2 out of 3 Tarichas reject live food?

I have three Taricha genus aka "Orange Bellied Newts" as PetCo calls them -- their names are Sal, Amanda (SalAmanda lol) and Wayne NEWTon.

Amanda used to live with another newt, but as I unfortunately found out -- while she thrived off the brine shrimp/dried worms I fed her, the other one starved to death no matter what I tried to feed it. After that, I immediately removed her from any sort of dry food diet and fed her live food -- blackworms and bloodworms. She LOVES them. She's grown huge and fat...that's NOT the problem!

I received a call the other night from PetCo telling me they had 2 new newts for me (I had them on special-order) so I went down to pick up Sal and Wayne. They're both very alert and active, and get along wonderfully with Amanda.

Thing is, I noticed in their tank in the store, they were eating those putrid newt pellets. Amanda has NEVER accepted those pellets, so I typically feed them on occasion to my African Clawed Frogs.

I have my newts in a semi-aquatic set up, where the moist moss leads down to a pool of water where they can splash and eat their live food. I tried forcibly placing Sal and Wayne in the pool to get them the idea that they're SUPPOSED to eat them -- but they won't eat them -- they just like to go onto the driftwood or moss and stare down at the live food for amusement. Amanda's been happily glomming away on them instead.

Am I prematurely worrying, as I have not even had these newts 24 hours yet? It's just I can't imagine newts rejecting live food that another newt (from the same store, different time nonetheless!) relishes eating.

They don't seem stressed in any way, but maybe they're just NOT HUNGRY? I just have no idea...but will there be a possibility that they'll reject tasty fresh live food because they're too conditioned to eat that pelleted crud?

Thanks for your help!

If it hasn't even been 24 hours, you're being impatient! Lots of animals are stressed from being in the pet store, being moved, and being put in a new environment. Sometimes it takes them a few days to settle down and eat. Just keep trying.

Did you actually SEE them eat at the pet shop? Were they staying in the water there, and are now staying on land? I suspect that it's the staying-on-land, not the type of food, that is causing them to not eat. As Joan says, give them a few days to settle in. At some point, you may need to separate Amanda if she is hogging the food and they don't have a chance of getting it.

Nope, didn't see them eat at the petshop. They had water and land but the thing is -- the food was stuck in a bowl on the land partition.

Oh btw, I've been watching -- Amanda hasn't hogged the food. They've had plenty of opportunities to jump in and eat...the thing is, they just go up to the edge of the pool and watch, or jump in and sit with the food but don't eat it. lol

I would bet that they weren't eating any pellets at the pet shop. A newt can go without food for weeks and still look OK. It's quite possible that they have eaten nothing since they were taken from the wild. If they don't eat in the next few days, try other foods. Don't allow them to eat too much all at once when they do start eating; their systems need time to readjust to food again.

Tarichas love bloodworms, and earthworms. Just thaw and rinse the bloodworms. You might want to try feeding with a tweezers, besides leaving some on a small plate for them to have free access to. (Clean up everday.) As everyone has stated, it may take a while for them to regain their appetites. They have been thru a lot of changes, and need to get comfortable. Good luck.

Thanks so much everyone

I think I'll try the bloodworms next...Amanda is just a piggie so she's not a problem to feed...but these guys...just my luck ;-)

I tried the tweezer thing the other day -- they just sort of stare at it like "what the heck is this?"

This sort of is in comparison to trying to get a kid raised on french fries to suddenly eat organic vegetables. lol