When do Juvenile CFB's Return to Water?

[Brie]

When do juvenile return to the water? Mine are about 17 months old and I have it in my head that they are around two years old before they forsake land for water. I just read through the articles again and I dont see that information any wheres, Im beginning to think I may have made it up.

Im wondering because one of my lot is hanging out in his water dish all the time now, head mostly submerged. And he's a bit of a runt so I find it very dubious that he would be leading the pack in this manner. The newt in question is so small that he and four other runts have been isolated into a little tank of their own where they are hand fed fruit fly maggots, the only food they can manage to catch and eat. They are pitiful at survival and would have died weeks ago without intervention.

Is this guy acting out symptoms of illness? Or wanting to swim? When he and the others were yanked from the larger population about a month ago, they were really emaciated. I dont think they'd been managing to catch hardly any bugs at all. Now they are all on the maggot diet and getting rounder. The dude in the water dish has been eating as well until the last several days when he's been in the dish, and Im not sure if he's eating or not. I dont think he realizes theres food being given with his head submerged and I dont know if he comes out and eats later.

 

[dipsydoodle]

You could try chopping earth worm/blood worm or putting brine shrimp in his water dish and seeing if he is interested (remember to clean it out afterwards).

I have 3 chinese fire bellied newts; 2 are fully aquatic and one will not touch the water; he was fully grown when I got him, and I’ve had him a year. When I got him he was skin and bones – he refused to eat anything; wouldn’t hand feed, wouldn’t eat alone – after a few weeks I was sure I was going to lose him; thought I’d try feeding him with brine shrimp; when I opened the jar his head almost snapped instantly wanting the food. My terrestrial newt…Tiny…will only eat via hand feeding; he’d have almost certainly died in the wild or without hand feeding. He recognises its food but for some reason won’t eat it. I was going to get him some live brine shrimp and put him in a container of shallow water with them to see if he realised; if not the other 2 will eat them .

If you are wondering if the newt is wanting to swim why don’t you try putting him in an inch of water with a bit of land and seeing how he goes; if he goes into the water of it he heads for land; mine would panic in there; however if I put him in (he clings to me) and if I slide him off gently he’ll be ok for about 10mins then panic. After a year I’m in the process of modifying the tank for him; I’m building him a land mass area; with land and deep water dish; at the minute he is sitting in a Tupperware lid; he refused to go in anything deeper but then it’s because he has to climb into it; so his deeper dish will be low so he doesn’t have trouble climbing into it; his water dish will be half shallow and half deep so he can be fully submerged.

 

[Brie]

Thats a good idea. I have an extra tank that I've been thinking about setting up any ways, I was going to put the biggest ones in it because they are gluttons and get more than they're fair share of food. I've literally seen them step on the heads of smaller ones and snap up the food the smaller one was so carefully stalking.

Maybe I'll give the little guy first go in the accommodation and see if he'll show me what he wants.

 

[dipsydoodle]

Brilliant; it'll tell you what it wants . The one person you are trying to please may as well be the person you ask lol.

My terrestrial one has made it 100% clear what he wants .