Hello from South Africa

[Alwyn]

Good day everyone…

I’m so glad I stumbled upon this forum!! (Found it doing a search on Google).

I have two Cynops orientalis aka Fire Bellied newts. I bought them from a local pet shop about two weeks ago. They are really scarce in South Africa, well it is my first time stumbling upon an amphibian in a pet shop in the Western Cape so I had to buy them!

They are currently occupying a 5 gallon setup. I know the tank is very small, but they are still very young and only about 3.5 cm long, so this is just a temporary home till they get a bit bigger. Their favorite spot to sit is on a peace of driftwood covered in java moss that is not covered with water, the outlet from my HOB filter is keeping the moss nice and wet.

They don’t seem to be very interested in going into the water, I have read that this is typical behavior so I’m not very concerned… Or should I be!!? They are not very active, by active I mean swimming around or moving around allot, this I also hope is typical behavior.

When it is feeding time, every second day or so, I feed them earthworms that I ‘breed’ in my back yard in a small container. They don’t seem to be interested in frozen bloodworms, I have tried to feed them that, but with no success. Generally, if it moves, they will eat it, or well they will try to…

I’m still a newcomer to the hobby of keeping newt’s, so if I’m doing something wrong please point it out to me!! Any information would also be very useful, I have read the FAQ on this site and found it to be very informative!

 

[Kaysie]

Juvenile Firebellies tend to be terrestrial. They also tend to be quite still. Most amphibians, by nature, don't move unless they have to.

Glad to hear you've found us, and that your critters are doing well. We're glad to have you here

 

[Jennewt]

It doesn't sound like you are doing anything particularly wrong. If their skin stays wet, they will probably start to venture into the water at some point.

How do the HOB filter tubes get in/out of the tank? Or is it a waterfall type filter? I'm not exactly sure which kind of filter you mean, but you need to be very careful to seal every possible gap. Escape is common, and usually fatal. See:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/escape.shtml

 

[Alwyn]

Thank you for the warm welcome, I feel right at home…

Jennewt, it’s a normal Hang-on Filter, a very small Atman one (I attached a picture for you). The outlet ‘waterfall’ part of the filter is positioned over my java moss to keep it nice and wet.

I have read about newts escaping, but I cannot imagine mine scaling the sides of my tank, I mean I have hold one in my hand the other day (was just a once of thing, needed to move him for aquascaping purposes ) and the tips of their toes does not end in ‘suction cups’ like gecko’s. But I image, where there is a will, there is a way, so I’ll try my best to cover the tank up! Thank you for the hint!!

Thanks again for your replies!