Acclimation/ emergency

Hi,

Have an emergency question. I've a heater in my CFB tank for night time, but I came home today and its changed from being set low to being set at 31oc, the water has reached 28oc so i dunno how long it has been set higher (it was normal this morning when i checked). So i painicked- as two the newts were in the water and I picked them out and set them on their turtle dock. (The other one wasnt in the water he was already on the dock). One went back into the water though so I've removed them completely and have put them in a tub with damp kitchen roll in it, I didnt want to keep them in the 28oc water.

So as they are semi-terrestrial I was wondering if they need to be acclimated to the same extent that you would have to acclimate an animal that stays in water? If i were to keep them in the tub until they reached room temperature and got the water to roughly the same temperature would that work? Or does anyone have any better suggestions?

Anyvhelp would be appreciated, thanks!

Well, first get rid of the heater. YOu don't need it for newts ever .
The best temps for that species , here I quote from the species care sheet:

"A cool (14-20°C/58-68°F), planted aquarium with small land areas is needed. Dense aquatic vegetation and mats of floating plants are very much appreciated by this species. Land areas can consist of stacked rocks which break the surface of the water or more elaborate, planted land areas can be provided. Temperatures above 23°C (74°F) should be avoided. Once established and fully comfortable in their new surroundings, the adults tend to be highly aquatic, often only resting on rocks or floating vegetation for short amounts of time at night. Water depth is generally the choice of the owner."

From this page:
https://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Cynops/C_orientalis.shtml

Hi,

Thanks for replying, I know technically I don't need a heater, but I've done lots of reading and from what I've read if temps drop that low then it affects nitrifying bacteria levels, it seems the bacteria start to deplete at low temps so I like to keep a heater to avoid low temps at night (my house gets cold). I've had issues with another tank before and the cycle being broken so I'm just very cautious when it comes to bacteria and the cycle, probably too cautious.

Was just wondering seeing as newts come out of the water whether acclimation needs to be as strict as it would be for purely aquatic animals- if that makes any sense. It's something I've been curious about.

Anyway I lowered the tank temps to room temp by removing water and adding colder water and by using fans and frozen bottles. I kept the newts out of the tank for a while before putting them back in and it hasn't seemed to have had any negative side effects thankfully, although I am keeping a very close eye on them incase. I have no idea how long the water had been at 28 for or how long they'd been in the water for at that point so hopefully it wasn't long.

Anyway thanks again for replying.