Skinny Eastern Newt Recovering, Still Not Going Into Water Much

[randok]

I have 3 eastern newts, 2 are new and so far very healthy. The 3rd one I have had for about 4 weeks and have been slowly getting it back to health.

The pictures attached are of Herman (not too sure what sex yet). He's about 3" head to tail. When I first got him from my friend he was skinnier and what I guess are his hip bones were sticking out more than they are now. There was a span of about 6 days he wasn't eating but now I've got him eating bits of earthworm and live blackworms. For about 3-4 days he ate every day, but now he's eating every 2-3 days. This regular eating cycle has been going on for the last couple of weeks.

He's looking and acting much better now, but he doesn't go into the water much. I have a platform with a cave that has gravel on it and he mostly hangs out in there. Occasionally he will dart around across the tank or hang out on the pennyworts, but that's about it. He's definitely out of the water more than in. I thought this was okay until I got the 2 newer easterns. They are in the water 90%+ of the time.

Water seems fine. Temp ranges from 68°-74°F, pH7.4, no ammonia or nitrite, nitrate is at 10ppm but that is from my plant food. I don't use CO2/Excel and only dose small amounts of Equilibrium, K,N,P. There were some neon tetras in the tank but I swapped those out for cherry shrimp instead.

Is this something that will just take time? Is he possibly still a young adult that is not fully developed? His tail is not very fin like. He otherwise does not seem sick. Just to be safe I'm thinking about keeping him in a separate tub. Any advice?

 

[slowfoot]

He looks like a healthy eft to me. A little on the skinny side, but not bad. I would move him to a terrestrial set up, with a water bowl, and feed him well. Try him again in the water after a few months.

 

[randok]

Okay cool, thanks! I thought something was up when I got the 2 new easterns, which are definitely adults.

Herman is in a temporary terrarium set up now, probably will expand on it as I read more about eft care.

 

[sde]

Yah I agree, he doesn't look too skinny. And I just wanted to mention that those latex gloves aren't good for amphibians. They can leach chemicals and I believe I have read that the corn starch on them ( to make them easier to get on/off ) can harm them.-Seth

 

[randok]

Sorry Seth, but how about powder free vinyl gloves? That's what I'm using in the pic. I even washed it with tank water before putting it on.

I read somewhere that the oils from our hands can be somewhat harmful as well, so I'd like to make sure I have the right gloves that won't cause any harm. I don't handle them much. That was the first time I did that with the gloves so I could take a picture for the forum thread (heh, yeah I know... taking a risk just for a nice picture!). I usually use a plastic measuring spoon and/or a small plastic container to move them around if I need to.

 

[sde]

I am not sure about when they are powder free. using something ( like the plastic cup you use ) is best, but also if your hands are free of lotions soaps etc. and wet with cool water ( like tank water ) than they are fine to handle with the hands for a bit. But i am not sure if the gloves are safe without powder. They might still leech chemicals.

 

[Chinadog]

Apparently vinyl gloves that are well rinsed are the safest if you must wear them. On the rare occasions that I have to handle my newts or fish I just use my washed, soap free hands and keep it as brief as possible.

 

[randok]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm glad at least that the gloves I have are "safe", I just happened to have them around. I think I'll stick to not touching them directly as much as possible.