Fire Newts

[xrayjeeper83]

Alright so I did the no no of an impulse buy. Went to the LFS today to get Bloat a new light and they had 2 fire newts chillin in a tank, and they were so cool looking I had to have one. Right now he is chilling in my betta's 10g but once I move(13th of this month) Im going to set up my 20L for him.

Anyone have any first hand experience with these little guys, im going to go surf now for info on them but like info from people that have actually kept them before

[J-P]

I used to keep them as a kid but they always escaped and died. a tight lidded paludarium would be awesome

[Blaine]

Super, super tight lids. No holes or gaps anywhere!!!

These little guys are the original escape artists. They can stick to the glass and can even lift the heavy lid off your aquarium. They will weasel their way out of any space available to them, especially if they can swim to the top of the tank.

[xrayjeeper83]

awesome lol, gotta seal up the tank better then, around the filter has a gap

[Blaine]

I use styrofoam, cut to fit, to seal any gaps

[RTR]

I have not kept these in years either, and cannot, as my home has no cool areas. These are not warm temperature critters. They might do at 70F, but will do better a few degrees below that, but above 65F. The mid-70s F tropical tank temps are really bad for these beasts IME. It took me a while to figure that one out, and only then did I realize that i was keeping them wrong.

[xrayjeeper83]

In my reading I read that bit of info, I will have to hunt for a cool spot in my new apt, go no heater and have the light higher above the tank so it doesnt warm the water

[FADE2BLACK_1973]

I think the best way to keep these would be like set-up the tank like a turtle tank but without the uv heat bulb.

[allycat]

We've got two happy, healthy (greedy!) fire-bellies! There are two species commonly sold as fire-bellies (Japanese/Chinese), but they have similar care requirements.

Over 72 degrees and they VERY quickly get fungal infections , RTR is so right about that. We use double-bagged ice packs wrapped in towel against the walls of the tank, so it stays around 62-4 degrees Farenheit. +++1 to tight lids. They love live blackworms (who doesn't?) Java moss/hornwort is what we have in our tank, some sand and larger river rocks, I've heard of them eating pebbles accidentally: they have a wind-up and strike action, like our puffs (kinda), and I've seen ours take big bites of sand when feeding (in a pottery dish w/ eyedropper). They live in a tank w/mostly (90%) water, some rocks breaking the surface, but newts should mostly stay in the water once they're out of the terrestrial eft phase, otherwise they might be feeling moody or sick. Like puffs, they're not always keen on changes, even if we tell them it's for their own good. We don't have pics yet, sorry! Caudata are my bf's fav.

[xrayjeeper83]

well, i dont have a heater in the tank he is in, and i will keep the light off so not to add extra heat. try to get the temp down.

hope he makes it till I can set up his personal tank and can do that one properly.

[FADE2BLACK_1973]

We've got two happy, healthy (greedy!) fire-bellies! There are two species commonly sold as fire-bellies (Japanese/Chinese), but they have similar care requirements.

Over 72 degrees and they VERY quickly get fungal infections , RTR is so right about that. We use double-bagged ice packs wrapped in towel against the walls of the tank, so it stays around 62-4 degrees Farenheit. +++1 to tight lids. They love live blackworms (who doesn't?) Java moss/hornwort is what we have in our tank, some sand and larger river rocks, I've heard of them eating pebbles accidentally: they have a wind-up and strike action, like our puffs (kinda), and I've seen ours take big bites of sand when feeding (in a pottery dish w/ eyedropper). They live in a tank w/mostly (90%) water, some rocks breaking the surface, but newts should mostly stay in the water once they're out of the terrestrial eft phase, otherwise they might be feeling moody or sick. Like puffs, they're not always keen on changes, even if we tell them it's for their own good. We don't have pics yet, sorry! Caudata are my bf's fav.

Thats not a tank, that's an habitat or is it? Darn I wish they had the lil Dr. Evil smiley with his lil pinky touchin the corner of his mouth when I asked that question...lol. But sounds like they got it made though.

[allycat]

Thats not a tank, that's an habitat or is it? Darn I wish they had the lil Dr. Evil smiley with his lil pinky touchin the corner of his mouth when I asked that question...lol. But sounds like they got it made though.

They're in the computer room. They help my boyfriend PvP At least, they come and watch at the glass and make little gulp-y faces and dig in the sand with their faces for stray worms LAWLZ

[xrayjeeper83]

Well mine ate some Bloodworms today, gotta try and fine some live worms. My betta wasnt to happy when he noticed I was hand feeding the newt some bloodworms and not him lol

[Troender]

What about some pics? I am so curious about what they look like.

[FADE2BLACK_1973]

They also call them by the name fire bellied newts too? Just making sure we are all on the right page.