Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all! I'm not exactly new to the board, but I haven't ever posted before, so, hi.

I purchased two Spanish Ribbed Newts about four days ago from a local pet store. They're only about 3" long, but I have no idea of thier correct age - I know they'll get bigger.

The last two days, one of them doesn't seem able to swim upright, or stay underwater: he simply floats in one spot, sort of sideways, with his back sticking out of the water; and when he does go underwater, he just rises up again as if he were attached to fishing float or something. He doesn't seem bloated at all.

I've kept newts for several years, and I haven't encountered this before.

The only thing I've been able to find online about causes for this was on Caudata.org, in reference to this disease's link to over-aeration. I turned off the tank filter this morning.

What else can I do to help my little guy get better?

Thanks,
Laura

-----I know someone will ask, so here's the general info----
* The two Ribbeds are in a ten-gallon glass tank with a screen lid.
* It's 100% aquatic (about 7" deep), but there are several plants (all fake) sticking out of the water to climb on, and a floating land-area, as well as several "caves" for them to hide in during the day.
* Sunbstrate: a thin layer of 1/2" gravel (twice the size of thier heads, so they can't swallow it).
* Filtration: a small Rio water pump with a sponge-filter attachment on it. It creates an amazingly strong current for it's size - more like you'd expect from a 20g capacity filter - but I've angled the outflow valve to flow directly into the side of the tank to reduce the effect. As I said, I turned the filter OFF this morning, in case it is over-aerating the water.
* Temp: 70ºF
* Food: they were being fed tiny dried shrimp at the store I bought them from. I fed them the second night I had them (frozen bloodworms) and they ate just fine (and ate every bit - there was nothing to remove afterwards). I'm going to try to feed them again tonight, to see if they'd take more yet.
* Water quality: I used aged tap water, treated with ReptiSafe in the tank. I floated them in a jar in the tank to equalize temps, then added a bit of tank water at a time to the jar over a period of three hours to get them used to it, before I released them.

Everything in your description of the setup sounds good, with the possible exception of the filter. I have two things for you to consider. First, the Rio pump. If it is completely submerged, it does not aerate the water at all. Only the current would be an issue. Some submersible filters have a little tube you can use as an air intake, such that they do aerate the tank, and this method of aeration is probably the surest way to over-aerate a tank that I've ever seen (i.e., could cause gas bubble disease). Second, it could just be a temporary problem due to acclimation to a new tank. Give the newt plenty of floating plants to rest on and remove him to a shallow tub if he seems distressed (swimming frantically).

Thanks, Jen

Triton seems to be a little better than he was - he's already swimming easier; and he ate just fine over the weekend.

That filter shouldn't have aerated the tank, and I was really wondering about that. I hooked it up in a tank that has no critters in it to check it out this weekend - it looks like what was happening was, the outflow was hitting the wall of the tank so fast that it was bubbling up from the force. I ended up removing the filter entirely from Triton's tank, and I'll just be cleaning it by hand and doing partial water changes, until I can work out a better setup (i.e. a bigger tank - even my smallest filter I think is too much for the little one they're in).

It didn't even occur to me that it could be an acclimation problem - that makes a lot of sense, considering the abominable setup they were in at the store.

I appreciate the help, thanks!