Newt Newbie and then some

C

chris

Guest
Hiya everyone. On a lark the other day, my son (11) found himself in love with a Paddletail Newt from PetsMart (I know - I since read all the WRONG info they gave me). We bought one, a 20 gallon tank yada yada yada and 24 hous later, the damn thing was dead. Calamity! It was terrible. I had done everything right, the water was perfect, but it died anyway. Took it back to PetsMart and they gladly gave my son another one. Much better luck with this one. It's been a few days now and it finally ate it's first meal this morning (1/2 red worm - it had a ball). So, my question is, when do I feed it next? The newt must've had about an inch of worm in one gulp. And would I vary it's diet...not all worm all the time? Advise me on what to do. Thanks.
 
Despite your initial calamity, you are doing well in several ways: you got only one (these guys are aggressive so it's better not to have two!), you got a nice sized tank for it, and you got it to eat one of the best newt foods. Not a bad start. If you haven't already, read the FAQs at www.caudata.org/caudatecentral. Worms are an excellent staple food, but for variety you can use frozen bloodworms, live blackworms, chopped raw shrimp, beef heart, etc.
 
YAY for knowing petsmart has crappy info! its great that you came here for info on how to maintain this newt, not on why the other one died and "what did i do wrong? wah wah wah!!".

anyway, good luck with your new paddletail
 
Thanks Kaysie. Newt'les (pronounced Noodles) is doing fine. He is enjoying the huge tank, and is feeling pretty comfortable. You guys are right, he will not eat any of the canned dry food, so we're chopping up worms on which he dines - and dines everyday! 1/4 of a worm that he stalks and eats. He has gotten clever. He knows when we feed him, and he appears from his hiding place to greet the worm. The kids really enjoy him, and they read up on this site as well. Even my wife ("Ewww...a lizard!") has gotten into checking up on him daily. We're pretty happy with him! Thanks for all the info here, and all the support!
 
*applause*

newt'les, thats great!

after he gets established and over the (probable) malnutrition (from being in the store), you should only feed him every other day or every two days. newts can go for weeks without food, and if you overfeed, he could get a bit on the obese side.

sounds like he's fit right into the family. its always nice when people take up the hobby.
 
Yeah, paddletails are great. Remember to keep the water clean and cold - paddletails live in cold mountain streams, soo a filter would be good idea, if you don't have one.
Chris
 
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