My Newt is Sad

I bought a Chinese Fire-Bellied newt last week (Memorial Day weekend). He was the only one I could find in town, and the living conditions where I got him from were pretty awful. I wanted to save him, so I bought him.

I have a 10-gallon Tank with fake foliage, a floating turtle rock with cave on top. I am having trouble keeping the water cool, but I am putting ice in when it seems necessary. I am trying to keep it between 68F and 72F I also have a filter that seems to be moving the water around enough but not too much.

Anyway... my newt seems to be in shock or upset or stressed. I'm not sure what to do. He just sits in his cave, doesn't eat, and won't even get in the water (even when it is the cooler temperatures). He looks scared to death, and while I tried to goad him in the water at first I've been leaving him alone the past four days just in case I was stressing him out. I was told to feed him brine shrimp, which I am, but he won't eat. I have a snail to clean my tank and he moves around 100x more than my poor Newt does. I want to give him a good home and make him happy, but I'm not sure what else I can do. I've been trolling forums and the internet for days trying to find answers but nothing seems to work. I read somewhere to take out his rock and cave and FORCE him to be in water, but I don't want to stress him out unnecessarily. Any suggestions, or is he a lost cause?

How bright is your tank?

Try offering your little guy some live wiggly food. Earthworms are one of the most nutritionally complete. But you can also try blackworms or waxworms to get him started on eating.

Unfortunately, this species is often imported in terrible conditions, and doesn't thrive. The biggest step is getting him to eat.

In addition to what kaysie said, you may also find this information useful:

Caudata Culture - Frequently Asked Questions

Caudata Culture Species Entry - Cynops orientalis - Chinese firebelly

My tank is bright, but I don't keep the light on all the time. 12 hour days, 12 hours of night. It also makes the tank warmer, so some days I don't turn it on at all.

Thank you for the links!! The FAQ really helped a bunch A few more questions, then:

Should I go buy earthworms, or are the ones from my yard good enough?
Do I chop them up or put them in full?
Should I just put the worm in front of his cave, or put it inside?

Try not using the light - is not needed (especially as you are using fake plants), may be contributing to stress and adds to heat which you want to avoid.

You can use earthworms from your yard if not contaminated with pesticides/ferilizers. Food must be size-appropriate - so if using larger earthworms, these will need to be chopped. Want to place the food where it is easily sensed by the animal.

Another key factor to keep in mind is how old is your newt? Or how big is he? A lot of people don't realize younger fire bellies DO have a terrestrial phase like other newts, called an "eft" stage. During this time which can be anywhere from a few weeks to months. your little guy may need a more sufficient land dwelling situation.

Another reason for his behavior is fire bellies need a MINIMUM of 10 cm water depth, if you deprive them of this for periods of time (like in a pet store) they tend to become surface dwellers. Seeking land over the inadequate water pressure. Just seems to be what I notice in my experience.

Try adding more land to his tank, some driftwood to provide easy access to the water as well as contribute to humidity (water seeps up the wood, thus evaporating quicker) you can also add moss and some leaf coverage to soothe his little newt spirit.

I had this EXACT problem when I got one of my cynops. It took me a week or so of him not eating before I realized I didn't have sufficient land requirements for him. He began eating fruit flies and very small waxworms once all those requirements were met. To this day he still thrives as a "land-only" fire belly.

Good Luck! Hope this helps

If you're having trouble keeping the temps down, I'd strongly suggest removing the filter and adding live plants which can survive in a low light set-up. If I remember correctly, CFB's are still water dwellers, preferring bodies of water without current.