rflora82
New member
Hello All,
I'm pretty sure that you can tell I'm new here. I'm a 25 year old animal enthusiast. My pets are my life. As far as newts go, I have several fire bellies and one mandarin newt. I found Caudata through an internet search where I was trying to find the answer to my mandarin newts ailments. I apologize for putting a help question out in my introduction but I am seriously worried about my newt. First for a little background. My mandarian newt's name is Hades, I purchased him, along with a female, about seven to eight weeks ago from a reputable store where I purchase all of my tropical fish and reptiles as well. I set Hades and Persephone (the female) up in a 10 gallon enclosure with a gravel bottom. The enclosure has about three inches of water (treated with salt and stress coat) with plenty of plants and flat, dry areas to give them relief from any wetness. I keep a close eye on the temperature and it usually ranges anywhere from 62 to 65 degrees. The water is filtered and tested on a normal basis. Persephone died about a week after I got the pair, I don't know if it was stress (she wasn't eating) but Hades seemed fine for a couple of weeks. However, in the last two to three weeks he has stopped eating. He is not interested in the dry areas of his enclosure, he is always staying in the water. I have offered him both live and frozen bloodworms, crickets, waxworms, and mealworms. He will not touch anything. I am very concerned because he has absolutely no fat left on his little body. His feet are beginning to have a faded look to them but the rest of his color is good. He had a normal shed about two weeks ago but today I noticed that he is shedding off what looks like black slime is small areas. The skin underneath looks bright and healthy. I am so sorry for this lengthy post but I'm just so worried. Does anyone have any idea what could be going on or what I can do? Thank you all so much in advance.
I'm pretty sure that you can tell I'm new here. I'm a 25 year old animal enthusiast. My pets are my life. As far as newts go, I have several fire bellies and one mandarin newt. I found Caudata through an internet search where I was trying to find the answer to my mandarin newts ailments. I apologize for putting a help question out in my introduction but I am seriously worried about my newt. First for a little background. My mandarian newt's name is Hades, I purchased him, along with a female, about seven to eight weeks ago from a reputable store where I purchase all of my tropical fish and reptiles as well. I set Hades and Persephone (the female) up in a 10 gallon enclosure with a gravel bottom. The enclosure has about three inches of water (treated with salt and stress coat) with plenty of plants and flat, dry areas to give them relief from any wetness. I keep a close eye on the temperature and it usually ranges anywhere from 62 to 65 degrees. The water is filtered and tested on a normal basis. Persephone died about a week after I got the pair, I don't know if it was stress (she wasn't eating) but Hades seemed fine for a couple of weeks. However, in the last two to three weeks he has stopped eating. He is not interested in the dry areas of his enclosure, he is always staying in the water. I have offered him both live and frozen bloodworms, crickets, waxworms, and mealworms. He will not touch anything. I am very concerned because he has absolutely no fat left on his little body. His feet are beginning to have a faded look to them but the rest of his color is good. He had a normal shed about two weeks ago but today I noticed that he is shedding off what looks like black slime is small areas. The skin underneath looks bright and healthy. I am so sorry for this lengthy post but I'm just so worried. Does anyone have any idea what could be going on or what I can do? Thank you all so much in advance.
