Feeding Shrimp To Newts

Otterwoman

Otterwoman

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I recently got this book (Jean Raffaëlli's french language Les Urodeles ) and I'm slowly working through it with a french dictionary. The author was talking about feeding shrimp to tarichas. Does anyone know if that might mean brine shrimp, or can I try to feed my picky eaters a little bit of store-bought shrimp (minus the cocktail sauce)? I hope this isn't a really dumb question.

Note: I asked this question in the thread about the above-mentioned book (http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=34589) and it became a discussion about feeding shrimp to newts, and so I've moved it into its own thread.
 
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You can feed them both.
 
I feed sections of cooked, store bought shrimp to all of my tylos about once every 2-3 weeks as part of a varied diet. I forcep feed each individual and they all seem to really enjoy it (the shrimp).
Chip
 
I'm definitely going to try this out. If I find myself at any Xmas parties with shrimp, I'll stick a few in my pocket to try it out on the cheap...
 
Maybe you were just kidding, but in case you weren't... party shrimp are usually cooked in water with salt, and possibly other flavorings.

I have been known to go to the seafood counter at the store and buy ONE shrimp. The clerk never seems too happy about it! I use it raw, cut in slivers. Raw and cooked have the same nutrition, but I prefer the texture of raw, it just seems more natural.
 
I try not to feed salamanders and newts with foods that are too "alien" (I just don't see many axolotls eating a cow in the wild). Shrimp/prawns are sort of border line but I do feed them occasionally.

I noticed in the summer time when I fed my tiger salamander larvae with prawns (translation into Americanese: large shrimp) that all three suddenly started to metamorphose (fins and gills were receding within 48 hours of eating prawns). I thought this rather too coincidental. In a pseudo-scientific way I chalk it up to the prawns having more iodine in them than non-seafoods, and this little boost of iodine to their systems tipped the (already close to metamorphosis) tigers over the edge.
 
I was only partly kidding, I didn't know they used salt and flavorings. I thought it was just plain boiled shrimp. Next time I go grocery shopping I'm going to get a couple raw shrimp. I have some very picky eaters on my hands. I wonder how nutritious they are? Either way, I try to make my newts' diets as varied as possible. I only recently tried bloodworms, which were a big hit. I started a worm farm this summer, and I have a whole tub full of small red wigglers...that no one likes, except the goldfish and the perch, which are only accidental pets. I had that slug culture going all summer, but when winter came, everything died except for the bugs. I finally threw them out today.
 
The shrimp I use are the "large" frozen ones in the freezer at walmart. They're precooked. I only use those because I eat them myself :).
 
Thanks for the information Jen. I have been feeding pre-cooked cocktail shrimp for years and never even considered that there may be other "ingredients". Like John I am currently using the walmart frozen brand. I'll have to check the label when I go home.
Chip
 
I went to the supermarket and I got some shrimp from the counter to try this out. The manager was working the counter and helped me, and I told him my rather small order of only three shrimp was because I was trying them out to feed to my salamanders. Well, they liked it lots, and so I went back to buy some more. (Actually, the T. grans and I. alpestris devoured it, and the C. orientalis and T. marmoratus didn't touch it.)

I didn't want to buy the packaged raw frozen shrimp, because I noticed the ingredients on the bag were not just shrimp, but "shrimp, salt, sodium tripolyphosphate." Since Jenn warned about the added salt, I went back to the counter and the manager was there again. I told him the salamanders liked it, and I wanted more, and he suggested I buy a bag of frozen. I told him I didn't want the added salt, and he said, well, these shrimp at the counter on the ice were just the same, that they take them out of big bags and sell them like that, but they're exactly the same. I asked, you mean these "fresh" shrimp have added salt? and he said, yes, and if any supermarket says that their shrimp are fresh and never frozen, you need to get a lawyer (!) (a little extreme, but he got his point across!) and that the salt and sodium tripolyphosphate were added to most frozen foods (I don't know if he meant all, or just fish). But the point is, Chip, your frozen walmart brand with its added salt won't have any more salt than if you stand on line for counter shrimp. AT least, according to the over-caffeinated manager at the Hannaford Seafood Section where I shop, who also told me about his aquarium, love birds, ex-girlfriend, and more.
 
How about shrimp/prawn for my mudpuppy? I'm always looking for new things to feed her, I only feed nightcrawlers. What type (live, frozen, cooked) etc. Would be best for my mudpuppy.
 
Jennewt said:
I use it raw, cut in slivers. Raw and cooked have the same nutrition, but I prefer the texture of raw, it just seems more natural.
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I don't know where you would get a live one, but you could try just one by asking for one at the deli counter (if you ask for a "sample" you might get one to try for free), either one, cooked or raw, don't forget to peel it. I minced them for my newts, but you probably only need to dice it for Bart.
 
Thanks Dawn, now I just need some forceps, cause otherwise she might bite me.:D
 
You can find cheap wooden ones in a pet shop, or if you have any wooden chopsticks that they give you with chinese food, sharpen the end just a little so it can spear the pieces of shrimp and feed them that way. Or, just use the chopsticks the regular way, and pick up the food with them, and put it near her face or something. Does she know when you're going to feed her, and respond by coming up to you or something?
 
I've heard of using scewers and such. Yes, Bart generally begins to look very alert when I open the tank to feed, sometimes she'll come right up to the top.
 
That an interesting story about the salt Dawn. I checked my bag from walmart and it does indeed contain "salt and tripolyphosphate". I also remember hearing stories about seafood being sprayed with antibiotics in order to keep it fresh longer. I have to wonder however how much (if any) harm is being done to our newts as long as thawed shrimp are fed sparingly.
Chip
 
The "tripolyphosphate" is probably quite a benign salt. I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Well, I did decide to use the shrimp, since it's hard finding food in the winter. I miss my earthworm routine, and the critters don't seem to like nightcrawlers as much as the stuff from my yard. I've been taking two shrimp out at a time and defrosting them by soaking them in water, and hoping that the soaking and rinsing will get rid of any external added salt.
 
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