Kiwibird
New member
Hello everyone. I am new here, so forgive me if I've put this in the wrong category (I'm sure a mod will move it if I have). You have a nice collection of info. and photos on newt setups, so I thought I would add a little about my newts redesigned tank.
I don't know the scientific name, but I have a 'fire belly' newt. I've had him for about 6 years, though he's a bit older than that. I really knew nothing about them when my neighbor was going to flush him (and I took him in of course) and kind of went off what the petstore said to do (bad call, I know). I was told to only have a little water in the tank, lots of plants because they don't swim, keep him in a dimly lit area and feed him frozen bloodworms. They also said he lived 3-5 years, so after living over 5 with us, and making a cross country move, I finally looked more into them and found out they live 20+ years and that I had not been the best carer for the poor creature. After finding this out, I have made some changes. He is now eating 'reptomin' sticks, with bloodworms as a treat and has been moved to a better lit area. As I mentioned earlier, I also redesigned his tank better. I took especial care to pick decor that provided vertical climbing for more usable surface area, a hiding spot and an open area for swimming. Also added a magnetic reptile ledge so the water-level can be higher in the tank than stacked rocks allowed for. Aesthetically speaking, I changed the gravel from multi-colored to black with a few red glass pebbles. I added the overhead LED with daylight/moonlight (really for the moonlights, he seems to sleep during the day), an red LED in the volcano and of course, I built the Tiki cover myself
The cover lifts off (kind of like a kleenex box cover) for easy feeding/cleaning and has open sides for air-flow and access to the light. There is a mesh screen on top to proven escape and I did fit a piece of clear plastic inside the hole of the volcano so the newt could not swim in it and become stuck. Anyways, heres my tank-
Before Picture:
Redone (with daylights on):
With moonlights on:
(The above-water platform)
The is how the cover lifts off:
I don't know the scientific name, but I have a 'fire belly' newt. I've had him for about 6 years, though he's a bit older than that. I really knew nothing about them when my neighbor was going to flush him (and I took him in of course) and kind of went off what the petstore said to do (bad call, I know). I was told to only have a little water in the tank, lots of plants because they don't swim, keep him in a dimly lit area and feed him frozen bloodworms. They also said he lived 3-5 years, so after living over 5 with us, and making a cross country move, I finally looked more into them and found out they live 20+ years and that I had not been the best carer for the poor creature. After finding this out, I have made some changes. He is now eating 'reptomin' sticks, with bloodworms as a treat and has been moved to a better lit area. As I mentioned earlier, I also redesigned his tank better. I took especial care to pick decor that provided vertical climbing for more usable surface area, a hiding spot and an open area for swimming. Also added a magnetic reptile ledge so the water-level can be higher in the tank than stacked rocks allowed for. Aesthetically speaking, I changed the gravel from multi-colored to black with a few red glass pebbles. I added the overhead LED with daylight/moonlight (really for the moonlights, he seems to sleep during the day), an red LED in the volcano and of course, I built the Tiki cover myself
The cover lifts off (kind of like a kleenex box cover) for easy feeding/cleaning and has open sides for air-flow and access to the light. There is a mesh screen on top to proven escape and I did fit a piece of clear plastic inside the hole of the volcano so the newt could not swim in it and become stuck. Anyways, heres my tank-Before Picture:
Redone (with daylights on):
With moonlights on:
(The above-water platform)
The is how the cover lifts off:
