group of Chinese Cynops that may or may not be orientalis (they were acquired as orphicus) but they still show no interest in water -- unlike my orientalis that were acquired as orientalis -- and all attempts to get them to go aquatic have failed. Granted, I haven't tried very hard as they're doing perfectly fine on land. They eat crickets and waxworms.

There could be other reasons why yours don't enter the water, but I would try feeding them live food on land if they continue to decline to enter the water. Turn over some logs in a nearby forest or park you'll surely find some nice food for them!

If you for some reason cannot provide live food, then you really should dangle the bloodworms in front of their mouths like Jen said, not just place the unfrozen worms in a bowel

Good luck!

(Message edited by TJ on April 22, 2005)

 

[lee]

i've taken a small lid from a container and placed it up-turned in his tank and that is where i'm feeding him. i used to place the bloodworm on a rock for him & he did eat some of that once because it had gone when i came back.

I'll try hand feeding him then. only thing is, he likes to hid in the least Accessible place in the tank

 

[TJ]

That's good to hear. Some newts will eat frozen bloodworm that way and others won't. Not eating for a week is no big emergency, but it's always best to be on guard for potential problems

Try a variety of foods and see if something doesn't work. I have a pair of newts of the same species and from the same parents in which one loves frozen bloodworm and the other consistently refuses it. But both are crazy about waxworms. Same thing with my geckos -- one will eat waxworms and the other refuses them, but both of them relish crickets. I have a T. verrucosus newt that won't eat anything but crickets. See what works and what doesn't...

Still, there could be environmental factors (temperature too high or too low, inappropriate setup, etc.) in your newt's case, or it may simply not have settled in yet.

 

[alan]

I would be very surprised if you have a Japanese firebellied newt - never seen one in the UK. Where did you get it from?
Sure it's not a Chinese firebellied newt?
What temperature is the tank at?
Lighting?

 

[lee]

Definitely Japanese FBN. got it from Sheffield Aquatics. tank is at room temp (21degC) i use no lighting, just room lighting.

 

[alan]

Any pictures?

 

[lee]

i'm afraid not. i'll try and get a photo at the weekend

 

[william]

and your also sure it's not a paramensotriton...

 

[lee]

just to let everyone know. i've changed my set-up to mainly aquatic and my once un-active newt is now swimming around, eating, and enjoying himself. thankfully.