Out of water

I have been having trouble with one of my more plump paddletail newts. He is getting out of water for extensive amounts of time. Also, it seems that they are stuck. I want to help, but I dont want to hurt them. They seem to be able to wiggle out of anything.I'm new to this and hope for good help.

THANKS!

Maybe your water temp is too warm? Check pH Ammonia and Nitrites if you haven't already, I don't know alot about newts yet but that is usually the causes that I read about on the web. By the way, where did you get your paddle tails?

I got my paddle tails in the reptile department of a large aquarium depot.

thanks for the reply!:grin:

Hi Evan, I would second that suggestion to check your water parameters, as it is very unusual for a paddletail to spend much time out of the water. It sounds as though you have more than one paddletail, are you keeping a few in one tank? Paddletails are very territorial and aggressive, so it is possible that if they are living together, one paddletail will bully and torment the other until the subordinate seeks refuge out of the water. I highly recommend keeping paddletails in separate tanks, unless you have a very large tank with lots of hiding places and visual barriers. This is a species that can cause a lot of physical harm, and even death, to other newts (even members of the same species).

Lastly, what do you mean by "it seems that they are stuck"? We can try to offer more help if you can clarify this. And yes, most newts are pretty good escape artists and can "wiggle out of anything," so make sure you have secure, tight fitting lids!

Good luck with your newts, and please ask if there is anything else you need help with.
Heather

I think that the reason that one of them is getting out of the water is the aggression issue. The climber is trying to escape because of bullying. A separate tank will work wonders. Unless you have a really large tank, it's usually impossible to keep more than one together. See:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Pachytriton/Pachytriton.shtml

I had been watching them closley (yes i have multiple paddles), and there does not seem to be any trouble. I have a 25 gallon tank. I have 3 newts, all paddles, and may take one out. Should i leave 2 in the tank, or just one?


Any help would be greatly apreaciated.:rofl:

One leaving the water is a clear sign of trouble.

Seperate them and read http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Pa...hytriton.shtml

Move the "climber" to another tank, and you will probably see a whole new newt. Heading onto land can be a sign of sickness, but in this case it is more likely fear/bullying.

Bloated

Well i did some reasearch, and the newt that is getting out of the water is bloated. his skin is shiny an he his very, very, very fat. I moved him to a new tank. could this bloat spread to another newt. Also, he got out because of agression. I read to see if they were sick, you should flip them over. If they do not get right bak up they are sick. he faild this test and swam away. while he swam another newt jumped out and slammed into him/her. I bought this newt like this from a pet store. It is past the 2 day return policy. Is The diseas that bloat is associated with contgus? If so, should I warn the store? I read over the FAQ so please do not give me a link. Any help is apprecated.

From the FAQ, did you also follow the link to the whole article about bloat? I'm going to give you the link anyway.
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/bloatEDK.shtml
As mentioned in the article, it is contagious. You can warn the store, but I'll bet they don't care and won't do anything differently. Wouldn't hurt to try, though.

I don't think this "test" for sickness is very reliable. I have some sluggish species that take quite a while to turn over when I put them on their back.