Marm juvies : what do I feed them ?

Hi Caudata people, long time no post...

So, I recently bought three CB marm juvies, each of them is about 2 inches long from snout to tail... The little guys are set up on slightly damp towel paper, with a piece of cork for them to hide under (or climb upon, depends on their mood).

Everybody is doing fine, but I would like to have your thoughts on what to feed them. I know this has been discussed a milllion times, but still, here is my experience so far:

1) Fruitflies : since I work in a genetics lab, I have an endless supply of free fruitflies. I've yet to actually see a marm juvie eating a fruitfly in front of me, but fruitflies gradually disappear from the box, and the newts are pooping around, meaning they actually do eat them. Problem is I can't control who's eating and who's not.
2) pinhead crickets : these are not an option, since I'm living in a flat, the risk of the crickets escaping and invading my place (and my neighbors' place) is too high. Plus, they're expensive.
3) Fly maggots : size would be right, but the maggots are too fast for the newts. They get away before the newts even realize there's food around them. That's too bad, because maggots are cheap and easy to come by around here
4) Earthworms : I have a large supply of them (Eisenia sp., mostly) that I keep for my other adult newts, but I can't get any that is small enough for the juvies to eat. Do you think chopped earthworms would do, because I'd have to chop them really thin, and then they wouldn't be lively enough to be of interest in my opinion
5) Bloodworms : frozen ones are easy to get and to keep, but I don't see how I could convince the newts to have a bite at hem since they don't move. Have you guys had any success with these ? That would be a good option in my opinion.
6) Anything else ? Cheap and easy to get would be ideal, I'm all ears for your suggestions.

Anyway, let me know what you think, I'd really like to hear your thoughts on that.

Cheers,
Phil

I house my marm juveniles in a more naturalistic forest floor type set up with 2" substrate of coir and topsoil with a layer of dried leaves and layered bark pieces. I seed this set up with isopods and springtails and do supplemental feedings of fruit flies (hydei), isopods, earthworms and white worms. The tank itself sustains a small population of several prey items and then the larger feedings allow the animals to bulk up. This is by far the easiest sort of set up I've used. Ive had most juveniles accept eisenia sp. if they are small enough but some will not eat anything but insect prey items. You're animals look like they are off to a great start, I wish you continued success!

I would almost say those are not Triturus marmoratus but pygmeus.

The bright, high green that juveniles have makes them look a lot like pygmaeus but I think they are marmoratus.

Otolith makes a great suggestion, a naturalistic enclosure with a wide variety of prey items is the easiest method by far. At the other end of the spectrum you could train them to accept food from a wire or tweezers. Marmoratus will soon learn to take bloodworm, chopped worm pieces and even soft pellets if offered in this way. You just need lots of patience.

You can leave a piece of fruit in the viv, this will keep the flies fed but will also generate maggots which the newts eat. The fruit also acts as a feeding station as the flies hang about it making hunting easier. You could also add whiteworm and springtails which may breed in the tank but could require topping up each week.

I thought of two threads when I first read your question, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen them. I found one of them, the other is similar, but with fruit flies instead of worms. Even if you raise them in a naturalistic set up it wouldn't hurt to let them pig out on worms from time to time. I wish my Cynops juveniles would accept food like that, but by the time they've lost enough of their shyness they're about ready to go back to the water again. :/

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...s/64838-how-make-marmoratus-grow-quickly.html

Thanks for all the replies !

Yep, I had read Jennewt's contribution, but I'm afraid I don't have enough bite-sized earthworms at the moment...

I'll try the tweezer trick again, but last time I tried, the juvies did not seem particularly interested.

I'll keep you posted !

Best,
Phil