New Newt Owner p:

I recently got a Chinese Fire-belly Newt from my local petstore. He is about 1 1/3 inches long or so. He is temporarily in a 2.5 gallon aquarium, until my Tiger salamander morphs(nearing completion, really soon!). Has about 2.5 inches of water a floating hermit crab water dish(I can fit like 8 of him on it lol) that just floats around, and a tall plant to the top of the tank. The tank is covered with a glass lid(10 gal will have a duct tape border and a hood). They told me to feed him freeze-dried Tubifex cubes that you stick to the wall of the tank. So I bought some of that. Hes actually too small to eat anything I have that's alive(waxworms, nightcrawlers, red worms).

So my questions are...

1) Can these little newts drown?
2) Is 2.5 water level too high for a 1.5 inch newt? When hes in water he usually spazzes out.
3) The food okay for until he gets bigger?
4)Anything im missing? Please tell me if I am, and I would appreciate tips too!

Thanks:happy:

1) No. They don't drown. They are aquatic and under normal conditions, spend all of their time underwater.

2) No. He needs deeper water and a filter. Mine have about seven inches of water depth in a 10 gallon aquarium. They are never seen out of the water.

3) I have never tried to feed the dry tubifex cubes, but I would question the food value of any dried product. I would recommend you try bloodworms. If you can't get living ones, use the frozen.

If a newt is always trying to get out of the water, that means its stressed and the water quality is poor.

They like a lot of plants. Almost fill the aquarium with them, and also use driftwood for underwater places to hide.

Everywhere I look says newly morphed ones(like mine) don't spend a lot of time in the water. And when they are bigger they are mostly in the water. He will have a filter and deeper water when hes in the 10 gallon. The water is perfectly clean(just changed and checked p I'll have pics soon o:

Most newts from pet stores are wild caught and have never seen food that doesn't move. I would try live blackworms to tempt it to eat. Also stress can lead to terrestrial newts. When I received my newts, they stayed on their little turtle dock for two weeks before they entered and stayed in the water. Keep an eyes on the little guy as wild caught newts tend to have a very difficult time adjusting to life in captivity. He needs a small land area to get out of he water until he becomes fully aquatic, and a hide on the land area may help him feel more secure.

Sorry only let's me upload 1 pic at a time on my phone

Another... It's so glitchy it posted upside down? Sorry

Last one haha

That´s an adult, not a recent morph, and it´s very seriously stressed. Apart from not being in good physical condition. As an import, it has been subjected to terrible conditions and in order to have a chance to survive it requires optimal housing right away. This means a minimum of 10 gallons of water, ideally fully cycled, very heavily planted, adequate temps and as little stress/disturbance as possible.

The food is not apropriate. Freeeze-dried tubifex are like paper...Feed it small earthworms or waxworms. It needs to gain weight right away and adequate nutrition.

These newts can in fact drown. It can happen when they are physiologically adapted to land, like yours, with hydrophobic skin and a reabsorved tail fin. If they find themselves in open water, with no support, it is possible for them to drown. Large amounts of plants are extremely useful for preventing this very successfully. Once they go aquatic and develop a flattened tail, the risk of drowning is almost non-existent.

Have you read the caresheet and the CC articles on water quality, etc? This newt needs optimal care, which is not currently receiving, not by far.

I got it 2 days ago, it was like that in the pet store too, an adult is less than 2 inches? Because his mouth isn't big enough to eat like work chunks or anything like that. I've was the article and my waters fine and everything. I read that they stay on land a while until they get used to it, and that smaller ones are mostly on land until they are adults, he's only like 1.5 inches total in length. He actually acts better than he did at the pet store. My water and temperature are both okay. He looks fine, a little on the thin side though. But I don't think Ed an adult if he's not even 2 inches. I have wax worms and would fatten him up with them but the wax worms are too big and his mouth is super small. I get money on the 25th and will be using it towards the newt getting live plants, and a filter. Any types you recommend? And he will be moved to a ten gallon. As of the article everything I'm doing is okay besides food and tank size, he does have plants and a lot of areas to get up if he falls. His water and temps are okay and he will he moved to a ten gallon given lots of live plants and an adequate filter. He will also get a bunch of hides and everything, thanks for your help