Paddle tail in TX

Hi,
We have had a paddle tail newt for about 2 years now. He is in a 25 gallon tank with a few minnows and ghost shrimp. We have an ehiem 2213 with a Aqua Euro chiller to keep it nice and cold (61 F) year around. We initially got the newt for a boy scout project. We change the water each week and he used to eat a whole earthworm about 2 times per week. Around Christmas time he suddenly started to refuse food and the earthworm which he used to eat aggressively is now completely ignored. He has not eaten as any of us recall since around January. He is still active but is getting a bit skinny. I have to admit he was quite plump before. So, is this normal? What should we do? I have tried minnows, ghost shrimp, blood worms and dry newt food but nothing has been eaten. Thanks for the help and I love lurking on the site!

Sobek -- newt's name given by our 12 year old

They are wild caught, so there's no way to tell how old they really are. Maybe try some blackworms, Take him out, put him in a jar, and saturate it with blackworms. Maybe then he might eat. Don't' leave him in there a long time though! Good luck.

He ate the black worms although not as aggressive as I thought. Thank you for the idea!