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Newt Escape !!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I woke up early this morning to find that 1 out of the two fire bellied newt's i had escaped. I did'nt close the lid securely and the tank being so short gave him/her the oppurtunity!!! I don't really know what to do other then flip couches and move more furniture to find him/her. It's not that i would lose money because of it's dissaperance but that it would die !!! How long can they last outside of water? It's been about 16 hours.
 
It depends on the relative humidity of your house. First thing, turn off the AC, unless it's godawful hot. The AC dries the air, and that means the newts will dehydrate faster.

With reptiles, I'd say to just be patient and they'll turn up, but amphibians are more problematic: they have the reptilian talent for finding hiding places, combined with the problem of dehydration in the arid environment of your home. This boils down to 'find it fast'.

Your species is pretty middle-of-the-road in terms of resistance to dessication; it's not gonna dry up immediately like a hellbender, but it doesn't have a trully terrestrial stage like the eastern newt or plethodontids. It's hard to really estimate how long it'll last, but not more than a few days unless it finds a humid hiding place.

A good trick for finding lost herps is to look at the cage and where it is, then follow the edges of the walls. These animals don't like being out in the open, so they'll tend to stick close to the wall. Look for cool areas, dark area, and wet areas (preferablly areas that are all at once). It might help to put a small plastic box of wet soil or moss down with a hole in the side near the ground; the newts might find this is hide there, safe until you find them. Also, check *inside* the furniture, you'd be amazed the places they can get into.

I hope you find him!

Mokele
 
I'd check your Neps! If I remember correctly, the picture you psted of yourself a couple years ago, show quite a jungle there! If not in the Neps, I'd wait for a scream.
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Hate to be pessimistic, but based off of my experience it is likely dead already. Like Mokele said they are moderately resistant to desiccation compared to other amphibs. Size helps too(I'd imagine a hellbender would last longer than a FB newt). I've been trying to raise FB newts and they do have a terrestrial stage similar to red spotteds. Even though they have thick skin intended for life on land they dry up incredibly fast due to their size. Plethodontids are probably the worst off as far as dehydration goes as they are very smooth skinned and moisture dependent. I think with these you have a few hours...maybe 8 at the most.

I lost one or two like that also. They do settle down after a while but remember to close the lid! Counting them frequently and keeping your eyes peeled for them helps(I've been lucky to catch one wandering down the middle of the hall once).

As for hiding places...behind couches, under things etc. They can go pretty far before finally keeling over. Also if you have a bathroom nearby check around it as they can sense moisture.
 
Put some kind of spahgnum moss in a bowl that is in a dark space. out it might be attracted to the moisture?

cheers
 
Ahh, I found him. He was next to my computer which is right next to the tank, right next to the fan , all shriveled up.
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, The other died too, When i boght him he had a small chunk of himself bitten off him and i guess suppose he got infected and died off.

So that goes to show that FB newts don't last long at all outside, he was pretty shriveled up wu=ith dust all over him. I'm not gonna take care of these guys for a long time until i get a professional setup.
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im sorry. my california newt died a while ago too. it was sickly the whole time. and it never ate until i gave it ghost shrimp. but it still died anyways.
alex
 
Sorry to hear that they didn't make it; my siren passed on about a year ago due to a water chemistry problem while I was away on fieldwork. Amphibians are definitely not the easiest things to keep, especially aquatic ones.

Mokele
 
not to hijack...
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but can someone send me a pick of your newt? and would you try and catch them wild and try to manage them in a setup? My neighbors kid is always after me for my extra tank. And he wants to put newts and frogs, etc all found in the yard. Personally, i find that a bad idea, but can't really give any good reasons for it. I did tell him yesterday anything he found on my property better stay on my property... grin. But i just can't stand him catching even a lizard and then it dies a slow death because little kids just don't know how to take care of them... Is this how all you started? am i squashing the imagination here?
 
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