firebelly newt questions

I have two firebellied newts - Splodgey and Spotty. Splodgey is the bigger one and has always eaten more. I used to only have one little bit of land and they never went on it and were always in the water. Recently i added more land area and was happy when i saw Splodgey going up on it but now i'm worried because he is constantly on the land and never goes in the water any more. i feed them frozen blood worms which go in the water but Splodgey won't even go in the water to eat them. I lift him in to thewater sometimes but that just distresses him and he swims about wildly for a bit then sits in the water for a while ignoring the food and then goes back on to the land. I'm really worried that he's getting skinny and isn't eating anything. I also thought it might be because there was a problem with the water so have done more frequent water changes but son't have enough money to buy a new filter encase that's the problem. Please help.

Hi Sarah, and welcome to the forums. First off, its not too uncommon for Cynops orientalis (the most common species of newt called "fire belly" - look here: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/firebelly.shtml Is that what you have?) to become terrestrial. But I have a few other questions for you. You say you are doing more frequent water changes but are you checking the water chemistry for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates? If not, do so - you can buy kits at the pet store or take a sample of water to your local fish store as many will test water for free. Also what temperature do you keep your water? Newts like it cool - try to shoot for temps 18C or lower. Does your water area have plenty of hiding spots, how deep do you keep it?
Are your newts willing to eat when they are on land? Try offering worms on the end of a toothpick. As long as they are still willing to eat they can be healthy and content while on land.

Heather

I've not checked for those in my water but i think my brother has a test kit that does so i'll do it today.
I have tried feeding them on land but they don't seem to be interested.
I thought the water was a bit warm for them so today i did a water change with cooler water and they did stay in the water for a while so i think it might have been that.

Thanks for your reply it was helpful

jewett said:

Does your water area have plenty of hiding spots, how deep do you keep it?

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It definately has enough hiding spots, most of the time when they were in the water all the time i couldn't find them for days because they loved hiding. I have read elswhere taht they don't like the water to be too deep so i think mine might be a bit too deep but with the type of filter i have, that is as shallow as it can go.

Thanks again for your reply

What temperature is the tank normally? If you can keep the temperature consistently cooler that would be best. As to water depth I also noted my firebelly would stay out of the water more if I kept the water deeper. If your filter won't let you change the water depth have you tried adding plants or larger rocks to make it easier to ascend to the surface? Heather's suggestions are all great and I would definitely recommend doing water chemistry tests.

Could you provide different food for the one on land? Pieces of earthworms or very small crickets might stimulate your newt's appetite.

also get a thermometer, if you dont have one heat could very well be the problem.