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Poss. Newt Shedding Problem?

Critter Mom

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Joined
Mar 18, 2009
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Ok, when is it ok to help along shedding? I have a very healthy Chinese firebelly newt (C. Orientalis) female who has been in captivity for approximately two years that we know of. She has outlasted all her tank mates with the exception of the fairly new additions which were added in February. She has exhibited very healthy eating habits and may have laid some probably unfertile eggs.

Now that you have the background, I will get to the point. In her last skin shedding episode, I checked the newts and saw that she had peeled her skin past her head and stopped at about the shoulder area. This was at about 10:30 in the morning. I went about my business and ran errands. I came home and she had not made any progress in about 8 hours! She was just watching the bubbles and water come out of the filter as though she had been mesmerized, as usual. Sometimes they gather like they are watching their entertainment. I would have thought that she would have felt the need to take care of the situation in the meantime!:shocked:

So, I planted the new plants in the tank and moved others around, put more gravel in, and had to move the newts out of the way once or twice. I left them alone for a while to adjust, and watched them all explore the new plants and the tank. She seemed not to notice the skin hanging off of her in areas. They settled down and she stared at the bubbles again. I finally gave up and did the job very gently for her and it was very easy when she had been shedding for about 12 hours that I knew of. Then I noticed that she and the others were exploring the surroundings a bit. Then I noticed that where I was standing, she was belly to the glass, staring at my shirt. (She has always liked being on my soft t-shirts, but I resisted, not wanting to handle her too much, but you could see in a picture that her eye was looking straight at a panda on it.) Was I wrong to do that? What is going on? They all ate very well as usual, about 26 hours before. I am noticing that her firebelly is getting a little yellow under her chin, as is one of her tank mates, but he came that way. The tank mate that came that way is turning a splotchy lighter ashier gray color with a brown spine in addition to this. He used to have half a bluish head. The third is just the typical dark black with the bright orange firebelly. They are all getting the more noticeable white pores and symmetric dots since the tank is more aquatic.
 
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