"Red" worms

OK, my newt who has left the water in adulthood and was on a fast finally ate a handfeld "red" worm. I was told by my husband that they were earthworms. They did not look like earthworms, but he took part of it. Since he hadn't been eating, I didn't force the issue when he turned at the second attempt away from the worm.

As luck would have it, my father, husband and sons went to do a little fishing Sunday and I got the leftover bait after failing to find worms online. I guess you all were right, the "bait" stores have plenty of worms.

I checked the water again: no ammonia, nitrates, nitrites. I don't understand the newt's aversion to the water. I will try to feed him again tonight.

Do you think these red worms are red wigglers? Are they the ones that give off an oder when cut? Some of these were already fragmented. The juveniles took pieces when offered on a toothpick, but ignored a bunch placed in their tanks. With over 50, I can hardly handfeed them all and some weren't interested.

Thanks for any insight,
Dana

You may want to give black worms a try, both for the adult and for the juveniles. The blackworms may be small enough that the juveniles may be able to eat them without first having to cut them up. Check your Local Fish Stores to see if they carry them - many do.

In terms of your adult not going into the water, at what temperature has the water been?

You say that they do not look like earthworms, which makes me wonder. If you search google images for "red wiggler", do they really not look like these?

This article might answer some of your questions
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/worms.shtml

They could be red wigglers which is why I asked. Aren't they the ones that give off a foul odor when cut? Maybe that's why he wouldn't take a second helping. These were sort of falling apart, so there was little cutting to do - maybe the hot day in the Florida sun with the fishermen did them in.

I've tried blackworms but have since finished them. I ought to reorder - was looking for the special that used to be here but I see it's gone. I didn't think they'd be much help while things were terrestrial - this newt in question and the juveniles (now some are 5 cm long!)

The water temp was about 70 - 72 in the peak of the afternoon, 68 at night in the other room, where he lived in the 10 gallon divided tank that others thought was possibly too small for him. Since he'd been living like that for a year, I didn't think it was the problem. He's now in his own 10 gallon tank and in a cooler room that doesn't get that south Florida afternoon heat. I've read that temps can creep up a bit in summer and not be a problem. The female is happy and eating well, still in the warmer of the two rooms. I've had them both for 2-3 years. I assume they were WC, when I was still in the dark about such practices. I moved the male to another room where the juveniles are that is cooler by at least 2 degrees. I need to put the thermometer in to get a good reading.

I'm hoping he returns to the water where feeding him was easy and he seemed more vital. I just don't know why he left the water, now well over a month ago.

Dana

If they are red wigglers aka Eisenia fotida they don't always give off a noxious looking yellow ooze. Up North we call these worms trout worms. All my animals that eat worms has learned to eat them and now gobble them up. Some were reluctant at first to eat them but repeated offerings with nothing else offered in between had almost all converted in under a month. Honestly your newt's reaction seems normal. Keep offering the worm and eventually he will convert over.

vistajpdf said:

Some of these were already fragmented.

Click to expand...

If they were fragmented Eisenia foetida then they were dead. While some worms can generate certain portions of lost segments, if you cut a worm in half... you get two dead pieces of worm.

I believe they began the day alive...but it was a long, hot day in the south Florida heat, so I think some perished - also, being handled all day by the fishermen didn't help.

Dana