This is a slightly sad story, but I hope it will have a happy ending.
Two months ago, work ordered in some fire bellied newts. No-one there knew anything about them other than that they needed some land in their tank, so when they came in, they were popped into the tank designed for those who like to spend time out of water . . . in the tropical section.
After a few days in the warm water, it became apparent that they were not comfortable, but we put it down to stress and maybe an illness that they came with. None of them died (yet) but their limbs were swelling and some had even lost hands/feet.
As time wore on, some were put into isolation with rather nasty wounds, even entire limbs missing. Some died. Eventually, we managed to convince the manager to let us put them all into isolation as none of them were doing well. The wounds have been (we believe) sucessfully attributed to the 27 celcius water they were living in.
Two months later, and the poor beasts have spent their days in a very small tank with no filter and weekly water changes. I've been doing water changes on all my shifts but as I work weekends, nothing gets done during the week as it really isn't most people's priority. Grrr! I've seen the ammonia and nitrites got well above 1ppm.
Anyway. As many of them have now stopped eating and are not regenerating their limbs properly, I've brought them home. The five survivers are currently in a 20 celcius tank on my bedroom floor, with a cycled filter and some big bits of wood to hide on/in/under. It's very basic and I'll need to work on the tank after Christmas, but at least they are in cool, clean water and in a much bigger tank.
My problem at the moment is getting them to eat. They are not taking frozen food and I can't get hold of live unless I order it online. Maybe just persisting with things like thawed bloodworm and brineshrimp is the way to go? What can I tempt them with? One of them is so thin that I can see all his bones. It's really worrying me.
Also, what meds are safe to use with them?
Two months ago, work ordered in some fire bellied newts. No-one there knew anything about them other than that they needed some land in their tank, so when they came in, they were popped into the tank designed for those who like to spend time out of water . . . in the tropical section.
After a few days in the warm water, it became apparent that they were not comfortable, but we put it down to stress and maybe an illness that they came with. None of them died (yet) but their limbs were swelling and some had even lost hands/feet.
As time wore on, some were put into isolation with rather nasty wounds, even entire limbs missing. Some died. Eventually, we managed to convince the manager to let us put them all into isolation as none of them were doing well. The wounds have been (we believe) sucessfully attributed to the 27 celcius water they were living in.
Two months later, and the poor beasts have spent their days in a very small tank with no filter and weekly water changes. I've been doing water changes on all my shifts but as I work weekends, nothing gets done during the week as it really isn't most people's priority. Grrr! I've seen the ammonia and nitrites got well above 1ppm.
Anyway. As many of them have now stopped eating and are not regenerating their limbs properly, I've brought them home. The five survivers are currently in a 20 celcius tank on my bedroom floor, with a cycled filter and some big bits of wood to hide on/in/under. It's very basic and I'll need to work on the tank after Christmas, but at least they are in cool, clean water and in a much bigger tank.
My problem at the moment is getting them to eat. They are not taking frozen food and I can't get hold of live unless I order it online. Maybe just persisting with things like thawed bloodworm and brineshrimp is the way to go? What can I tempt them with? One of them is so thin that I can see all his bones. It's really worrying me.
Also, what meds are safe to use with them?
the tank is good as well
