Sick Eastern Newt

I have three eastern newts one of them I've had for about 7 months, I purchased him with another newt that died suddenly a few months back. The other 2 I got about 4 months ago. They are both healthy and eating good. This sickly one stopped eating about 2 weeks ago. I have a cricket keeper and buy the small crickets but the ones I have offered him are larger because they obviously grew up a bit. I want some advice on how to get him to want to eat. I'm going to buy some small baby crickets today and offer him them. Last night I tried to feed him a live cricket, a cut up cricket, a couple crushed and deshelled snails I found, and a carpenter ant with the head removed. He wouldn't eat anything. Im really worried since the newt I got together with him has died I don't want him to. I have a really nice terarrium for the three guys. Plenty of moss a mid depth pond made from a microwavable dinner dish, and some bark, a mossy kind of pedestal to climb on and some plastic plants cascading down for them to climb on. I don't know what Im doing wrong, I also had 2 a couple years ago that died after I got them from a reptile fair. Easterns are much harder to keep I find than my firebellies (I have 3) or paddle pails (I have 2).

Re: sick eastern newt

Have you tried feeding chopped earthworms?

RSN are notoriously difficult to keep in captivity.

Re: sick eastern newt

I have not yet tried chopped earth worms, can I ourchase these somewhere? Wal mart has a bait refridgerator and Im wondering if they sell worms in it. I can try to dig some up today but what if I can't find any?

Re: sick eastern newt

Can I ask what color these newts are? You're keeping them mostly terrestrial, so I'm thinking they're red? if they're green, maybe they want to be aquatic and they're stressed because they want to live in water. A small pond in a microwave dish won't do; they'll need a mostly aquatic tank with just some land sticking out to occasionally haul out.
Anyway, to feed them on land, you can try a shallow dish with blackworms, if you can get some (live) at a pet store.
(Blackworms need water). Put them in a shallow dish with a little rock and they won't crawl out so fast.
Worms I would feed by hand, or maybe you can try to chop them up and leave them in a dish. Just be sure to take what they don't eat out soon, or they will stink and go bad. I feed my terrestrial sals pieces of large worms, or smaller worms whole, with forceps. Start real small (maybe 1/4 inch pieces) and when they get used to them you can feed them longer pieces that they'll suck up like spaghetti.
Walmart does sell bait worms, nightcrawlers; try those, or some pet stores sell worms too.

Re: sick eastern newt

The Canadian nightcrawlers offered at Walmart work wonderfully. Just cut them into small pieces with a razor blade or kitchen shears.

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/worms2.shtml

Are the others feeding terrestrially or aquatically? If they're feeding aquatically, you can also offer live blackworms.

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/worms.shtml

Re: sick eastern newt

flyangler18 said:

RSN are notoriously difficult to keep in captivity.

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Really? I've never heard that. I've found that most people think of them one of the easiest pet species to keep.

Re: sick eastern newt

Kaysie said:

Really? I've never heard that. I've found that most people think of them one of the easiest pet species to keep.

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Maybe I should clarify that statement. I've kept them in the past, but always collected a few specimens from local waters (within state guidelines)- and found them incredibly hardy and easy to keep. However, when they come from biological supply houses and wholesalers- suffering from shipping stress, crowded conditions and parasites- all bets are off in my opinion.

Jason

Re: sick eastern newt

Thanks for clarification. I don't see much difference between bio supply companies and mass importers. They all lead to 'pet shop syndrome'.

Re: sick eastern newt

I don't see much difference between bio supply companies and mass importers. They all lead to 'pet shop syndrome'.

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Absolutely.

Eyeofnewt, how is the energy level of the one who is refusing food? Lethargic? You may want to try using calcium gluconate (I get mine from Tractor Supply) to get some calories into him. I brought this up in another thread- an invaluable part of any 'amphibian first aid kit'.

Re: sick eastern newt

I feed mine chopped earthworms from Wal-Mart ... she's chubby, a good eater ... she also takes frozen bloodworms well.

If it's acting lethargic, it may be turning aquatic. Truffles started out terrestrial and within 2-3 months went totally aquatic as she adjusted to her new tank. She was green, an adult, when I got her.

Of course, all newts are different. Hope yours gets on well.

Is there anything else in the tank with him/her? The newt may sometimes get touchy around other newts and small fish if there isn't enough space for it.

Re: sick eastern newt

Thankfully everything has been resolved. I decided to try to find some tiny food in my backyard. I have a thin butterfly catching net so I took it in the yard and lightly swept the tops of the taller grass and after about 3 minutes I had 20+ itty bitty grasshoppers and some tiny inch worms, I even got a couple little spiders. This wide variety of tiny prey items must have been just what the doctor ordered. On top of that now I don't have to go to pet supermarket and buy crickets that are too big for my newts anyways. I will post a reply later with some recent pictures I took of the happy trio.:kiss:


Im so pleased the one that was sick is just full of energy now. Before they would kind of just lay around in the tank, now every time I go to check on 'em they are climbing around or up on the fake leaves. I also redid their tank so the water section is much larger, and I put a tiny pot with a rabbit fern and they just LOVE to hide under its fuzzy roots.

Re: sick eastern newt

Great job, eyeofnewt! Looking forward to photos