My Newt Is Afraid of the Water

[Anthony370]

I've had my newt for a few days, and he only rarely ventures into the water. When he does, he thrashes around until he finds the nearest land. I read about the stress thing, so I've left the lights off for about a day and a half. The water is room temperature, about 69 degrees, and there are ghost shrimp in the bottom for him to munch on.

But still nothing. He's just chilling out on this grass pad at the water's edge.

 

[Jennewt]

These FAQs will answer some of this issue
Caudata Culture - Frequently Asked Questions

The temperature sounds good, but the newt isn't going to eat the shrimp (because he isn't going in the water, and because shrimp usually move too fast to be eaten by newts). Check the FAQs and articles there to find some other food options.

 

[Yevgeniy matsay]

I had the exact same problem with my newt. Drop the temp to 60 degrees by adding some ice cubes to the water. Then add LOTS of plants and hides. They can even be fake plants. Go to the dollar store buy some fake plants and put them in the tank. Then every day start jerking your newt to water. First he'll freak out but then he'll relaize that there are plants he can hide in. Do this every day until he stays in the water but just do it once a day. BUT if your water quality is poor change the water and decorlorniate it and put a filter in with low current. Hope i helped!!! Good luck:happy::happy:
-yevgeniy :kill:

 

[AfroNewtkeeper]

Buy a water testing kit from the nearest pet store. This will let you see if your parameters are stable. If they aren't, your newt won't want to go into the water in the first place. Make sure you FILL the tank with live plants to ensure he has lots of places to rest near the surface. If you must buy fake ones, go for the soft, silky kind, so that he can't cut himself. Otherwise, live plants are best, as they help keep your water conditions stable.

 

[Niels D]

I wouldn't suggest jerking your newt into the water every day and if you're planning to add plants (which is a good idea) go for live ones, especially Eleodea, because it gets rid of a lot of nitrates fast. Even when your water parameters turn out to be fine I would suggest adding live plants. Shrimp help with keeping the water in balance, but you can add some pond, bladder or ramshorne snails as well.

What kind of newt are we talking about btw?