Question: How can I get my newt to ingest this supplement?

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keithp

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My thin newt is hardly eating enough to improve its health, so I needed to find so way to stimulate it's appetite. I found this product for carnivorous reptiles/amphibians to get their appetite back and also give much needed vitamins, after eating it it;s supposed to make them rehydrated and hungry to eat. The trouble is you need to squirt small amounts of the liquid vitamin with a syringe in the newts mouth, the newt is too small for the syringe to even fit in its mouth, and I have no way to get the newt to eat the stuff on food, if the newt was eating I wouldnt have any issues......

I was wondering, being amphibians skin is permeable, would soaking the newt partially (REALLY shallow amount of vitamins mixed with water) for 5 minutes in the stuff help it absorb the nutrients through it's skin? It's supposed to be in the newts stomach, but would absorbing through the skin help? What if the newt takes a breath, some of the mix might get in it's mouth thus mabye it might swallow some on it's own?

I wish we had a vet here for this.

This is the product- Repta-Aid Critical Care Formula from Fluker's&reg - Supplements & Medications - Reptile - PetSmart
 
What type of newt is it, and how old approximately is it ? Has it ever fed? What have you offered the newt.? Would you be able to post a picture of your little newt and its current set up?

The problem with young and new additions is that they can get incredibly stressed easily and not eat. I personally would not use the product, instead I would have the newt in a small container, with good cover so it can choose to hide. I would add perhaps small white worm, flightless fruit fly (think small and alive) and then leave it alone for a day or two. Resist disturbing it. If you can reduce external stress' then maybe your little newt may try to eat.
 
bellabelloo said:
What type of newt is it, and how old approximately is it ? Has it ever fed? What have you offered the newt.? Would you be able to post a picture of your little newt and its current set up?

The problem with young and new additions is that they can get incredibly stressed easily and not eat. I personally would not use the product, instead I would have the newt in a small container, with good cover so it can choose to hide. I would add perhaps small white worm, flightless fruit fly (think small and alive) and then leave it alone for a day or two. Resist disturbing it. If you can reduce external stress' then maybe your little newt may try to eat.
Click to expand...

Eastern Newt, adult, was wild caught as old efts with 6 others and transformed in captivity but kept in dirty water and only fed newt pellets the entire time, we're also kept warmer than usual. I have a thread below this with a photo titled "newt with bump". Here's the thread it will explain everything. http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...f47-newt-salamander-help/81502-newt-bump.html

I've had them all for a few days, the rest of the newts are eating fine and looking good. This one is very thin and lethargic, though it did eat well the first day I bought it home, then again it was starving and that was instinct to eat, after the stress probably got to it being I had it seperated and it was able to relax for the first time.
 
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I swear by using Herptivite (or another brand of similarly formulated supplement). My Skaadi (Ambystoma tigrinum) was in poor shape when I rescued her from a highway. She was thin, dehydrated and had some nasty soft-tissue injuries. I first got her to eat earthworms by gently wiggling them around the entrance of her burrow to wet her appetite. She didn't eat right away, but after a bit of teasing she went for it.

I immediately ordered some Herptivite, since I had heard such good things with it. I started giving her a single earthworm coated in the powder (put some powder in a jar, then 'tossed' the worm in it to coat it) and she really improved over the course of a month. Now I give her 2-3 worms a week, with one coated in Herptivite a month.

You may have to experiment on what really appeals to your little one. I've even made 'decoys' of different food critters and dangled them along the glass edge to see what really seemed to get their attention.

Stress is a big factor in the appetite of these animals, and I wouldn't be surprised it's hunger is minimal until it settles down. Sometimes you have to feed it in a way that is least stressful, since some of these animals get agitated more easily than others. With more 'finickey' animals, I've fed them with a long tool that is darkly colored, like wrapping long tweezers or forceps in a dark material to make it less visible. You can even go so far as to make a feeding system, where you have a tube that you can drop food down into so that it comes out the end.

Sometimes it just takes some creativity and patience to see what works. I do hope your little one plumps up and feels better.
 
nwmnnaturalist said:
I swear by using Herptivite (or another brand of similarly formulated supplement). My Skaadi (Ambystoma tigrinum) was in poor shape when I rescued her from a highway. She was thin, dehydrated and had some nasty soft-tissue injuries. I first got her to eat earthworms by gently wiggling them around the entrance of her burrow to wet her appetite. She didn't eat right away, but after a bit of teasing she went for it.

I immediately ordered some Herptivite, since I had heard such good things with it. I started giving her a single earthworm coated in the powder (put some powder in a jar, then 'tossed' the worm in it to coat it) and she really improved over the course of a month. Now I give her 2-3 worms a week, with one coated in Herptivite a month.

You may have to experiment on what really appeals to your little one. I've even made 'decoys' of different food critters and dangled them along the glass edge to see what really seemed to get their attention.

Stress is a big factor in the appetite of these animals, and I wouldn't be surprised it's hunger is minimal until it settles down. Sometimes you have to feed it in a way that is least stressful, since some of these animals get agitated more easily than others. With more 'finickey' animals, I've fed them with a long tool that is darkly colored, like wrapping long tweezers or forceps in a dark material to make it less visible. You can even go so far as to make a feeding system, where you have a tube that you can drop food down into so that it comes out the end.

Sometimes it just takes some creativity and patience to see what works. I do hope your little one plumps up and feels better.
Click to expand...


Here's the thing. All of the newts were thin when I got them. I put them in a shallow aquarium together and with a nice clean environment they were hungry. I fed them live blackworms and frozen bloodworms, they all ate pretty good, keep in mind they were starving so their stomachs limited eating too much at first.

The next day I noticed this newt on land, weak and still the thinnest, even though it had eaten the day before.

To limit stress and take away competition from the other newts, I put this one in a small critter keeper by itself with just enough water to cover it, and land. This way it can conserve energy and de stress.

It's been 3 days, it eats a black worm or two a day, but I know that's not enough to put more weight on, it should be vigorous eating like the others, who are all plump now and looking great. This one is active now and not lethargic, and I saw its first tiny poo today, which is good, but it's still very thin.

Trouble is it only eats in water, so powder on the food usually comes off. I'll try again putting food on a toothpick and hold in front and see if that works.

I've given all the others newts these vitamins just to give them a boost and they really look better overnight and the tank is full of poo now gotta clean it now. :)
 
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