New to paddle tail newts!!!

caudatadude28

caudatadude28

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I just got/rescued a newt that was labled Fire Belly Newt, that was in one inch of water and in a floors space of 6in. by 12in. space. It is 5-6 inches long, has a belly like a fire belly newt, with a paddle tail, and a unconnected stripe on each side, and on the tail has a red line on the outline of the tail. The people say they were feeding it pellets so I bought the pellets, although they never say it eat them. It has a small chunk out of one of its back legs and can not move that leg.There is no sign of infection or fungus yet. It gets around just fine though. Can I feed it night crawlers? I thought about buying some scuds, or freshwater shrimp from carlolina biological or ward's for it. It is in a 20 gallon, long aquarium with about 8 inches of water. It has a filter that makes a little current. It has four fake plants and numerous rocks. The temperature is about 65 and the ph is around 6.8 and 7.2. I use a ph regulator for that. I have an amonia regulator but I havent put it in yet. I put in a fungus/bacteria regulator just because of its wound. I wont put it in again. Please help.
Can I use a light on top? Or should I only use it for viewing? He was $11!
It looks like this one:
http://www.caudata.org/photoplog/index.php?n=1542
 
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I really need the help and would appreciate it. Do paddle tails eat minnows, can they catch them thierself?
 
I'm no expert on paddletails but from what I've read it looks like you are doing a good job. They are very territorial so you may want to give your some nice hiding spots like a flower pot or a rock cave and everything you said seems to be fine, although they can take a medium current because they live in rivers in their natural habitat. Also they will eat fish they can catch and I would guess that they would eat scuds but you should also try black worms, blood worms, etc, etc.
 
Okay, first of all, I would get rid of the fungus/bacteria regualtor, ph regulator, and the ammonia regulator. What are your water parameters? If you have a cycled tank than you don't really need to worry about the ammonia. Concerning the leg, here is a good article to read http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/sores.shtml Get rid of the pellets. They are rarely accepted. The earthworms are good. They probably could eat feeder fish, but i wouldn't use this as a staple diet. The light really isn't needed. Keep us informed.
 
Well the pictures you linked there are not of paddletails newts.
From your description I would think that you do have a paddletail newt though. Here is a care sheet from the caudata culture section that may help you out with their care.
http://caudata.org/cc/species/Pachytriton/Pachytriton.shtml

If your newt does not look like the pictures in that link then it is maybe one of these
http://caudata.org/cc/species/Paramesotriton/P_caudopunctatus.shtml
http://caudata.org/cc/species/Paramesotriton/P_hongkongensis.shtml
However you can use what is in the P. labiatus caresheet for them as well, it would have the same basic info, probably with the exception of Paramesotriton not needing as much current.
 
It does look exactly like a paddle tail newt and I have already looked at the article on wounds in caudata culture. It does not say anything about amputations though. The limb is a little discolored. It is grey where the limb meets the body. If I amputate it and it has a blood supply, it will bleed to death wont it?:( I am so worried. The useless limb does not stop it from doing normal things, it is still active after the enitial shock of being moved so much. It has checked out its environment.
 
With all due respect, your track record for IDing species is pretty poor. Perhaps you should take advice from those who may know more than you.

It seems you have learned little about the basic care of species since you've been here. On multiple occasions, people have explained to you how to cycle a tank and what to feed to animals.
 
With all due respect Kaysie, I am not an idiot, and the only problems I have had at identifying species were mole salamander larvae, which aren't the easiest, especially considering that I am new to caudate keeping.

He looks just like these:

http://caudata.org/cc/species/Pachytriton/Pachytriton.shtml

He has smooth skin, a fire belly, paddletail, and the face of a paddletail. He he ate part of a worm I put in there last night. Are paddletails nocturnal?

Now, more importanly, what about his discolored, useless, brocken, leg that has a chunk out of it? He cant move it and it just drags along when he walks/swims. Do you have to cut it off right where it connects to the body? The chunk was taken out before the knee joint.
 
If you post a picture, I'm sure someone will be able to ID it for you. You've posted pictures of both Pachytriton and Paramesotriton. A photo is needed to ID. Especially the head, overall shape, and the belly.
 
I would say that you should watch the leg closely. If you see infection, like white fuzz, then I would suggest doing salt baths, however, at this point since the newt is eating and not seeming to be bothered by the leg than I would think that amputation would not be necessary. If you can get the newt in healthy conditions it's own immune system should help out with the healing.
Paddletails are very sensitive to dirty water, while your tank is cycling I would suggest doing a small water changes every other day being careful to clean whatever wastes are on the bottom of the tank, then replacing the water with cool dechlorinated water.
As for feeding, pieces of nightcrawler are perfect. Count how many pieces you put in and then leave and check later to see how many pieces it eats. Paddletails become very "tame" and it will wait at the side of the tank to be fed once it is used to you. You can even try offering the worm peice to it now from tweezers, gently put it in front of it's nose and see if it will go for it. If not the just leave it there so it can eat it later. Try to leave it in a cool dark place while it is recuperating. Bothering it a lot will cause it more stress.
Good luck
 
Hey, I changed the water so it does not have any ph balancer or fungus clear because Kaysie said it was bad, and she is experienced. The water is 65-70F, which I know is a little high. He has plenty of Hides, and uses them most of the day and comes out around 7-8 p.m. I left a worm in there today. I will change the water every other day. About what 10%, or 20%? There is no fuzz yet. If I need to do salt baths, what is the ratio of salt to water? Can I just soak a cotton ball and put it on the wound. I dont want to put him through a living heck just for his leg.
 
Will the paddletail newt eat ghost shrimp or scuds? Do they often carry diseases or parasites? I thought about getting some from Carolina Biological.
 
Don't worry about salt baths unless you see fungus on the leg. Definately do not use a cotton ball solution on the leg.
Your temperatures sound like they are alright. A 10-20% water change is good. When you do the water change make sure you also take out any uneaten food.
What kind of worms are you feeding it? Cut up nightcrawler peices are a very good food for them and they will accept it well. They are much more nutritious than ghost shrimp or scuds. Not to mention feeding a newt anything with a shell is always risky.
 
I am feeding it very small worms, when the stretch out they are about 2-3inches. If you think I should I will move on to feeding it night crawlers. Why couldn't I soak a cotton ball with the salt bath solution? I had to redo his whole cage because there was fungus clear in it and heard it was harmful. He hasnt moved from his hiding spot since the change. This is the third day after obtaining him. He was hiding in that spot since 1:30pm yesterday and now it is 8:38am and he has not moved from it.
 
Don't worry about him not moving. He is probably stressed and trying to hide from what is stressing him. Mine have hid for about 2 weeks or so before they started coming out and still go to hide for long periods of time. Try dangling a worm in front of his hide if he hasn't come out for more that 2 or 3 days. It always gets my girl to stick out her pretty little head and grab the worm before retreating back in. My other secret is using the reptile hide-away rocks which attach to the side of the tank both in and out. If I'm really worried, I just take off the outside portion and can see them in the hide without bothering them. Out of all of their hides they love these two the most.
 
I have heard that males paddle tails get a white dot on the end of thier tail during breeding season. Mine has a faint white dot on the end of the tail. Is it breeding season? What is the maximum temperature for them that will not create stress?
 
Anything above like 74 degrees is probably stressful on them.
 
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