Live food ideas for fully terrestrial firebellies

[Kaia]

Hi All,
I have a couple of well-loved 25-year-old firebelly newts. They are fully terrestrial for some reason- they just don’t like to go in the water unless it’s to dip their tail or feet in. They are a bit spoiled. I usually hand feed them bite-sized clumps of live blackworms. This is the only food supply they know and we are in a bit of trouble because they all died and we can’t get anymore until it cools down a bit (in summer heat the worms die in transit to the pet store.) I’ve tried frozen blackworms to no avail- it’s like they don’t get that it’s food if it’s not moving. Chopping up live earthworms hasn’t worked either. Anyone have any ideas for tiny live food that can be served with tongs or fingers? Pinhead Crickets are too hard for them to catch and meal worms are too big. Any suggestions appreciated!!

 

[minorhero]

Most people feed flightless fruit flies to terrestrial salamanders. You dust them and let them go in the tank. The biggest problem with them is that they can crawl up the glass just fine so escapes happen constantly unless you take precautions on the lid.

 

[michael]

small crickets, small isopods like powder blue or powder orange, white worms