Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm babysitting my friends newt that he got a month ago and I noticed that it doesn't eat it's pellet food at all. So I tried feeding it small worms and it's still got not interest in them. I put on on land, 1 in the water and one on the bark ramp leading onto the land half of the 30G. No interest at all, does anyone know what I can do? He had 2 but the one died a week ago which I think was because it didn't eat. It also doesn't go back into the water after it gets onto land and starts to dry out. What do I do??

First off, ditch the pellets. 95% of newts won't eat them. Second, keep trying. Offer little worms, bite size pieces. They should be no wider than half the width of his head, and no longer than a centimeter or two (chop them if you have to). And keep it cold. Colder the better. If you can keep it in the lower 60F's, that would be ideal. It probably isn't eating because firebellied newts are caught from the wild, are shipped over in horrible conditions, and kept in totally unsuitable tanks until someone buys them or they die. They're usually riddled with parasites and stressed from the heat. This is why petshop newts are just not good to buy. You should get them from a breeder if you want healthy animals.

Good luck.

I'm pretty sure most babies on the market (even in petstores) were captive bred now. My newts do very well on pellets, but that's a different story since yours obviously are not. My first concern with your post was that your newts avoided the water. This could very well be a sign of poor water conditions. Changing the water should be a big help. Also try a variety of foods as suggested by the previous poster. How thin is your newt? Are skeletal features visible? If not, then you have time, if so, force feeding may be the last alternative. If this is the case, seek someone more experienced to help. (or a vet of course)