Eastern Newt - Captive Care

Captive Care

A small group (2–3) of adult eastern newts can be maintained in a 10-gallon aquarium partially filled with dechlorinated water and equipped with an air-operated filter. While oxygenation isn't necessary for the newts to breathe, it allows the bacteria that decomposes their waste to flourish. This prevents dangerous buildups of ammonia and other anaerobically produced chemicals. The aquarium should be topped with a screen lid to prevent the newts from escaping and to provide proper ventilation. The newts will require an area to haul out of the water from time to time; this can be provided with a piece of driftwood, a "turtle dock" sold by pet stores, an "island" (a patch of soil or gravel with sphagnum moss and liverwort), or with terra cotta pots filled with aquarium gravel. If desired, pothos, java fern, java moss, or other semi-aquatic plants can be placed in the pot to help absorb nitrogenous waste produced by the newts. Hiding places for the newts should be provided in the form of aquarium plants and/or clay pots on the bottom of the aquarium. Water temperatures in the aquarium should stay between 60 °F (16 °C) and 70 °F (21 °C) during the simulated summer. Should you choose to simulate a winter to induce breeding or simply to recreate wild conditions more accurately, water temperature should approach but not drop below 40 °F (4 °C). 10-20% of the water in the newt aquarium should be replaced every week. The newts should be fed bloodworms, earthworms, redworms, daphnia, mosquito larva (collected from non-polluted sources), brine shrimp and commercial amphibian diets such as Reptomin (although some may refuse these prepared foods). Feeding some type of live food is necessary, even if the newt happily accepts dry or prepared foods. Any uneaten food should be netted out to avoid fouling the water.