They won't eat anything but bloodworms...

Hi! I'm pretty new to the newt-having game but I love them so much so far. I'm really only having one issue, and that's that my newts (notopthalmus spp.) refuse to eat ANYTHING other than bloodworms. Unfortunately, bloodworms seem like the perfect size because the newts just aren't that big.

I've tried two different types of pellets, night crawlers, red wrigglers, small "red worms" (they just look like smaller earthworms) and nothing. No one around me sells black worms or white worms but I'm willing to order them. But they are the pickiest eaters I've ever seen.

It isn't as if the newts are skinny or unhappy. In fact, the lady newt is covering the tank in eggs right now which is a whole different issue. I'm just worried about long term nutritional needs. Would they eat frozen mysis shrimp? Should I bite the bullet and order black worms or something? Any suggestions?

I would try and get them onto something else soon as possible, sometimes it can be very difficult to get newts to try anything else once they've been fed bloodworm only for extended periods. Live blackworms would be a good place to start if you can get them as they're nutritionally far better than bloodworm and almost all aquatic newts will eat them greedily. Chopped or small nightcrawlers are probably the best food for them, but if they're refusing them atm and you've only just got the newts I'd let them settle in to their new home for a while before messing with their diet too radically.
Many wild caught newts are very difficult to wean onto pellets, they just don't seem to identify them as food, although it would do no harm to try from time to time.

What types of pellets did you try? Bloodworms are o.k. but they are nutritionally deficient in the long run.

I've tried ZooMed newt pellets and Earthworm/Blackworm sticks but they completely ignored both each time.

I'm ordering some live black worms so I'm hoping that will balance out their nutrition. I might also try throwing some frozen mysis shrimp onto the bloodworms when i give them some to introduce variety.

Blackworms and live daphnia seem to elicit a great feeding response from finicky newts.