PLEASE HELP, very thin N. v. viridescens

Hello all,

I have been keeping Notophthalmus viridiscens viridiscens (Eastern Red Spotted Newts) for about a year now. All of the specimins that I have kept have been collected from the wild and conditioned to live in a terrarium. I have one female who has been with me from the beginning and she is starting to look a little sickly. She appears very thin and doesn't seem to be gaining weight. She does still eat and shows interest in food, but just seems to be way too thin.

A few months back, her mate died... she was depressed for awhile but seemed to be doing alright on her own. Just recently, I found her a new mate and beside him she looks so small and painfully thin. I feed her on a diet of frozen bloodworms and live brine shrimp mostly. They are housed in a 10g heavily planted terrarium that has 1/3 of the tank blocked off for land space. The water quality is all within normal standards.

I am looking into starting some live food cultures including whiteworms and confused flour beetles... is there anything any of you could suggest that might help me put some weight back on her? I am very attached to her and would hate to lose her.

Thanks in advance,

Sarah

Earthworms...live cut up earthworms (high protein great nutrition). White worms should as well (high fat so will put on the weight). Small silkworms will too (high protein). Live food is always a good option. Even try blackworms..as they'll live in the tank should they not eat them...or daphnia for the same reasons.

I really recommend earthworms though...great feeder.

(Message edited by rob on June 11, 2003)

So just go out, dig up a worm and chop it up? Sounds easy enough to me I live in a rural area so there's no worries about the ground being polluted. Or would buying earthworms from a bait shop be a better way to go?

I tried the live blackworms... I also keep many varieties of fish as well... for whatever reason, I couldn't keep the worms alive very long, but did find that many had dug into the gravel in the bottom of the newt terrarium and were living in there. I'm not sure if she's been eating them or not, they seem pretty fast at getting back into the gravel.

Thanks so much for the quick reply!

Sarah

No problem.

Be careful with dug up earthworms..pesticides and such. If you don't use any on your lot and such then it should be fine. If in doubt though use some from a bait shop..just be sure to ask them where they got them from. Some places just field collect them by pouring soap or something else on the ground to get the worms to surface. Make sure they were farm raised.

Thanks again!

We don't use any pesticides and neither do our neighbors so I think it'll be ok. I went out and found a few worms and offered them to both newts using forcepts, they both ate quite a few and very willingly! Emmy (the thin one) ate several very hungrily. Thanks so much for the advice, I'll keep ya posted about how she's doing if you want.

Thanks a million

Sarah

No problem. yes keep us all posted.