New fire bellied newt malnourished

[jkpetey11]

I recently bought two fire bellied newts from two turtles. The first was rather thin but relatively healthy and was eating by the second day. The second one was very lethargic, not eating and died by day 3. I exchanged him for another but this one was VERY thin. As in you can see all the bones in his poor body. He swims occasionally and seems pretty alert but mostly stays on land. He ate the frozen bloodworms i put in the tank, but i recently changed tanks because the other one was small and the water was not deep. The new one has deeper water and plants artificial and real (by the way is peacock fern ok with newts??) and there is a small island they are both able to get on. He doesn't seem to like to swim often although the other one loves the water so i don't think there is a water issue, but maybe he is just too malnourished to swim in such deep water?? I fed him two and a half small earthworms via tweezers yesterday but today he wants nothing to do with the worms. Is he just stressed or not hungry? i don't want to overfeed him! the water fluctuates between 68-70F and there is no heater. I just don't want another newt to die on me so I'm very worried (

 

[jkpetey11]

I recently bought two fire bellied newts from two turtles. The first was rather thin but relatively healthy and was eating by the second day. The second one was very lethargic, not eating and died by day 3. I exchanged him for another but this one was VERY thin. As in you can see all the bones in his poor body. He swims occasionally and seems pretty alert but mostly stays on land. He ate the frozen bloodworms i put in the tank, but i recently changed tanks because the other one was small and the water was not deep. The new one has deeper water and plants artificial and real (by the way is peacock fern ok with newts??) and there is a small island they are both able to get on. He doesn't seem to like to swim often although the other one loves the water so i don't think there is a water issue, but maybe he is just too malnourished to swim in such deep water?? I fed him two and a half small earthworms via tweezers yesterday but today he wants nothing to do with the worms. Is he just stressed or not hungry? i don't want to overfeed him! the water fluctuates between 68-70F and there is no heater. I just don't want another newt to die on me so I'm very worried

Here are some pictures!! As you can see from looking at the tank their names are Rex and Tex. The larger one is the healthier one, and although the picture doesn't do him justice the second one is VERY thin. P.S. they are Chinese fire bellied newts right? I can't tell the difference between Chinese and Japanese newts

 

[Chinadog]

The first sticky thread at the beginning of the help section will give you most of the information you need. Have a read of that, If there's anything specific that you're unsure of afterwards, Ask away

 

[Asevernnnn]

They're H. orientalis, the chinese fire belly newt. Petstore H. orientalis are WC and imported in horrible conditions and usually end up dying within a few days from stress or disease/sickness. Is your tank cycled? And I would add a lot of live plants. I got my efts to go aquatic by making the land area partially submerged so it couldn't get completely dry so it could get used to the feel of water. I would continue offering tiny chopped pieces of earthworm, I know that Walmart sells baby canadian night crawlers that you can cut up pretty easily, just check the container before you buy it to check if it has any fungus. WC newts refuse water and food a lot, I don't think its 'too malnourished to swim" but its probably wayy too stressed out to enter the water. If its super skinny I would feed all it will accept and try to get it into better shape. I would try offering food everyday until it accepts, unless someone else on here has a better idea. How big is the tank?(10 Gallons of water should be the Minimum) And I would try cooling it down a little more. And I would not to buy anymore newts from pet stores but try to find a breeder instead. Buying from the petstore just tells them to import more because the animals selling which leads to more newts being cared for improperly, and dying of stress and sickness
Have you taken a look at this yet?

 

[jkpetey11]

I'm sorry but what does WC refer to? (Im new to all this newt stuff) what are the best kinds of plants to get and where can you get them? I purchased peacock fern today and the skinny one is hiding in it, but I'm not sure if its good with oxygenating the water. The water is not cycled by the way.

I did not realize there were newt breeders and that you could buy newts that way!! how do you find them?? Also thank you so much for your response it helped Also how do you make the temperature lower??

 

[Asevernnnn]

I'm sorry but what does WC refer to? (Im new to all this newt stuff) what are the best kinds of plants to get and where can you get them? I purchased peacock fern today and the skinny one is hiding in it, but I'm not sure if its good with oxygenating the water. The water is not cycled by the way.

I did not realize there were newt breeders and that you could buy newts that way!! how do you find them?? Also thank you so much for your response it helped Also how do you make the temperature lower??

WC means Wild Caught, and CB means Captive Bred.

Plants that do well in my tanks are Hornwort, Java Fern, Java Moss, and Elodea/Anacharis.

You can find newt and salamander breeders on here, there is an entire section of For Sale Ads, however CB Hypselotriton orientalis don't show up very often. Axolotls and P. waltl are what usually show up the most often. And only CB animals can be sold here, but Long Term Captives can be given away.

Have you checked out these articles yet?
Caudata Culture Articles - Cooling
Caudata Culture Species Entry - Cynops orientalis - Chinese firebelly
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...-new-chinese-fire-belly-newts-not-eating.html

 

[jkpetey11]

Where is the best place to purchase newts

So i purchased a couple of fire bellied newts from two turtles but they were both sickly when i got them. Does anyone know of a better place to purchase newts that aren't treated so poorly and are healthier for future reference??

 

[Asevernnnn]

Re: Where is the best place to purchase newts

The best place you could probably buy newts is here, the FS section has stuff for sale all the time, but not usually H. orientalis
Everything For Sale is CB but LTC(Long Term Captives) can be given away.
Other websites could say they're CB but they could always be lying, and even if they are they could be cared for improperly.

Heres a link to the for sale section: For Sale, Give-Away or Trade - FS: USA at Caudata.org Newt and Salamander Portal

And you could also post a wanted ad: Species Wanted, Items Sought - Wanted in the USA at Caudata.org Newt and Salamander Portal

 

[Redear]

I have some H. Orientalis morphing as we speak. I will offer them for sale here soon.

 

[jkpetey11]

I have some H. Orientalis morphing as we speak. I will offer them for sale here soon.

That would be great thanks!!