Illness/Sickness: Old Japanese Fire Belly - White tail - Illness? Old Age?

Hi there, I am new here and am looking for some help with my newt. He is 14 years old and although he still seems in good health he has this white stripe on his tail that I can not figure out the cause of. I noticed a slight white tint 6 months ago but it seems more prominent now. I have tried to wipe it down but it appears not to be on his skin more under it. His skin is not broken, the white stripe is not furry or bumpy.

I have tried to get some pictures to show you all but I am a bit shaky with the camera and he is a shy lad at the best of times so photo quality is not great - sorry about that.

My set up:

He lives on his own and has done since last year when his brother/sister died, reasons unknown. S/he had no symptoms of Illness I just found them not moving when I went to feed them. I debated about getting him a new tank mate but decided against it because of his age, I figured he was not long for this world so introducing a youngster would just stress him out or bring disease in. Water is kept at room temperature (16-18 degrees most of the time), sunlight is natural from the window and he doesn't have a filter. He eats 1 cube of frozen bloodworms once per week. This, I understand is a good set up for newts. I originally had a full scale tropical set up as per directions from the pet shop but after 3 premature deaths I did some internet research and adapted things, hopefully for the better.

Photos:





Any help would be appreciated. Thank you

Hi, welcome to the site! Its hard to be certain, but I'm pretty sure you have a warty newt (Paramesotriton) of some kind, not a Japanese firebelly. The good news is the white tail stripe is perfectly normal, male newts get them in the breeding season so it's nothing to worry about.
Here's a link to some pictures.

http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Paramesotriton/P_hongkongensis.shtml

Hi China thanks for that. He was originally sold as a Chinese fire belly but when I looked online I found that Chinese fire belly = black top, red belly, smooth skin where as Japanese fire belly = brown top, orange belly, rough skin. I am simplifying it a bit but that is why I assumed he was Japanese, never thought of him being something else. I have grabbed a couple more (clearer) pictures if you wouldn't mind taking a look. It would be interesting to know exactly what species he belongs to.

Re. Breeding season, will that be a problem for him now that he is alone do you think? Will he be "frustrated" if you get my meaning.

Photos:




Thanks again.

Newts aren't social animals, they do fine alone, the animal will develop the color regardless of if it actually breeds. Not to mention Warty Newt larvae from what I've heard can be difficult to raise and isn't usually for beginners.

ThoseNewtsTho said:

Newts aren't social animals, they do fine alone, the animal will develop the color regardless of if it actually breeds. Not to mention Warty Newt larvae from what I've heard can be difficult to raise and isn't usually for beginners.

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Thanks Aaron, I was not looking to breed him, if I did the next generation would probably outlive me. Just wanting to double check he is happy really. Don't like to think of him moping about wanting some company.

Yes, he's a warty newt, probably Paramesotriton hongkongensis, but maybe someone with more experience of warty newts will confirm it. I can see why you thought he was a Japanese firebelly though, he does look like one, more so than they normally do.
I was going to give you a link to a care sheet, but surprisingly there isn't one on here that I can find. They are easy to care for though, they have broadly similar requirements to other fire bellies, although they aren't as dependent on heavy plant growth as Cynops or Hypselotriton are.
The main thing I would advise is changing is his diet, Bloodworms are fine once in a while, but they are too low in calcium to form a staple. Earthworms are a very nutritious food that can be used as the biggest part of his diet along with the bloodworms and other things from time to time as a treat.
The biggest difference between warty newts and fire bellies is their aggressive and territorial nature. Fire bellies will live happily in groups, but all paramesotriton are best kept on their own or in male/female pairs as males and sometimes females as well will fight to the death over territory, so he'll be perfectly happy on his own.

Thanks for the information China, very helpful. I will definitely start introducing earthworms to his diet from now on. I had no idea that bloodworms were low in calcium but I guess logic should have kicked in before now that 1 type of food isn't going to give him a balanced diet.

I used to have live plants in with him, maybe for the first 3 years or so, but they kept dying. I tried plastic for a while but they got covered in a strange black slime and looked really unsightly. Ended up throwing them all out. Probably something I could do with looking into again.

Good to know he'll be ok on his own, by the sounds of it he wouldn't have tolerated a newcomer so I made the right call there, even if it was for the wrong reasons.

So much to learn, so little time. Glad I found this forum, even if it was a little far down the line.

Yes, live plants will improve his environment no end, Java ferns, Java moss and Hornwort are a few plants that spring to mind. They will do well in lower light levels and will really help with water quality.