my new fire belly newts and some Q's

[DragunzGirl]

I got two new fire belly newts. There small. I used to have a larger one a few good long years ago but he died.

I dont know how old they are i think there young. I do not know if there male or female how in the world do you tell??? I would like to have a male and female that will be cool.

Also how big will they get any way cause my old one i had got around 5 inches?


also why is one brown?? and i know he looks a little thin i just got them <_< im going to fatten them up, they do eat they ate this morning.

[beckdg]

froggy would probably know better.

[Kyle The Toad]

By "Froggy", Beckdg means Froggsong. Send her a private message that asks her to reply in this thread.

[froggsong]

lol, I happened to spot it.

I'm not sure why one is brown and the other isn't, my best guess is that they are not the same species, or perhaps one is a different morph? As for male or female, they may be to young to tell. Generally once they reach sexual maturity, the cloaca of the male will be much larger and prominent that on a female. I'm not sure how big FBNs get... I'd say at least 5 inches.

It's good you bought them. They are awfully thin. Make sure you get them good and plump. Also, try a good variety in their diet. Newts eat alot of grubs and things like isopods, so try things like isopods (rolly pollies), waxworms, red wiggler worms, phoenix worms (black soldier fly larvae), etc. The waxworms will help them put on the weight, so you can feed them somewhat regularly for now, but later when they are in better health the waxies should only be a treat.

[DazzleDiscus]

Well at first I thought that one was a japanese firebelly and the other a chinese firebelly, but after looking it up I found my assumption false. Japanese newts are brownish in coloration but have rough skin. Chinese have black or near-black coloration and have very bright underbellies, but their skin is very smooth. The bottom newt in your picture is definately a Chinese firebelly, but as for the other, I am uncertain. Perhaps it is just a color morph?

[spend_day]

Don't worry its normal, in some cases some chinese FBN's will change colour this can happen for a matter of hours to a matter of months, in rare cases they simply dont change back. The reason for this colour change is completely unknown altho there has een a few theories none really stand up to all situations.

I would say tho there looking a little skinny i think i can see the hip bone of the lighter one

they look like small adults/ sub adults to me

as for sexing females tend to be rounder and larger than males and males have swollen cloacal especially during a breeding cycle

[DragunzGirl]

KK thanks lots, i think they are to young to sex right now, but the more darker one is not eating now. I made a post on it so maybe some one can help me on that.

The lighter one was skinny now he/she is fat but the darker one i dont know whats wrong now.