My godzilla newt is acting strange. I am realy worried. She is usually in the water, but she has been out and not eating...I checked on her today and she was dry and could barely move. She did feed from my hand. I gave her as much as she would eat. I fed her about5 calc/muli dusted crickets and a mealworm. She could just lift her head up. I am glad she ate, but I don't think she has the energy to catch her own food. I am not sure if something is wrong with her water because she wasn't in it. ~My sister has been staying in that room and I FEAR she has SPRAYED her GUNK too close or something. I am cleaning the tank out tomorrow I couldn't today. She (newt) went in the water after she ate though so hopefully she is feeling beter. I just never saw her so weak? She did have some sheded sin on the bank of her tank, so maybe she is just resting? I just never saw her shed ou of the water also. The fish (rosey reds) seem ok in the water so I am sure the water isn't toxic, but who knows>newts skin is sensitive. Please hlep if you can. I had for for a really long time I wouldn't want anything to happen. i am not sure but could she be getting old? I am not sure how old she is, but I had her for many years.

First thing's first. If you want to find more information on your newt, try looking up 'Chinese warty newt', as I believe that's the species you have. "Godzilla newt" is a fictional name invented by the pet industry and makes it harder to find reliable info on the species. The scientific name is Paramesotriton chinensis, and will probably yield better search results.

She could very well be getting old, or as you mentioned it could be your sister's spray. The temperatures in the tank could also be too high. Though you've had her for many years, she could have simply been lucky up until now and possibly she's fallen ill to a fungal infection. A weakened state can also cause a parasite load to get out of control. Most newts in captivity are kept very poorly by pet stores and are usually sick. She may have been harboring something all along and only now is it manifesting itself, possibly thanks to an outside stress source. Could you give a summary of what her habitat and diet are like?

And just a tip, but rosy-reds are another fictional name invented by pet stores. They're really fat-head minnows bred with the grey pigment removed. Though they're pretty, I'm afraid your newt is better off without them as they only pollute the water with their waste. Seeing as how the newt's done fine with them so far though, it's up to you really. I know many people have kept fish with their amphibians without complications. They ought to, amphibians manage to live with them in the wild all the time. Still, they only complicate things in an enclosed environment.

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Thanks for your help. Here is the pic of her and her tank. She is on a 10 gallon. I have changed her decor aroun though. Since her water change she is alittle better. I will get the fish out tomorrow. She did eat one today when it was held for her. She isn't as fast as she use to be so I think maybe she just couldn't catch her food anymore? I am not sure if that is possible or not. I will research the new species name also, thanks.

Also, I don't have any heat source for this set up. I am not sure of the exact temps though. i do know it is cool in there...I would guess 73ish? I do have a temp strip on the water side, but I am not sure what it reads really.

She usually eats the "tuffy" fish and I feed her crickets too. Like I said she is usually in the water so the fish was perfect for her to eat. I give her wax worms but not often cause when she gets those she will go on a hunger strike lol...and she sometimes will take mealworms from my hand. I rarely do the blackworms cause the only store who has them is an hour away, but she like those too.

I did have one small fire belly newt die on me cause I think it swallowed a stone. I hope that isn't what happened to her, she has never had that problem. I really don't like the stone, but I don't know what else to use and will clean easily. I don't think she did cause there are no hard spot and she is eating but only when I feed her by hand.

nope I don't think that is what she is. She doesn't have any orange looking spots on her belly also.

Yeah, I'm not sure what she is either My first reaction to your pictures was "What the heck is that?" Chinese warty newts are the only species I know of that's been associated with the name 'Godzilla newt', but since she does not resemble this species I'll have to look into it deeper. Her species looks very familiar, but it's not often I deal with newts, so I'm not yet sure what species that is. She almost looks European in origin, but don't hold me to that just yet

I'm pretty sure your temperatures are slightly warm. Most newt species prefer cooler temperatures. Anything above 75 can leave them vulnerable to infections since most newt species are from cool waters, often in high elevations. I typically recommend temperatures in the 60s for all newts, as lower temperatures are hard to achieve and higher temperatures are dangerous.

As for the gravel, there's really no need for it. Since it does pose the risk of impaction you can simply do away with it completely. You can use pure topsoil for the land area, and either mud, nothing , or fine sand for the water. Or you can leave the gravel on the land, but cover it using mosses. I'd also add more plant cover to the habitat, to both the land and the water. Newts are primarily aquatic, and thus she should spend most of her time there. Added plant cover lets them feel safe.

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Woohoo! That didn't take long. Ok, so I ran with the European newt theory, and then it hit me. I knew I'd seen that species before (there are only so many newt species out there after all). You have an Iberian ribbed newt (Pleurodeles waltl). Other common names are Spanish ribbed newt and sharp-ribbed newt. Naturally they're native to the Iberian penninsula and supposedly parts of Spain. The other name is derived from their sharp ribs, which they use to penetrate their own skin and inject poison into would-be predators (the poison comes from the newt's skin, not its ribs). If you can get a picture of her cloaca I can possibly sex 'her' for you, though sometimes that depends more on whether it's the breeding season or not. Males will typically have a swollen cloaca, but it's much more apparent during the breeding season. Thanks for taking such a good picture though, it makes the ID much easier

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thanks for your help. I say she is female because she sometimes has eggs in her tank water. She is alone so she sometimes eats it and I clean it out. I wouldn't think males do that. Well, I had lots of plants in the tank but they outgrew the tank...but I will get more for her. I am happy to say she is doing better since she ate and the water was cleaned. She is staying in the water again too. I will do the moss on top of the gravel I think. I am not sure how I would clean out the tank if it had soil on the land?

I knew if anyone could help me it would be you =)~ thanks so much!

i'll add the plants next time I visit petsmart, they have some live plants. As for them temp, I can't really make it cooler. I do have it near the vent, so maybe the heat isn't so great...but in the summer it gets really cold in there.

just thought of something....when I did the cleaning I did put colder water in...so maybe it is the temp that was wrong. that could be why she was staying out of the water? I could maybe put ice cubes in there to cool it down once in a while? Is that stupid? thanks

According to the caresheet I found: I don't have a big enough home forher...plus I should have more and deeper waters for her...It does explain why she pends most of her time in the water too. well...I guess I willhave to figure something out to adjust her home.

Would it be possible to just fill the tank higher with water and add a ledge for her to climb out on? It is a small ledge though. Maybe I can take out the divider and seal it horizontal to one side for her to climb up on? It would give her alot more water space and I can go deeper too. then I will add lots of plants and things for her too.

Oh and the floresent bulb? what about that?

It is horrible that I am just now finding this out. I had her for a very long time. I don't even know how long they live.