Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found a baby JFB in my tank in August. He has morphed & lost his gills & I have him in a shoebox w/ ecoearth & a shallow "pool". I'm feeding him the same things he's always eaten- bloodworms, beefheart & HBH pellets, but now I feed them on a little plastic lid. I never see him eat, nor do I notice any food gone. Should I be using a different diet at this point? He's quite tiny, like the length of my pinky fingernail.
-----
2.1 Corn snakes Snake Plissken, Jack Skellington & Abby
1.1 Hog Island Boas Harley & Isaboa
1.3 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.5 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John, Helmut Newton & Thandie Newton
1.1 cats Gus & Mena

Feed him wingless fruit flies and pinhead crickets. It's only going to eat live food now.

Dave

I breed meal worms & tried a tiny mealy one day, but he just let it sit there & it eventually drown (it was by the water). Will they eat tiny mealies or only flies & crix?
-----
2.1 Corn snakes Snake Plissken, Jack Skellington & Abby
1.1 Hog Island Boas Harley & Isaboa
1.3 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.5 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John, Helmut Newton & Thandie Newton
1.1 cats Gus & Mena

Mealworms really don't move enough to attract thier attention, and they are harder to digest for a young salamander. It may still be absorbing the remnants of its gills and paddle tail that will nourish it until its ready to eat. Typically it will be at least a week befor eit needs to eat.

Dave

Unlike anurans, caudates do not undergo a transformation of the digestive tract and normally do not stop feeding during metamorphosis.
You can also use white worms (Enchytraeus), and black worms to feed the newt. These can be placed on a small deli cup lid next to the newt and left for it to eat. I have reared several species in this manner from larva.

check out these references

http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Cynops/C_orientalis.shtml

this link has suppliers where you can get the worms. http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/microfoods.shtml

Ed

Thank you both. I tried a tiny meal worm & he eagerly went for it, but seemed unable to bite through & the worm got away. I picked up some fruit flies & have a bunch roaming his cage. I haven't seen him eat, but hope he is getting them. He can be quick, but those flies are jumpy! Any advice on how to open the container & feed them to him w/o ending up w/ flies all over my house,as I did last night?
-----
2.1 Corn snakes Snake Plissken, Jack Skellington & Abby
1.1 Hog Island Boas Harley & Isaboa
1.3 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.5 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John, Helmut Newton & Thandie Newton
1.1 cats Gus & Mena

Put the FF colony in the fridge for about 15 minutes. A small piece of orange (with the peel on) in a shallow dish will convince the flies to stay in the cage. Just change out the orange every couple of days to keep it from spoiling.

Ed

n/p
-----
2.1 Corn snakes Snake Plissken, Jack Skellington & Abby
1.1 Hog Island Boas Harley & Isaboa
1.3 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.5 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John, Helmut Newton & Thandie Newton
1.1 cats Gus & Mena