# Escaped Fire Bellied Newt - Help



## mike_freegan (Oct 10, 2008)

Hello everyone!

Basically, the inevitable happened and my brother's chinese fire bellied newt managed to escape today.

We've turned his room upside down, but it is full of junk so I can't guarantee it isn't there. It definately isn't around the tank though.

Is there anywhere I should be looking? My house is really hot and dry in general so there are no cool/wet areas. I guess I shouldn't bother searching the boiler room?

How far can I expect it to have gotten in a day?

How long can I expect it to live out of water?

Presumably its unlikely/incable of climbing stuff?

Are there any tricks to catching them? If I put a tray of water on his bedroom floor is it likely to go into it?

Please help! If my mum finds a newt in the house we're toast 

Cheers.


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## blackbat67 (Jul 1, 2008)

they can climb stuff, i think

just look anywhere cool and damp - wet towels anywhere, and stuff?

put some dishes of water with a stone-step-thing in dotted around the place, and maybe it'll turn up in there?

i'm sorry but quite a lot of people dont find their newts but do after a while, to find them dried up, like.

hopefully you'll find him though!


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## mike_freegan (Oct 10, 2008)

Thanks mate. Towels and trays of water positioned.

Poor bugger.... guarantee he's chosen my room as his resting place.


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

put some bowls of water down it might crawl into one of them 

one of mine got out last week i got lucky and found it. no re newt proofed the tank 

good luck


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## Lucifus (Aug 30, 2007)

spend_day said:


> put some bowls of water down it might crawl into one of them
> 
> one of mine got out last week i got lucky and found it. no re newt proofed the tank
> 
> good luck


This seems to work. I once found an escapee frog sitting in the toilet. Was lucky i checked before dropping the kids to the pool.


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## exoticsandtropics (Mar 11, 2007)

yeah i would some bowls of water around usually works


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## Mbar (Aug 12, 2007)

I agree shallow bowls of water with easy access in the corners of the room can be effective as the newts tend to follow the walls. Damp towels along the walls might help too.

I remember as a kid finding one of my escapee newts months later mummified in mid-stride


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## mike_freegan (Oct 10, 2008)

No luck so far. How long could I expect it to survive out of water?

My best guess is that it's got under the bath. The bathroom is being decorated at the moment so there's sme floorboards missing.


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## Mbar (Aug 12, 2007)

How long it survives will depend on whether it can find a cool damp spot 

You said you turned the room upside down. I would go through the 'junk' thoroughly bit by bit. It could be somewhere unlikely - coiled up in an old sock or slipper for instance.

Really hope it turns up


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## mike_freegan (Oct 10, 2008)

I looked in everything. There was so much crap under his bed - screwed up paper and socks etc, but I painstakingly went through every one.

Assuming he hasn't been in the water, is he likely to be alive now? This will be his 3rd night out of water.


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## mike_freegan (Oct 10, 2008)

*It happened again!*

Bought 2 new newts. This time we lowered the water lever so that it's about 6 inches below the top of the tank and stuck the lid on as tightly as possible.

Got home from work and one is gone again! Can they jump? Can they climb glass? I mean, fair play to it escaping this time - I don't even think I could get out of there .

I put some cling film over the tank overnight but now I guess my day off is goign to be spent making something to stop the other escaping. Any ideas?

-Mike


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

mike_freegan said:


> Got home from work and one is gone again! Can they jump? Can they climb glass? I mean, fair play to it escaping this time - I don't even think I could get out of there .


ok first of all are u 100% sure its not in the tank (i have to ask as i was sure one of mine got out once but it was hiding very well in a plant)

they can jump but climbing shear glass is no problem what so ever and they can fit through tiny holes and gaps in the lid.

any chance of a 360o photo of your tank might be able to spot where it got out. 

ive had an escaped newt before i was lucky i found it later that day alive and well (if a bit dry and fluffy)


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## cacoonkitty (Aug 10, 2008)

HIYA, I DONT KEEP THESE ANYMORE BUT IT USED TO HAPPEN ALL THE TIME WHEN I DID AND SOMETIMES WITH SAD ENDINGS!! HAVE A GOOD LOOK AROUND AS THEY CAN TRAVLE QUITE A DISTANCE ...FOR A NEWT LOOKING FOR A MATE NORMALY!!, THE WAY I STOPPED IT WAS TO LOWER THE WATER LEVELS FIT SOME MESH ACROS THE TOP AND SECURE WITH TAPE AND ACUUALY PROVIDE A PLATFORM IN TH TANK THAT THEY COULD GET OUT ONTO IF THEY WANTED AS EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE A TROPICAL AQUATIC NEWT THEY STILL SEEM TO LIKE TO GET OUT ONTO A MOIST BUT ABOVE WATER AREA PERHAPS GET A MATE FOR HIM OR HER, TRY MAKING YOUR TANK DIFRENT TO INCLUDE THIS AND BE SURE THAT THE ROOF FITS TIGHT ALL THE WAY AROUND INCLUDING THE LITTLE HOLES WHERE THE CABLES COME OUT PUT TAPE OVER THEM TO BLOK THE HOLES LIKE GAFFER TAPE AS ITS WATER RESISTANT THEY CAN CLIMB GLASS EASILY. :2thumb:.


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

cacoonkitty said:


> HIYA, I DONT KEEP THESE ANYMORE BUT IT USED TO HAPPEN ALL THE TIME WHEN I DID AND SOMETIMES WITH SAD ENDINGS!! HAVE A GOOD LOOK AROUND AS THEY CAN TRAVLE QUITE A DISTANCE ...FOR A NEWT LOOKING FOR A MATE NORMALY!!, THE WAY I STOPPED IT WAS TO LOWER THE WATER LEVELS FIT SOME MESH ACROS THE TOP AND SECURE WITH TAPE AND ACUUALY PROVIDE A PLATFORM IN TH TANK THAT THEY COULD GET OUT ONTO IF THEY WANTED AS EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE A TROPICAL AQUATIC NEWT THEY STILL SEEM TO LIKE TO GET OUT ONTO A MOIST BUT ABOVE WATER AREA PERHAPS GET A MATE FOR HIM OR HER, TRY MAKING YOUR TANK DIFRENT TO INCLUDE THIS AND BE SURE THAT THE ROOF FITS TIGHT ALL THE WAY AROUND INCLUDING THE LITTLE HOLES WHERE THE CABLES COME OUT PUT TAPE OVER THEM TO BLOK THE HOLES LIKE GAFFER TAPE AS ITS WATER RESISTANT THEY CAN CLIMB GLASS EASILY. :2thumb:.


im sorry but what???

ummm firstly most newts (inculding fire belly newts) need an area to get out of the water, they dont breathe underwater and need an area to rest, they are highly aquatic but not completely. secondly whats a tropical newt since there are no species that can be kept above 24C and fire belly newts should never be kept above 21C (17-20 being a good temp range) so i have no idea what u mean by tropical newt??

otherwise blocking off area's with tape is fine aslong as they cant get into contact with the sticky side as this will cause injury and some glues are toxic.


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## mike_freegan (Oct 10, 2008)

Other than the escaping the newts are kept properly. I am going to go into my garage now and see if I can find anything to make a lid out of as my car is currently in the shop so no B&Q 

I am still in awe that it got out! Seriously, can they climb sheets of glass?


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

mike_freegan said:


> Other than the escaping the newts are kept properly. I am going to go into my garage now and see if I can find anything to make a lid out of as my car is currently in the shop so no B&Q
> 
> I am still in awe that it got out! Seriously, can they climb sheets of glass?


i saw one of mine climb about 14 inches of glass straight up


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## mike_freegan (Oct 10, 2008)

OK, so I guess they can  I never realised that! It will have got out of the hole for the filter power supply then. I need to make a lid asap!


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## herpzane (Apr 1, 2008)

I dont think its the vertical glass they climb. My salamanders wedge there bodies into the corners and push them selves up with amazing ease.


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## Axel01 (Jun 14, 2008)

My marbleds sort of curl up their tails in an S shape to help them climb. At the moment they are small enough that they can stick to the glass. But corners is deffo favourite. 

And boy are they good at narrow gaps.


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## herpzane (Apr 1, 2008)

Its quite iteresting watching them do it. My sals aonly ever do it when i open the tank to feed them and spot clean. They have never escaped though.


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## gizzard (May 5, 2008)

would using the old roach trick work??? putting vasalene around the top of the cage and in the cornrs so it cant get grip?


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

gizzard said:


> would using the old roach trick work??? putting vasalene around the top of the cage and in the cornrs so it cant get grip?


not sure about using an oil based lubericant with amphibian species


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## mike_freegan (Oct 10, 2008)

It's ok, I have wood now to make a lid. I can't decide whether I should make the top out of a board of wood or some mesh. Or maybe a combination of the 2! Ad I ahve to built the light in somehow!


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

i would use mesh for the lid - if you make a bracket out of wood and have a strong metal mesh for the lid, you can get a simple light unit that just sits on the mesh, and if you need to increase the humidity you can just put a damp towel on top over the mesh : victory:


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## cubeykc (Aug 8, 2008)

its nearly been 1 month now and dont take this the wng way but he is prob dead


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