New...with some very basic concerns

Hello...I'm new here and new to keeping newts.Just before Christmas I got a Taricha,and a Chinese firebelly.(housed separately)Unfortunately,the firebelly never really seemed to thrive.Not much interest in any kind of food.About a week ago he died.I'm not sure why...but of course it makes me nervous.

I still have the Taricha.He has been active and interested in everything from the beginning.He is a bit finicky,won't eat frozen bloodworms or newt pellets.He has eaten crickets,mealworms and ghost shrimp.My concern is this.He usually comes up to the spoon or baster when I put food in front of him.He'd sometimes cling to the spoon even if he didn't want what was on it.But for the last few days he has been turning away when food is offered.I do keep a few ghost shrimp in the tank,and sometimes release a couple of crickets for him.They disappear,but it's hard to say if they are hiding or have been eaten.Maybe I'm worried for nothing.But do you suppose he just isn't hungry because he finds enough to eat on his own? He's active and appears healthy.I just want to be sure he's eating enough.

Sorry for the long post and thanks for any insight.

Tinker

(Message edited by Tinker on January 15, 2005)

It's hard to even try to answer this without other background information. How often do you feed him? Does he look plump, or is he getting skinny? I would not recommend mealworms; earthworms are much better. What are your procedures for maintaining the water? If you haven't been doing partial water changes, start immediately. Note that this is partial, don't do a total water change.

If you haven't yet, see:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/faq/faq.shtml

Sorry for the lack of adequate background info.

I had been feeding him every other day,but maybe this was too often? He doesn't seem too thin but I am keeping an eye on that.I'm not sure I can find a good supply of earthworms in my area in the winter,but I'll look around.I keep the ghost shrimp in as cleaner/snacks in all my tanks.Do you think I should keep fewer or none in his so that he's hungrier for more nutritious food?

I have several aquariums so I am familiar with the need for regular partial water changes.I do mine about once a week,keeping a large container of aged/conditioned water ready.I also use a small baster for suctioning any visible debris from his habitat,and never leave uneaten food in for long.

I found a product called Reptisafe which claims to do a lot to make the water healthy for newts.It says it removes chlorine,chloramines and ammonia.And it's supposed to add calcium and other beneficial electrolytes,and also rehydrate and aid the slime coat.But I don't see any mention of such a product here so far,so I am not sure if it's really any good.Do you use anything like that?

I see the faq sheet,and have had some of those questions.So I've been lurking and reading here for several weeks.Most of the info from the pet shop was misleading at best,which I have learned to expect

Thanks again,

Tinker

I use ReptiSafe and have had no problem with any of my animals. Exo-Terra also makes a water conditioner - the box has a tree frog on it and is color coded blue. (I don't remember the actual name offhand.) I use that as well.

Hey Gail,

Sorry to hear about your chinese firebelly.

Reptisafe is fine, a regular water dechlorinator/conditioner which removes chlorine and chloramines will work just as well.

Sounds like your Taricha is a bit amorous. If you can't find worms in your backyard, pet shops often sell "Nightcrawlers" and "red wigglers." Although Tarichas are typically garbage can newts (eats anything), if your little guy isn't eating, it's best not to use redworms (known for its distasteful discharge.) The nightcrawler will have to be "chopped" into bite-size pieces, but! as a bonus, the blood from the worm might help stimulate food responses. Mmm. Tasty!

Other food ideas can be found here:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/foods.shtml

Sometimes, when the weather is cold, salamanders do not need as much food. I would not start worrying until the animal refuses food for over a week.

Just a quick question..
You guys with chloramine that need to add conditioner to the water...Must be expensive in the long run or?
I change more than 100l every week and I don't have that many newts, I can just imagine having to put additives to those kinds of volumes...

I'm a little bit worried since I am about to move and I haven't checked if they use chloramine in the new city

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>Jesper Danielsson wrote on Sunday, 16 January, 2005 - 00:10 :</font>

"You guys with chloramine that need to add conditioner to the water...Must be expensive in the long run or? "<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

Not really(IME).The conditioner is only a few dollars for a fair size bottle.Depending on what brand you use,it often only takes about a teaspoon to treat 10 gallons of water.So a bottle lasts a really long time.My water often sits for a week or at least for a few days before I use it.So I can go pretty sparing with conditioner.

Tinker

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>Pin-pin Wei wrote on Saturday, 15 January, 2005 - 21:55 :</font>

"Sorry to hear about your chinese firebelly. "<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

Thank you.It was a hard thing although we'd had him only a short time.My son is 12 and is the ringleader in the covert plot to fill the house with an assortment of creatures.But I love them too,and I'm never sure who's taking the loss harder when we lose one.Thankfully it doesn't happen often...though we once had a goby dragon just vanish from his tank.I still miss that grumpy little face peering out from under his log

It may have been foolish.But I went back to the pet shop today with the intention of getting a second taricha.They didn't have them anymore.However,they did have tiny little firebelly newts.They were smaller than my pinky finger and I have small hands.We had to have one.It's so small I thought it would be lost in the 10 gallon we had set up for the first firebelly.So I got a 5 1/2 gallon and took gravel and furnishings from an established tank.No filter for now,as I am afraid such a small creature would get caught in it.The little one is perched above the water looking out over the new world,like the ruler of all he surveys.I will have to chop worms up in teensy bites for this one

I do wonder where some of the misinformation comes from.The shop I buy from is a beautiful place,owned by a couple who have many years of experience.They have well maintained tanks of both fresh and salt water fish.All the other info I get from them about the fish I've bought has been very sound.But the guy insists that both the taricha and the firebelly newts are tropical creatures which need warm water.He also believes that they can be housed together.Nothing I can find supports either one of those beliefs.It's baffling to say the least.

Tinker