T. Granulosa Problem?

[Erinony]

Hi all
My name is Erin and I am a fairly new member to this website. I saved a 16 year old T. Granulosa from a family member a few months ago and he has been doing great ever since. He had been living in sludge for a long time so we originally moved his tank around slowly and got him used to a cleaner environment. Up until a few days ago he was living with 11 feeder goldfish in a 25 gallon tank, but they were getting aggressive and too large for him to eat. I simply could not feed him anymore as they ate all his food so I moved them into their own tank. Now my T Gran is alone and I moved his surroundings around. He now has a floating island as well as a cave that pops enough out of the water for him to sit on and many garden type places to explore. He has plenty of swimming room but I've noticed that for the past few weeks he spends all his time on "land". This is a problem as he only eats in the water and even when I leave pellets in the water he does not go in. I thought he stayed out of the water before because the fish always attacked him when I fed him, but now he still just stays out. I've tried feeding him live food and everything and he just sits out of water. I've been very careful with what water to use and leave out water from the tap for many days before using so the levels are fine. I'm worried that he is not getting enough food, 1-2 pellets a week just doesn't seem sufficient. He used to be really animated in the water and turn his head at me and seem to have quite the personality, but he just isn't the same. If anyone has any idea as to what could be going on I would greatly appreciate it. If you have any questions just let me know. :happy:

 

[Erinony]

I've decided to leave him alone for a while and-see what happens. Lots of new differences in tank could stress him out.

 

[Kaysie]

Have you offered live food? Earthworms, especially, are good for most picky eaters.

Most T. grans do have a terrestrial phase in the wild. I have one who has been terrestrial her whole life (she's 8). She's terrified of the water, but does just fine with a shallow dish and dirt-based setup.

 

[Erinony]

Hi, thanks for the reply.
He's not really a picky eater, loves his pellets, but only eats in the water. I have tried earthworms but he just doesn't want to eat out of water and I simply cannot sit there for hours holding an earthworm for him to eat. I've tried leaving them for him to snag but they just crawl into the water and burrow underground. He has lived in water his whole life with barely any terrain to play on so I'm not sure if I want to switch his whole tank around now.

 

[Erinony]

He really doesn't like being fed out of water, or even approached. He will not take food out of water. But he will not go in the water often enough for me to feed him. Going on 5 days now. I tried leaving him alone for a while and covered his tank, and he seemed to perk up, climbing all over everything. He still managed to always have his head above water. Quite the little brat. He is still plump and looking fine, so we shall see.

 

[Erinony]

Starting to get concerned. He seems fine, and not stressed at all. He swims around only for a quick second to get to another land area. I got tired of playing his games so I put him in the water and quickly got out his food. He is not very good at grabbing food, always been the same way, but he got some. Managed to spit out most of it. Tried feeding him earthworms, he just couldn't get at them as they were very squirmy and he just couldn't be that interested. As soon as I closed up the tank the butt started to swim around and act like the newt I have grown to love. So I ran back to grab some worms and low and behold he is back up on the rocks. I swear he is just messing with me. Problem though, I leave pellets in there and he doesn't eat them. What am I to do with this little brat I have. He is not eating but seems healthy. Could he be entering some weird phase because it is breeding season? I just don't know what to do...

 

[Jennewt]

I would recommend never leaving any pellets in the tank. Pellets begin to decay and produce ammonia, and this is particularly likely to happen in a relatively new tank setup. If there is ammonia in the water, this will contribute to him staying out of the water. When I use pellets, I use a turkey baster to suck all uneaten pellets out of the tank after feeding time.

Newts can go for weeks without eating, so there's no reason to panic yet. If he's eating at least a little, that's a good sign.

Try chopping the worms into smaller pieces - he may be avoiding them if they seem too large.

 

[Erinony]

Hi, thank you for the response. I never leave the pellets in permanently, always take them out within an hour or so if he doesn't eat them. He used to eat right away so I never had to leave the pellets in the tank. It's really not a matter of avoiding food, it's avoiding the water. One day he randomly decided he didn't want to be in the water any more. We took the feeder fish out and moved his tank around giving him more dry land hoping that would change things and he still avoids the water.

 

[Otterwoman]

I would cut up a nightcrawler and try to hand feed him every other day until he finally eats. You can teach him to eat by hand and then it won't matter if he is on land or in the water at feeding time. You just have to be patient and try persistently.

 

[Erinony]

I do currently hand feed him, but I will try and be more persistent and feed him on land. Thanks for the tips.

 

[Erinony]

An Update.
So we bought some earthworms from a local pet store. Feeling uneasy about cutting them up, we decided to leave them whole and see what happened. They are not very large, and he is a good sized newt so decided to try it. Knowing the earthworms would just burrow underground we were a little confused on how to feed them to him. A family member, without telling me had put one in before I had the chance and said my newt looked quite interested, but she never saw if he ate it. So that worm disappeared. Not sure if he ate it or not. Since I was desperate as he wasn't eating, I wriggled one around him and let him see if he was interested. He watched it for a while but didn't try to eat it. He just doesn't eat out of water. Next we decided to put two on his floating island and see what happened. I watched all day and the worms just decided to relax in the little holes holding the island up, wriggling underneath the water. Desperate, I left the worms in over night last night hoping something might happen. Woke up this morning, ran to the tank and the worms are gone, for sure. Now, did he eat them or did they burrow under the gravel and drown themselves. I have no clue, and am starting to feel like giving up. Part of me wants to say he looks fatter, but when I checked on him this morning he was in the exact same spot as the previous night. Maybe he just likes the spot? I don't know. Feeling frustrated, I will keep trying. He pokes his head around from time to time to say hello. But really just likes to lay on his little homes. My last resort which I will try in a few days will be to lower the water levels and keep everything shallow, maybe eventually bring levels back up. We shall see. I do miss my little aquatic buddy who was so full of pep.

 

[Erinony]

Since he doesn't hunt things down anymore(well I'm not sure, he might have gotten the earthworms) I'm wondering if maybe I should try and take out the gravel and try something else. If an earthworm did get loose in the gravel there's no way I could find it, as I have it set up to have a gravel hill on one side of the tank. There is not an enormous amount of gravel but there is enough. I just don't want to leave possible decaying earthworms in there. I'm going to leave him alone for a couple days, then try and feed again. He is not skinny, still has a little bit of a plump belly and I can't see a backbone or anything. I definitely think this is more then a picky eater problem... I might try and get pictures tomorrow. Question, how do I tell if my newt is constipated?

 

[Erinony]

T. Granulosa Part 2

Since my other post went quiet...
So my T. Granulosa, who is 16, is still not eating as he will not go in the water. He lives in a 25g tank and has always been aquatic. I suspected he might randomly be turning nocturnal so I got up really early in the morning once and he was transitioning from dry spot to dry spot and I was able to feed him half a pellet. I have been leaving worms in the tank on his floating island as they hang around it all day and wiggle in the water. He seems interested. They have been dissapearing, but I highly doubt he is able to dig them out of their small hiding spot and eat them. It has been almost a month, and I have not been successful in getting a feeding schedule together, or being able to hand feed him. I know this sounds horrible. Either he has managed to catch a couple worms or something because he is still alive and active. He just doesn't go in the water unless he wants to swim to another dry spot. I bought 3 small feeder fish because that is what he lived on for 15 years, and he hasn't gotten them yet. I am just really concerned now. It used to be really easy. He knew when he was going to be fed so he would go in the water. Now nothing. If it is a water issue, I guess I need to invest in something that will check the levels. I unfortunately cannot afford to buy much right now and need to look into pricing for those types of things. If anyone has any advice in what to do feeding wise, I would be grateful. I've tried cutting the worms up, wiggling them in front of him, cleaning them off, dropping on his head. He will not eat out of water. How do I get my newt in the water. I of course now am getting paranoid and don't know how skinny is too skinny and if my eyes are playing tricks on me. When he's flat against a rock he has a little belly, by little I mean cute not 'oh my gosh it's too small. My roommate thinks I should be leaving the pellets in the tank all day long to wait and see if he eats them, but recently have been advised not to do this. I leave them in for several hours every three days and nothing. I don't want the levels to raise. Thank you anyone who has taken the time to read again.

 

[Erinony]

Re: T. Granulosa Part 2

Just for some info, for 5 months when we got him we had a perfect schedule going. Every 3 days I would feed him and he was going in the water all the time. Then the feeder fish started getting bigger and I guess he didn't like going in the water to eat anymore. Now he won't go in the water, even though the big fish are gone.

 

[Otterwoman]

Re: T. Granulosa Part 2

It's possible to go off his feed for a while and he may be eating when you're not watching. Can you get some waxworms? They are pretty irresistible to them.

 

[Erinony]

Hi thank you for the response. How would I feed him the waxworms? He wouldn't touch them out of water. Do they keep in the water? If I put them on his floating island would they just wiggle off? I do have access to them.

 

[Erinony]

I need something that will last a while in his tank, because he doesn't go in the water. At this point I'm willing to try anything, but am still very doubtful. I watch his tank pretty carefully as I am currently off from University and he is never in the water.

 

[Otterwoman]

Waxworms will float. But again, try to hand feed him. I know I would bite at a piece of cheesecake wigged in front of my nose whether I was hungry or not.
.

 

[Erinony]

Thank you, I'm thinking I'll have to cut them up for him. Do you think he'll still be interested if they are not moving around?

 

[Linus]

Waxworms aren't very big, an adult t.g. should easily be able to annihilate them whole. Their wriggling is what makes them go crazy.

With the tank change and clean water, it may take your newt a while..up to a few weeks to adjust. It has good weight on it, I would just keep it cool and clean, and continue to offer food every other day or so. Waxworms may work, they are a wonder-food for finnicky newts, but should also not be fed as a staple.. so once he/she starts eating again you can switch back to earthworms. Good luck! I'm sure your newt is grateful for the tank overhaul!