Having juvie troubles...

E

elizabeth

Guest
I'm having an extremely hard time trying to get my juvies to eat. One of my juvies I gave to my friend wont eat anything...not even chopped worms! It attacked a worm, but spit it out.
My other juvie is a bit..less impossible to feed, but still a handful. He utterly rejects frozen bloodworms (he only ate them twice in his 3 week juvie life) and only ate a chopped worm once.

Now, my friends and I all agree that the best food for them is chopped worms, but of course, parents are usually grossed out by bugs, and the only way I can feed a worm to my newt is sneaking a chopped worm in when they're at work. I can't always give them live things every other day...because of my mom...so, is there any way I could train the juvies to eat non-live food?
 
How old are your juveniles and what species? How long are they? How long have they been out of the water.

Perhaps try putting some of the following food items permanently in their enclosure.

-Try looking for small (baby) woodlice.
-If the juveniles are between 1" and 2" try getting some springtails.
-If your parents have any kind of slug problem in the garden they might not mind you taking a few of those (again the smallest ones!).
-Non-flying fruit flies (this does require a lid that won't let them through).

With anything you put in, make sure it'll fit their mouths in a single bite. Larger woodlice can bite very small juveniles.
 
They are 3 weeks old, and C.O's. One is temporarily living on a floating island which I wet every day, until my friend comes and picks him up. That guy has no problem eating live worms. The really stubborn juvie lives in a shallowly puddled tank, with spots of land, large rocks to climb on, and a fake shell to hide under. There's also some fake plants in there. The water is high enough to puddle under his feet, without being deep enough to drown in.

The worm was small enough to eat in one bite, but the stubborn guy wont eat it..he just kept attacking it and spitting it out, which was odd.They're both..oh I'd say a little over 1 1/2".

But what I'd really like to know, is if there's some way I could get these guys to eat frozen bloodworms...as it is more convenient for my friends and I.
 
I have succeeded on some occasions to train them to eat thawed bloodworms from tweezers or a toothpick. However, it seems to be hit or miss (some learn, some don't). Since I usually have live food available, I just end up feeding them the live food. I think if you're persistent, they will eventually learn to take it, but it may take several attempts.
 
Ok, so for a few weeks I'm babysitting the stubborn newt (Bug). So far he wont accept frozen bloodworms, live chopped earthworms or small fruit flies. Its like this guy is afraid of them or something. He backed away from the chopped worm like it was going to eat him. My other newt is really agressive. He'll eat anything that moves.

I tried giving Bug a live worm (which surprisingly I found a really tiny one just his size) and tried giving it to him via tweezers. He backed away like it was a predator. So I let the worm crawl around the tank for a bit and he still wouldn't go after it. In fact he hid from it. After 15 minutes of trying and failing, I just ended up feeding the poor stressed worm to my other newt.

I'm starting to get really worried. This guy's only eaten once in three weeks, and I dont want it to die. He seems to not want to eat at all. I really need some tips to feed this shy guy.
 
Maybe he's the shy type. Try leaving some chopped worm bits on a tissue in a more hidden corner of the terrarium?
 
Well, I tried that today. He has no interest in food at all it seems. He's getting to be a month old now...
 
Arg! I give up! I've tried every freakin small thing in my yard for days now, and he wont eat anything! If the newt wants to starve, fine, he can starve. I am so sick and tired of trying to feed this bratty newt!
 
I have two eastern newts, only about 1inch long total in the elf stage. I know there habitat in right for them and they seem happy, ect I am having a hard time getting them to eat even fruit fly seem to be to big for them. they wont touch bloodworms or black worms my next shot was going to be brine shrimp, but since they are in the land stage I wasnt sure how to go about feeding them?Any help would be great!
 
Try getting a hold of some springtails. That should be about their size.
 
Mm. I dumped a bunch of baby woodlice in their new tank. (I just bought another once thats more land-based where the bugs can't drown). I'll just have to wait and see if they'll eat them.
 
One other suggestion for Elizabeth: you might want to consider moving the one that won't eat into its own separate container and stocking it well with choice food (in this case, some nice small woodlice). It may feel more inclined to eat, and have a better chance at it, if it's separated from its more assertive sibs.

For Dana: if they won't eat blackworms, it's because they are unwilling to wade in water, and brine shrimp won't work either. Ester's suggestion is good. Also, try finding the smaller size of fruit flies (there are 2 different species of flies sold as food) or "true" pinhead crickets (these are the size of tiny ants). I would also suggest at least trying to feed them some chopped worm bits (really tiny) or bloodworm on a tweezer or toothpick.
 
thank you for the help, I think they are eating chopped black worms I put on a low dish, although it is hard to tell because a few bites is prob. a big meal for them. I know the larger one about 2 in long are eating them happily! I have moved the two very small one to there own home. thank you again!
 
Elizabeth: I always put some red worms (tubifex) in a little cover from a cola bottle. If you put a little bit of water in it too, it will be moisture enough to keep the worms alive. This way the sals have not really moving food, also in the evening and night.
 
Okay, So I've been dumping various small bugs in their tank (mostly baby woodlice) and I'm pleased to see Bug actively chase after them and try to eat them. Usually after a few days all the bugs are gone...eaten by my little carnivores. I found a small slug that I put in there...and I got a hilarious sight. Bug kept trying to eat the slug, but all the slime made it so he couldn't latch onto the slug. So in the end, he kept biting at the slug, but all he got was a mouth full of slime. I also found that sometimes the baby woodlice die in the tank, yet both newts will eat them if I try to feed the dead woolice via tweezers. I guess Bug is just afraid of tweezers with live food on it.
 
My red spotted newts, have started eating pinheads, they are so funny chasing them around. It takes them awhile but they are gone by morning so they must finally get them.
happy.gif
 
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