Question: Why won't my newts eat?

[toph64]

I have 2 juvenile red spotted newts (red efts) and they refuse to eat. They have had good appetites before but now they haven't eaten in 10 days . I have them in a tank that is half land and half water with a filter and it is out of direct sunlight. The room that they are in is also pretty cool. I've been feeding them earth worms and they seemed to like those but then I guess that one was a bit to big and my larger newt spit it back up when he was in the middle of eating it. This has also happened with my smaller one a few times. I've cut them and made sure that they were small enough from there on, but they still won't eat. I've also tried meal worms, freeze dried blood worms, and even some of these newt food pellet things which I knew wouldn't work from the start. I really need an answer ASAP. They are pretty skinny already and I don't want them to die .

 

[eminem]

maybe there just freaked out? I know one of my newts spit back up a worm and wouldn't eat again for awhile but he ate a couple days later. I really doubt your newts would starve them selves to death they might just need a little more time. And dont be too pushy about making them eat either. But I could be totally wrong and there could be something else that's causing the problem

 

[toph64]

It's a possibility. That is what usually happens after one of them pukes up a worm. They might just be stressed out because my younger sister handles them all the time. Oh, and I have to take them out of their tank to feed them because they won't eat from tweezers and their tank has gravel on the bottom, which the worms burrow into. This is what I have always done, but could that be stressing them out?

 

[Azhael]

Yes, definitely. Handling is not a good idea, ever. Not only it causes stress, but it´s also potentially dangerous as even the oils in our skin can cause trouble with the newt´s skin. Also, the heat of our hands is well beyond the acceptable range of these newts and prolonged handling can even be deadly.
It´s normal for a newt to refuse eating for a while after vomiting food. It make take sometime for it to accept that particular food again. Try waxworms, they are the best to get picky eaters to eat. Don´t feed mealworms or freeze dried bloodworms, they are not worth it.

Also, it seems like your set-up may not be ideal. If you post pictures we´ll be able to give you better advice.

 

[DeCypher]

Azhael pretty much summed it up. Newts and sals are not meant to be touched and handled, they're meant to be observed, studied, and wondered at.
I used to have N Viridescens and they loved live blackworms, get that along with the waxworms.

 

[nwmnnaturalist]

Not to mention most Newts have fairly toxic secretions, especially when stressed. Even after washing your hands, the toxins can get into cuts and other minute wounds.

 

[DeCypher]

N Viridescens are indeed toxic, especially the red efts.

 

[toph64]

Thanks for the info. I actually just got them each to eat half of a worm. I keep telling my sister to stop handling them, so hopefully when I tell her that it could be deadly to the newts, she will stop. The tank set up is half water because the older one looks as if he is going to become an adult soon and he seems to enjoy loafing around in the water:happy:.I'll try the waxworms and blackworms next time I feed them. Any suggestions on where to get them?

 

[DeCypher]

Glad to hear they ate. Waxworms are fairly common, you can get them at petsmart or any commercial store like that. Live blackworms a little rare, usually family-owned stores or specialty fish stores have them. You can get them offline if you want. Other good food sources for the newts are frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp, also common at pet stores. Hope I helped

 

[toph64]

Thanks for the help, I know a place where I might be able to get the blackworms:happy: