problem shedding. sad?

i cant find the answer to this so maybe you could help.
> i have a japaneese fire belly newt, i believe he is a male and i have had him for over a year and a half. when i got him i use to feed him everyday red worms and blood worms and i would sit in front of the tank for a hour or so and spend time with him. my question is about shedding. when i first had him and he started shedding it would come off in one day from his nose to his tail in one piece. latly i havent been spending time with him for a while and he doesnt eat everyday, but every few days and for the longest time now, when he sheds it sticks to him for days and he gets skinny and its flaky, or doesnt come off in one piece and he stays in the water during this time and doesnt eat. what is this caused by, or what could be wrong with him, or what can i do to get him to start shedding back into one piece. do i make him sad because he loves attention from me and i havent been giving it for a long time? i just feel bad because this didnt use to be a problem. also, what temerature should i keep his tank at? it usually was kept about 70 something to 80 something, but i moved and now at night it gets about 60. i dont know what he likes. please help me, my newt is not very happy. also, one reason i think he doesnt eat everyday, because he was a few weeks ago at my parents house, is i cant find earthworms and he loves those, all i can find is red worms and he doesnt like them very much. he spits out crickets and i dont know if frozen blood worms produce more waste than food. maybe i can try them again though because i use to give him live bloodworms and he did like them. but my main problem, is he does not shed in one piece like he did months ago and he seems unhappy.

80 is much too warm. 60 is much better. Salamanders don't need to eat every day. And at cooler (and more appropriate) temperatures, they won't eat every day. Trust me, he is much happier at 60 than he was at 80.

What is your tank setup like? What kind of filter do you have? What is your water quality like? Walmart usually carries earthworms all winter long. Try looking there.

Shedding skin in small pieces instead of whole is a sign of health problems. If he's been kept all summer in the upper 70s to 80s, that would deteriorate his health and his fat reserves.

As long as he's skinny, feed him every day. Frozen bloodworms are OK. Worms are even better. Try to find a bait shop or Walmart that sells Canadian nightcrawlers (though you'll have to chop them).

thank you for your help. i will start keeping the temp down. as for filter and such, i keep him in a 2ogal tank half filled. he has a filter that looks like a rock, it cant be submerged b/c it acts as a waterfall and the top of the filter is a flat place for him to climb and hang out,(its made for amphibians) its kinda popular by tetra or something and takes 2 filters to use and he has a cave that looks like a tree with some fake plants. there is algea growing that i scrub off but cant get rid of and i use a water conditioner for amphibians. he lives with 4 fish and some ghost shrimp, he usually eats the shrimp and has been known to try to eat the small goldfish. i do not test that water, only because i use to and i use to keep it pretty good with all the levels of stuff and such but i can start again when i get $ for strips. the walmart close to here only sells red wrigglers and the HUGE night crawlers. i have fed him one before, but it was too big and took him like 2 days to digest it and he hasnt been fond of them b/c the piece was too big i gave him. i can try again b/c he might not remember and i will try the blood worms. im going to try to dig up some earthworms for him but its hard to get them at the right time. everywhere i go they only have red wigglers. does anyone know a web site for earthworms to buy??? but if anyone else has any comments to submit i would apreciate it it helps so much!!!! so will he shed normal if he stays cool and eats??? or is it something else too? he eats on a normal basis, just not everyday. and only worms.

A couple of points jump right out at me.

1. You should NOT be keeping him with fish. This is a disaster waiting to happen. It's probably stressing him out (leading to the shedding problems). Also, gold fish are notoriously 'dirty'. They secrete a lot of ammonia, and can cause serious water quality issues if you're not on top of things. This high level of ammonia can also contribute to your newt's shedding problem. If you do want to test the water, don't use the strips. Dry tab or liquid test kits are much better.

2. The night crawlers, you'll have to cut them into pieces. Use a sharp knife or a razor blade. Cut the worms into pieces about the size of the newt's head. Red wigglers are okay food, but can secrete a noxious fluid that a lot of animals don't like.

I suspect if you put him in a tank by himself, keep him cool, and feed him regularly, the skin issue will resolve itself.

thank you. why cant he be kept with fish? just because there dirty? im just wondering. what is a good way to keep his tank cool, right now its in a back house/room that stays cold with the outside temp so its fine for now, but if i start staying back there with him or when summer comes around, do i need a cooling system or how does it work if i need heat and he doesnt? is algea in his tank bad for him?

Fish can be aggressive, and nip at him. And even if they don't, their presence might be stressful because they wouldn't naturally occur with the newt.

There are lots of threads and articles on cooling. http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cooling.shtml is one article, and a search of the forum will reveal dozens of threads on it.

Algae isn't necessarily bad, but some algaes, like Blue-Green algae, or cyanobacteria, can be toxic. Brown algae and green algae that just grow on the tank glass or decorations are annoying, but not inherently harmful. They're usually caused by excess nutrients.

i just had a thought reading a different post, am i not sopose to clean "everything" or his whole tank. when i clean the tank is usually when he needs a new filter cartridge and i suck out about half the water getting the debris from under the gravel, and then i take out his filter and plants and tunnel and scrub them. (usually because of some algae) and then i run them under hot water and put them all back in so everything is fresh and clean. i also clean the glass. sometimes i clean the whole tank and put him in a holding tank until im done. usually takes over a hour. is there a correct way