Fire bellied newts pics + vid :)

[BlackxLilies]

I asked a friend of mine to name them and she refused. So I named them after her

These are the Mezzies. Living in Mezzy town.

Excuse the dirty looking glass, I let the water dry on it and now it looks nasty on pics. I have them in a 10 gallon tank, with that sponge isle thingie (that's supposed to double as a bio filter) and a small water pump. They seem to like the set up (way better than the set up they had at the aquarium I bought them from).

I'm probably gonna get three more so they can all do the newty things newts do in groups. The skinny one doesn't much like being in water, I find him under the plant all time. He's a pain in the butt to feed 'cause he refuses to stay in the water long enough to eat the pellets or blood worms. The other one, on the other hand, wants nothing to do outside water and eats like a pig. They're so cute!

There goes the skinny one, I just barely put him in the water and he heads for land...

And going for the log. *sighs* Emo newt. The other one is always playing around in plain sight, this one just hides and sulks under the log until I make him come out to eat.

Better pics of their cute belly (don't worry, I wasn't hurting him)

And a video on them eating while I cleaned their tank earlier



Any tips on getting the skinny one to eat?

 

[bugmankeith]

Thats an awesome setup, I wish I could have that for my 10 year old firebelly male! I forgot how small he used to be by seeing yours!

I would keep the skinny one in a smaller tank by itself until it can fatten up. I could clearly see it try to eat in the video, but the larger one kept bothering it.
It would be better off alone until it fattens up, mabye then it will go in the water more often.

Remember, after you get them stress plays a big role, it may need more time to acclimate to its new home. The gravel will make it very hard for it to find the food until it become more food aggressive, so if you choose to, it's temporary tank should have no gravel, only water and access to some type of land. You may also want to get a fecal sample done, sometimes parasites can be a big problem with these guys.

My firebelly was the same way, after doing the temporary tank for him he quickly fattened up and eventually went in the water.

Not only are blackworms good, but small earthworms, newt pellets, live brine shrimp, and frozen bloodworms. Give the skinny one a mix of these foods, and in about 2 weeks it should be well fed!

Be wary of too many males in 1 tank! I had 2 males together at a very young age thinking it would be ok, mine I have now killed the other male by ripping into his flesh and drowning him, ever since then he has been the only newt in the tank. So be careful!

My newt has a basic 10 gallon setup, but he seems to love it and he has it all to himself!

 

[BlackxLilies]

thanks! I separated the skinny one yesterday in a small tank (no gravel) as you suggested, hopefully he'll fatten up soon!

wow, 10 years I hope mine get to be that age too!

 

[bugmankeith]

wow, 10 years I hope mine get to be that age too!

And did I mention he only cost me 99 cents!

Keep me updated on your little newt!

 

[Lucara]

aw I like those..unfortunately I'm horribly allergic to them =(

 

[Nich]

thanks! I separated the skinny one yesterday in a small tank (no gravel) as you suggested, hopefully he'll fatten up soon!

wow, 10 years I hope mine get to be that age too!

Did the larger one eat?

 

[BlackxLilies]

Aww, sad news

The skinny one managed to get out of the tank (small open area that the tank cover had for cables to go through) and I found him all dried up and dead under the table (it's a wonder he wasn't eaten by the cats)

The big one is doing great, eating both pellets and worms. I'm getting him some live brine shrimp in a few days

 

[bugmankeith]

Im sorry to hear the bad news, they are very good climbers and are known to escape.

Mine escaped a few times when I first got him, I never knew they could climb at the time. But his tank was on a high table, so when he looked over the edge I guess he knew he couldnt go anywhere. I learned from that and since then i've had a tight fitting cover on.

 

[BlackxLilies]

Yeah, I feel so stupid :X I have a good screen cover on the 10g tank, but the small tank only had the light cover, which I thought would be good enough but figures he'd worm his way out throught that small space. Poor Mezzy.

I guess now I don't have to worry about having two males in one tank :X