Help with C. orientalis

[RyanLHawk]

I have two C. orientalis that I acquired from Petco a few weeks ago, and one is in poor shape. Usually I wouldn't buy an amphibian from a place like Petco, but they were keeping them at way too high of a temperature (almost 78 degrees!!!) and I felt really bad for them , The one was refusing food up until the past few days. He (or she - they are still only about 2-2.5 inches in length) is awfully skinny, so I placed him in a 5 gallon tank with some unbleached paper towels, a clump of moss, and a ceramic pot to hide in. I put just enough water to cover the bottom of the tank with maybe 1-2cm of water... unlike the other one who seems to be doing great, and has taken to an almost exclusively aquatic lifestyle, this little guy has been hiding in the corner of land I provided by installing a divider in the permanent enclosure, so I took him out and put him in a simple set up to keep a better eye on him. I have been keeping him at about 65-66F, and I put about 6 tiny isopods, 3 tiny red worms, and a wax worm in the tank so that hopefully he will chow down at night. Any other suggestions as to what I should do to get him back into shape?? As of two days ago, he has begun to eat small wax worms - which I figured might put some meat on his bones! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Chinadog]

Well, the fact that he's eating is a good sign, many petstore newts just seem to shut down and refuse food of any kind until they starve to death or die from other stress related problems. First off have a read of the sticky about Chinese firebellies at the top of the help section, pretty much all the info you need to give the newts the best chance of recovering is in there, basically a minimum of 10 gallons of clean, cold water with stupid amounts of live plants. Personally, I wouldn't worry about getting him to use the water to begin with, I would just continue to feed him wherever he'll eat and try and pack some weight on him, but make sure optimal aquatic conditions are available to him should he decide to take the plunge.
Anyway, have a look at the sticky, and don't underestimate the importance of the plants, they really are vital to begin with! if there's anything you're not sure of ask away.
Hope this helps.

 

[RyanLHawk]

Thanks, I will check it out! The permanent enclosure I have set up for them is a bow-front aquarium that holds a little more than 5 gallons, but not quite 10.. I sectioned off a very small area in the back corner with a piece of plastic and silicon sealant, and planted some grasses, ferns, and mosses... in the water section, I strategically placed a few large river rocks across the bottom and built them up around the Repti-filter to create somewhat of a waterfall and diffuse the water flow... as far as plants, I have a TON of pennywort and Ascaris. The plants are so thick on the surface of the water that they create sort of a floating mat (which the newts could easily get in and out of the water on if they would so choose). The larger of the two newts hardly ever ventures out of the water, and looks healthy, and eats small red worms, wax worms, blood worms, pinhead crickets, isopods, etc... I am hoping the little guy will get to eating well before I move him back into the permanent enclosure... I'm afraid if I do, the larger newt who is in good shape will out-compete him for food and he'll starve!