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

Fins us on Amazon
Shop with us on Ebay
Advertise with us
The Rat Shack Forum

Help Support The Rat Shack Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I would definitely say that a calcium supplement for reptiles that need it is a VERY good thing!
The first 2 years that my boyfriend had his bearded dragon he wasn't giving calcium supplements and he is TINY still compared to others of the same age. Now that he has been supplementing you can already see a different in his size!
Love the little guys, btw!
 
You can get 2 kinds of calcium dust. With vitamin D3 or without. Both have their pros and cons. Vitamin D3 is necessary for the body to metabolize the calcium, but it can be overdosed. Without D3, you need to provide UV (so the body will create it's own D3) but there is no risk of overdosing D3. (Calcium itself can be overdosed but you'd have to be going waaay overboard with it...it's also not easy to overdose on D3 either but I figured it should be mentioned anyway) You can also get a multi vitamin supplement, but you'd only need to dust with that once or twice a month.

Bloodworms and Brine Shrimp are great! Another one that my guys love is frozen Daphnia (a little more uncommon but many fish places will have some, or at least be able to order it for you. Do you have a Big Al's near you? I know they usually have it.) [spoiler:1r8a9x4y]If you don't mind the idea of live insects, you could also get pinhead crickets and flightless fruit flies.[/spoiler:1r8a9x4y]
You're doing a great job with all of them! They look really good and, most importantly, really happy :)
 
Thanks for the pictures Ratty Momma...they are so cool. I love the pictures of the frogs, but I adore the FBN - they are beautiful!

Where did you get them from?
 
Bamboo said:
You can get 2 kinds of calcium dust. With vitamin D3 or without. Both have their pros and cons. Vitamin D3 is necessary for the body to metabolize the calcium, but it can be overdosed. Without D3, you need to provide UV (so the body will create it's own D3) but there is no risk of overdosing D3. (Calcium itself can be overdosed but you'd have to be going waaay overboard with it...it's also not easy to overdose on D3 either but I figured it should be mentioned anyway) You can also get a multi vitamin supplement, but you'd only need to dust with that once or twice a month.

Bloodworms and Brine Shrimp are great! Another one that my guys love is frozen Daphnia (a little more uncommon but many fish places will have some, or at least be able to order it for you. Do you have a Big Al's near you? I know they usually have it.) [spoiler:34ne6q6h]If you don't mind the idea of live insects, you could also get pinhead crickets and flightless fruit flies.[/spoiler:34ne6q6h]
You're doing a great job with all of them! They look really good and, most importantly, really happy :)
Click to expand...

I just got the calcium dust, but I just picked up the multi vit as well. So use the calcium 3x week? and the multi vit once a month?

I cant find the frozen daphnia here, but I will try the [spoiler:34ne6q6h]pinheads, and I have never seen the flightless flies here[/spoiler:34ne6q6h].



2 more picstuers of Arfur and Lucy :)

Arfuer:
IMG_2581.jpg


Lucy
IMG_2579.jpg


Lucy is well used to me now, but Arfur is still on the shy side, he wont eat unless I go away from the tank, Lucy just gobbles it right away.

Kimbar: I got them from Pet City in the mall, I hate buying things from pet stores, but sadly you cant reescue these guys from rescues lol
 
Ratty Momma said:
I just got the calcium dust, but I just picked up the multi vit as well. So use the calcium 3x week? and the multi vit once a month?
Click to expand...
Yep, that's right! And in a few weeks, when you start to gradually reduce the frequency of feeding, start reducing how often you dust as well.

They look great! Lucy looks like she's already put some weight on! :thumbup: How's Arfur's foot (or lack thereof) doing? Do you have any idea of how long they are?
 
His foot looks good, but he don't seem to eat as much as Lucy. As for length, from head to tail about 3 inches.

I lost one of the froggies today :( ..they never seemed to be eating much, and I have been doing the blood worms and brine shrip switched daily.

But I dont have a heater or a filter (I was unable to find a canister filter).

suggestions??
 
So, the FBNs are in a 10 gallon and the ADF is in a 20 gallon and neither are heated or filtered, am I correct? OK, so the newts are fine -they don't need a heater. In fact, prolonged temps higher then 75F are unhealthy for them (something to keep in mind for summer) I would recommend a 20% water change twice a week. The ADF should also be fine without a heater, as long as the temps stay in the 70s F. I would recommend a 15-20% water change twice a week as well.

I'm sorry about the frog. RIP :(

[spoiler:wldihy22]You can also offer pinhead crickets to the remaining ADF[/spoiler:wldihy22]
 
Both the FBN and the ADF are in 20 gallons.
None are heated but the newts have a filter.
I am testing the PH level in the water for the ADF now.
Since we got them, they have been floating at the top of the water.

We only have [spoiler:3grrgbnv]meal worms and crickets here, no pinhead crickets.[/spoiler:3grrgbnv]
 
Oh I got them Friday, I changed the water 25% last night ..and again on Thursday ..to make is twice a week.

Just tested the PH level it was 6.7 ..according to sites I have read its supposed to be 7.2 t0 7.6 ..is this correct (for the ADF)

And what should the PH be for FBN`s


Ugh I feel so bad, I never tested it before now, RIP froggie :(

I am new to water creatures, so I am learning.
 
I used a triangular sponge filter when I used to have African dwarf frogs.I don't know if these cause vibrations or not but I used a value to adjust the current so it wasn't to strong.
 
Ratty Momma said:
Oh I got them Friday, I changed the water 25% last night ..and again on Thursday ..to make is twice a week.

Just tested the PH level it was 6.7 ..according to sites I have read its supposed to be 7.2 t0 7.6 ..is this correct (for the ADF)

And what should the PH be for FBN`s


Ugh I feel so bad, I never tested it before now, RIP froggie :(

I am new to water creatures, so I am learning.
Click to expand...
Oh well, if the FBNs tank is 20 gallons and filtered, a 10-15% water change once a week should be good. Hmm, I've always gone by 7.0-7.2 as being the ideal for ADFs. 6.8-7.2 is the ideal PH for FBNs. What's your water hardness like?

Try not to beat yourself up over the poor frog's death...amphibians can be touchy enough as it is, they're even more delicate when they're young. I really doubt it was anything you did. If anything, you gave him the best few days he's ever known. At least died in a loving home where he'd be mourned rather then at a petstore where he'd be tossed out as defective stock.

ETA: How is the ADF tank decorated? Are there enough plants it there? If he doesn't feel secure that may be why he's not going down into the water.
 
Water hardness? :wallbang: there is a way to test that?

The ADF has lots of real plants, and a hidy thing and a castle + rocks and beach rocks at the bottom.

Here is the ADF tank.

IMG_2684.jpg
 
What size is the ADF?
Ratty Momma said:
Water hardness? :wallbang: there is a way to test that?
Click to expand...
Yes. Hard water is pretty rough on amphibian immune systems, so it would be good to know what you're dealing with in terms of hardness. There are 2 kinds of hardness to test for Carbonate Hardness (KH) and General Hardness (GH). You should be able to find test kits for both of these at the LFS.
 
He is about half of my thumb nail or a little smaller.

Is there anyway to adjust the hardness once tested?

What should the hardness be?

Would using filter water be better than just regular tap water?
 
dKH: 5-8
dGH: 4-12

These levels would be acceptable for both species. I don't know about hardening the water, if that's nessicary (my water is REALLY hard lol) but the best way I know of to soften the water is to invest in a RO/DI unit.

ETA: The ADF tank looks good (my sister has the Squidward house in her goldfish tank lol) Some ADFs just prefer to float sometimes. I'm sure he's fine :)
 
UGH Arfur died :sad3:

he has not been eating much like I had said. Lucy has been eating lots. He was fine about an hour ago. More of his leg was gone tho

I feel horrible

Tank cleaning day would have been tomorrow for the newts, day 7 of owning Arfur, Day 8 owning Lucy ..but day 7 for this tank.

The PH level was 7.4 yesterday, so we brought it down to 7.0.

Would the PH level have done this the Arfur? But he hasn't been really eating since he came home.
 
It may have been something related to his missing foot :sad3: I know fish and amphibians can be really sensitive to changes, especially when they weren't receiving great care to begin with (before you got them). RIP Arfur :(
 
Thanks Victoria.
I hope Lucy will be okay.
She has been eating very well since I got her, and she is very active.

Arfur never really ate much, he was active ..but last night he was quiet.

The temp is right, the PH is right, the food and set up is right.

I am getting the water tested tomorrow at a fish store.

The setup is part land part water, but not much fully dry land because I wanted to encourage them to use water ..but there is very shallow water so they can breath air and there is deep water for swimming.

Edit: at least I gave Arfur a good last 7 days, most people would have left him at the store because of his leg, but he was perfect without his fourth leg and I loved him :heart:
 
:( :( Poor little guy... I know (think?) newts can re-grow limbs, so I was so looking forward to seeing him as a four-legged cutie :(
 

Latest posts

Back
Top