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Newt shed's alot

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keithp

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My 9 year old Chinese Firebelly sheds his skin every other day, no joke! He sometimes has 3 layers of old skin on his body in a week, I guess he eats good and doesnt show an interest in eating all his old skin all the time, so I usually end up removing the skin for him.

He has plenty of rocks to help remove the skin, it seems to always get stuck before his back legs.

My question is why does he shed so frequently?
 
Jennewt

Jennewt

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This sounds sort of "borderline abnormal" to me. However, I don't know what the normal shedding frequency is, so maybe it's OK. I do have some newts that routinely "don't bother" to eat their own shed skin; I wouldn't worry about that. But if it often gets stuck, that can be a sign of trouble.

How's your water quality (pH, ammonia, etc)? Old age could be a factor.
 
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keithp

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He eats great and poo's normally, his weight is also great. He's got a bright body color, and his body seems in perfect shape. I think since he is 9 years old he's not as interested in his shed skin as young newts that are still growing and crave all the nutrition they can get.

The water is free of chlorine/chloramine because I add a few drops of water conditioner to the bottled water (water I put in a bottle, not bottled water you buy) I set aside for each time I change the tank water. I never add pure water from the tap.

I've never tested PH, he's been living the same way all his life with me, and he used to eat his skin when he was younger, the whole thing. As he got older he seemed to shed more often.

He's an old grandpa that lives life in the slow lane I guess.
 
Jennewt

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Sounds like nothing to be concerned about. If you have soft water, I'd encourage you to have the pH tested occasionally (good-quality pet stores will test for free if you take a water sample). The pH in long-term setups tends to go down over time, and can eventually reach unacceptable levels.
 
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