New to keeping fire bellied newts.

Hi, I got a fire bellied newt on Saturday off my friend for Christmas and I have no idea:

how to look after him
how to set up his tank
what kind of water to use
what other food to feed him apart from blood worms
How often to feed him
how many bloodworms to feed him
how old he is
whether he will survive in english temperatures
why he is trying to avoid the water
if he hibanates

I really need help, I don't think my friend realised I was completely confused.
Miroku (the newt) is about 2 and 1/2 inches long, so approx. how old will he be. Please some-one help me. Thanks -- Keri.

(Message edited by kitai on December 20, 2006)

(Message edited by kitai on December 20, 2006)

Hello,

Im pretty new to keeping firebellies myself, but i found the FAQ sections here http://www.caudata.org/cc/faq/faq.shtml extremely helpful.

Dont worry about the English temperatures, I live in the Midlands, where room temperature seems perfect for them. I found as far as feeding went, a single frozen block of bloodworm every 3 days or so seems enough for my 3 newts. Theyre quite young, a 2 or 3 months old old, but and from the tip of their tails to the head are about 2 inches or so.

Erm, thats about all the help i can give you, the FAQ section is a must though!

One of the biggest mistakes about newts is keeping them too warm. Actually, your newt would be quite at home living in a not-too-cold refrigerator in winter (and no, they don't really hibernate). So keep it cool. The FAQ from Lee and the links from it will answer most of your questions. Use this article to find the correct caresheet:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/firebelly.shtml

Hey there! I have two japanese firebelly newts. The caresheets on this website really helped me a lot (just got mine two months ago). I used filtered water (mixed with some of the old water the newts came in) and put in those water conditioning drops (I used AquaSafe). My newts wouldn't respond to frozen or freeze-dried food, so I've been feeding them live blackworms. It's best not to feed them just that though. Try Drosophila, chopped-up earthworm, freshwater crustaceans (Daphnia), tubifex worms, and mealworms. I feed mine every 2-3 days. You'll notice that their stomachs bulge after they eat and it'll return to normal size about 2-3 days later. Since you just have one newt, the portion will probably be about what you'd be able to fit in a cube 1cm by 1cm by 1cm. He may be avoiding the water if it's too warm (try to keep it in the 60s). Get a thermometer for your tank to monitor it. My newts wouldn't eat for the 1st two weeks... so don't worry if this happens. It's just because he isn't used to the change in environment.

here's a photo of my tank set-up, if you need any ideas. Since firebellies are terrestrial and aquatic, you'll need both land and water in their tank. I have about 3-4 inches of water in there. For their land I used a "bridge" that I bought at a aquarium shop. You can buy land pieces that suction-cup to the side of the tank too. That orange bowl off to the side is filled with water near the surface of the water. I used that to put their worms in. They've learned to look there when they want food. Make sure you give them hiding spots. On the land I have a ceramic "cave" (which is actually just the legs you put underneath potted plants so they can drain!) and fake plant leaves draped over it, which they love to hide in. A fake plant sticking out of the water is nice for them to climb on. And also have some live plants in the water for them to climb on. Oh yeah, and it's best to get a filter for your tank, unless you plan on changing the water a lot (they make a lot of waste! haha). I change 50% of the water in my newts' tank every week or so.





Good luck with Miroku! Newts are great pets to have and they are pretty easy to care for. I think you'll enjoy having him.

p.s. do you like inuyasha? is that why you named him miroku?? I <3 inuyasha!!

(Message edited by bekka on December 22, 2006)

(Message edited by bekka on December 22, 2006)

here's a link to a list of food on this site:

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/foods.shtml