Pugwinkle
Fish Fanatic
I found this informative care sheet written by the same gentleman that wrote the African Dwarf Frog care sheet and I wanted to pass the info on to all the members here.
Fire Bellied Newt Care Sheet
by John E Dove
Because they are the most popular newts offered in the pet trade today the information in this care sheet is primarily focused on the Japanese Fire Bellied Newt (Cynops pyrrhogaster) and Chinese Fire Bellied Newt (Cynops orientalis) though much of what is said below can be applied to other Fire Bellied species as well.
Fire Bellied Newts are hardy and not difficult to keep which is what makes them such wonderful amphibians for the beginner and experienced keeper alike.
The only real differences between these two species are the slight differences their size and appearance. The Chinese Fire Bellied Newt tends to be slightly smaller generally reaching from 3 to 4 inches (7.62-10.16cm) while the Japanese variety will usually get from 3.5 to 6 inches (8.89-15.24cm). The Japanese variety has a rougher appearance to the skin, and the pattern of the orange red coloration on the belly usually is speckled while the Chinese Newt’s skin has a smoother appearance and the belly tends to be predominantly blotchy orange red.
Both species can be expected to live for 6 to10 years in captivity given the proper care
Housing
When deciding on and setting up the enclosure for your FBN it is important to take into account that most of these newts are primarily aquatic though a few will spend a great deal of time on land. The greater the body of water you provide the less chance there is that waste toxins will build up to harmful levels between cleanings.
For 1 or 2 Fire Bellied Newts a 10 gallon (37.85 liter) aquarium is sufficient. For 3-5 a 20 gallon (75.71 liter) aquarium should be considered a minimum.
What ever size aquarium you choose it is important that you have a tight fitting screened lid to prevent escapes.
Landscaping
An ideal set up for Fire Bellied Newts should consist of 1/4th - 1/3rd land area 3/4ths - 2/3rds water. This can be done by sectioning off an area across the back of the aquarium for the land area or at one end.
First lay down a layer of gravel about 1 inch (2.54cm) deep on the bottom of the enclosure then either with cleaned decontaminated drift wood, rock or like material make a barrier 4 inches (10.16cm) high that will create the front face of the land mass keeping in mind the fact that the newts will need to be able to climb out of the water onto this area. It may be necessary to use silicon sealant to affix this barrier into place. Next fill the area behind the barrier with gravel to within ½ inch (1.27cm) of the top of the barrier. On top of the gravel in the land area lay down a layer of moss or like substrate to prevent the ingestion of gravel by the newts and to protect their delicate skin from possible abrasions caused by the gravel. Now by adding plants, artificial silk or real, to the water and land areas as well as some hiding places on the land area you are ready to fill the water area to within 1 inch (2.54cm) of the top of the barrier.
Water Care
The water you use in your newts enclosure should be dechlorinated. This can be accomplished through the use of commercially available dechlorinating chemicals, using chlorine free bottled water or allowing chlorinated water to stand in an open container for at least 24 hours to allow the chlorine to dissipate.
You should install a submersible filter to assist in maintaining high water quality in your enclosure. To keep the water from having a strong currant you can add a rock in front of the water output of the filter.
If you have a filter you will need to do a 25% water change every week and a complete tank clean out with a 100% water change every 4 – 6 weeks. For the 25% water changes it is best to use an aquarium siphon/vacuum which will allow you to actually remove the waste from the gravel in the bottom of the water area of your tank which will make the work of keeping your water clean much easier. A complete clean out is removing everything from the tank and washing everything including the tank (but not the animals or live plants) with a 10% bleach/90% water solution. Rinse everything thoroughly and allow it to dry & air out completely so that there is no trace of the bleach left, then set everything back up.
Without a filter you will need to do a 50% water change every 2 days, a 100% water change every week and a complete clean out every three weeks.
Lighting
Fire Bellied Newts have no need of any special lighting but it is important to provide them with a day night cycle. As FBNs are cool loving creatures it would be best to use florescent lighting rather than incandescent due to the heat output of incandescent bulbs. Lighting should be set on automatic timers to provide 12 – 14 hours per day of light simulating summer lighting hours.
Heating
No heat is necessary for Fire Bellied Newts as they due best at temperatures of 65 - 70 F (18.33 - 21.11C). It is a fact that most people have more trouble providing a cool enough environment during the summer months. When their environmental temperature reach 75F (23.89C) Fire Bellied Newts begin to suffer from heat related stress and will become more prone to fungal infections.
There are a couple of measures you can take to aid in the cooling of your newt’s environment. One is to make chlorine free ice and place it on top of the screen cover so that it drips cool water into the enclosure. Another is to make ice in a plastic container and place the plastic container with the ice in the water in the enclosure. Yet a third, and possible the best, idea is to place the enclosure directly in front of an air conditioner. If you have a basement in your hoe you can place the enclosure in the basement where it is more than likely cooler than the rest of the house.
Feeding
Fire Bellied Newts should be fed all they will eat in about 15 minutes about three or four times per week at night.
Good foods to offer your newts are frozen or Bloodworms, frozen Tubifex worms, chopped live Earthworms/Night Crawlers, small Crickets, small Mealworms, small Silk Worms and small Guppies.
IT in NOT recommended that you attempt to feed pellet/stick foods as these are commonly made of substances that newts would never eat like corn, oats, wheat and soy products. Such things are not only not a part of the natural diet but are also not digestible foods for insectivores thus they provide little or no nutritional value to the newt. Also few newts will eat them.
Prey should be dusted with calcium supplements every feeding and with multi vitamin supplements every other feeding.
Any uneaten prey should be removed from the enclosure after the feeding period to prevent dead prey from polluting the newt’s environment.
John E Dove
Fire Bellied Newt Care Sheet
by John E Dove
Because they are the most popular newts offered in the pet trade today the information in this care sheet is primarily focused on the Japanese Fire Bellied Newt (Cynops pyrrhogaster) and Chinese Fire Bellied Newt (Cynops orientalis) though much of what is said below can be applied to other Fire Bellied species as well.
Fire Bellied Newts are hardy and not difficult to keep which is what makes them such wonderful amphibians for the beginner and experienced keeper alike.
The only real differences between these two species are the slight differences their size and appearance. The Chinese Fire Bellied Newt tends to be slightly smaller generally reaching from 3 to 4 inches (7.62-10.16cm) while the Japanese variety will usually get from 3.5 to 6 inches (8.89-15.24cm). The Japanese variety has a rougher appearance to the skin, and the pattern of the orange red coloration on the belly usually is speckled while the Chinese Newt’s skin has a smoother appearance and the belly tends to be predominantly blotchy orange red.
Both species can be expected to live for 6 to10 years in captivity given the proper care
Housing
When deciding on and setting up the enclosure for your FBN it is important to take into account that most of these newts are primarily aquatic though a few will spend a great deal of time on land. The greater the body of water you provide the less chance there is that waste toxins will build up to harmful levels between cleanings.
For 1 or 2 Fire Bellied Newts a 10 gallon (37.85 liter) aquarium is sufficient. For 3-5 a 20 gallon (75.71 liter) aquarium should be considered a minimum.
What ever size aquarium you choose it is important that you have a tight fitting screened lid to prevent escapes.
Landscaping
An ideal set up for Fire Bellied Newts should consist of 1/4th - 1/3rd land area 3/4ths - 2/3rds water. This can be done by sectioning off an area across the back of the aquarium for the land area or at one end.
First lay down a layer of gravel about 1 inch (2.54cm) deep on the bottom of the enclosure then either with cleaned decontaminated drift wood, rock or like material make a barrier 4 inches (10.16cm) high that will create the front face of the land mass keeping in mind the fact that the newts will need to be able to climb out of the water onto this area. It may be necessary to use silicon sealant to affix this barrier into place. Next fill the area behind the barrier with gravel to within ½ inch (1.27cm) of the top of the barrier. On top of the gravel in the land area lay down a layer of moss or like substrate to prevent the ingestion of gravel by the newts and to protect their delicate skin from possible abrasions caused by the gravel. Now by adding plants, artificial silk or real, to the water and land areas as well as some hiding places on the land area you are ready to fill the water area to within 1 inch (2.54cm) of the top of the barrier.
Water Care
The water you use in your newts enclosure should be dechlorinated. This can be accomplished through the use of commercially available dechlorinating chemicals, using chlorine free bottled water or allowing chlorinated water to stand in an open container for at least 24 hours to allow the chlorine to dissipate.
You should install a submersible filter to assist in maintaining high water quality in your enclosure. To keep the water from having a strong currant you can add a rock in front of the water output of the filter.
If you have a filter you will need to do a 25% water change every week and a complete tank clean out with a 100% water change every 4 – 6 weeks. For the 25% water changes it is best to use an aquarium siphon/vacuum which will allow you to actually remove the waste from the gravel in the bottom of the water area of your tank which will make the work of keeping your water clean much easier. A complete clean out is removing everything from the tank and washing everything including the tank (but not the animals or live plants) with a 10% bleach/90% water solution. Rinse everything thoroughly and allow it to dry & air out completely so that there is no trace of the bleach left, then set everything back up.
Without a filter you will need to do a 50% water change every 2 days, a 100% water change every week and a complete clean out every three weeks.
Lighting
Fire Bellied Newts have no need of any special lighting but it is important to provide them with a day night cycle. As FBNs are cool loving creatures it would be best to use florescent lighting rather than incandescent due to the heat output of incandescent bulbs. Lighting should be set on automatic timers to provide 12 – 14 hours per day of light simulating summer lighting hours.
Heating
No heat is necessary for Fire Bellied Newts as they due best at temperatures of 65 - 70 F (18.33 - 21.11C). It is a fact that most people have more trouble providing a cool enough environment during the summer months. When their environmental temperature reach 75F (23.89C) Fire Bellied Newts begin to suffer from heat related stress and will become more prone to fungal infections.
There are a couple of measures you can take to aid in the cooling of your newt’s environment. One is to make chlorine free ice and place it on top of the screen cover so that it drips cool water into the enclosure. Another is to make ice in a plastic container and place the plastic container with the ice in the water in the enclosure. Yet a third, and possible the best, idea is to place the enclosure directly in front of an air conditioner. If you have a basement in your hoe you can place the enclosure in the basement where it is more than likely cooler than the rest of the house.
Feeding
Fire Bellied Newts should be fed all they will eat in about 15 minutes about three or four times per week at night.
Good foods to offer your newts are frozen or Bloodworms, frozen Tubifex worms, chopped live Earthworms/Night Crawlers, small Crickets, small Mealworms, small Silk Worms and small Guppies.
IT in NOT recommended that you attempt to feed pellet/stick foods as these are commonly made of substances that newts would never eat like corn, oats, wheat and soy products. Such things are not only not a part of the natural diet but are also not digestible foods for insectivores thus they provide little or no nutritional value to the newt. Also few newts will eat them.
Prey should be dusted with calcium supplements every feeding and with multi vitamin supplements every other feeding.
Any uneaten prey should be removed from the enclosure after the feeding period to prevent dead prey from polluting the newt’s environment.
John E Dove
