Lucy & Freddie - Fire Belly Newts :) - Lost a Newt :(

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New Addition :)

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victoria said:
Cute! My husband's aunt and uncle have a newt that celebrated his 27th this week... O_O


27 years?????????

SO I just found out Arfur might be a girl HAHA ..I need a new name
 
So apprently its hard to tell if they are male or female until they are full grown, my friend thinks a girl ..but not sure ..so until we know, the name will be Arfur Lucy LOL
 
If well taken care of they usually live over 10 years....and apparently as long as 27, eep
 
More Pictures :)

OH, getting a friend today! his name will be Stephen!

Set Up! (dont mind the cloudy water, its from the rocks ..in a few days it will be clear!)
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How are newts health usually?
I used to work at a pet store and they had fire bellied newts in there a lot, didn't take good care of their reptiles unfortunately. :'(
They always ended up getting big lumps that looks like they were filled with blood or they just randomly died. :S It was sad.
But anyways, I think they're cute, although I don't know if I would ever want one, lol.
Congrats on the new addition though! ^_^
 
Aww, s/he's so cute! (I'm fairly certain that you have a lovely young lady, although you will likely have to wait a little while to be certain. Males will develop fairly obvious bits -not nearly as obvious as rats lol but you would know haha! Also, the way it's carrying it's tail tells me that it's most likely a female)

Has the water cleared up yet? Also, has she been spending most of her time on land or in the water? Many FB newts, after a recent move, will refuse to go in the water until they are settled. Since they are a primarily aquatic species, this is not really the best thing for them to do but it's also not a big deal either. I'm just telling you so you know to keep an eye on the behavior. If she is remaining terrestrial and the behavior doesn't resolve itself after a reasonable amount of time has passed, the majority of the land area may need to be removed until she realizes the water is a better place for her to be. A water testing kit would also be a good thing to invest in, if you don't already have one. Since they are aquatic, they really should be treated more like fish. Water chemistry is key in the health of these animals.

A few more silk plants, both on land and in the water, would probably help her feel more secure too.

Chinese Fire Bellied Newts (C. orientalis) have the potential to live to be around 20 years old. Sadly, the majority of FB's kept as pets are lucky if they reach their 1st birthday, much less live out their full lives (victoria, that is awesome that your aunt and uncle's FB has lived so long! He is a very lucky little guy!! :thumbup: )

Healthwise, these are very hardy animals, especially as amphibians go. Again, the main reason so many people (and pet stores :redhot: ) have problems with them is because of the water. I cannot stress the importance of water quality enough! Like I said, these are tough animals who can survive in a wide range of water conditions but they have to be met halfway if they are going to thrive.

Anyways, I feel like I'm going off on a rant...Ratty Momma, I'm sure you are as great a Fire Bellied Newt Momma as you are to your rats :) My only suggestions would be to clear up that water ASAP, watch how often she's going into the water (if applicable), and add a few more silk plants (not plastic. They're too rigid and often have sharp edges...an accident waiting to happen with a FB newt's delicate skin) Also, you should try to get a little more weight on her. She's still pretty young, so she should be fed every day with food that's dusted 3x a week. Once she gets some weight on, gradually slow down the frequency of feedings to 3-4x a week and a dusted meal once a week. Also, with amphibs, handling should be avoided or, at least, kept to a minimum.

I'm so glad that Arfur Lucy has such a great new home! :thumbup:
 
Had a 20 gallon tank here, so I decided to buy a friend for "Arfur" who turned out to be a girl, so is now known as Lucy ..her friend is a male named Arfur ..and we also have 2 afriacan dwarf frog in with them (Marco and Polo) and a freshwater clam named Stephen (cleans the water)

New Tank
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Beach for the Newts
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Water
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Lucy (shes tiny) and Arfur :heart:
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She has been staying on land a good bit, but I have been putting some water over her too. The water has cleared up a good bit!
 
Not trying to be annoying but you really shouldn't mix species. African Dwarf Frogs and Chinese Fire Bellied Newts are from completely different parts of the world and have no business being together. Not that it really matters, since even species that are from the same geographical area should be housed separately. Nothing good can come from them being kept together.

You have 2 tanks, right? I really, really recommend moving one of the species to the other tank. The first tank looked to me like a 10-15 gallon, am I right? If that's the case, the FB newts should go back to that one and the ADFs should stay in the 30 gallon.
 
Bamboo said:
victoria, that is awesome that your aunt and uncle's FB has lived so long! He is a very lucky little guy!! :thumbup:

He and his brother actually belonged to my husband's cousins when they were younger, but they are all grown up and living on their own, so the newt is now their father's. The other brother lived to be 18, which I think is also impressive. I did not realize they could live that long.
 
Bamboo, the tank I have them in now is a 20. The other tank is only a 5 ..not big enough for two newts.

They all came from the same tank where I go them from. If I do see any problems I will move them. But they don't mind each other. The frogs chill out in the deep water, and the newts chill in the shallow water.

I did hat you suggested and made the land into shallow water, so that the newts are in water more.

I have frozen blood worms, freeze dried blood worms are newt food.
Everyone loves the frozen blood worms.
 
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