So the care sheets I'm reading on salamanders and newts are say these:

earthworms, slugs, maggots, and Tubifex

are what you're supposed to feed them. Are these commonly sold at pet stores? I've really only seen crickets and some mealworms and waxworms sold. I know slugs and earthworms could be home caught, but also know that's bad, what with everyone dousing their lawns in chemicals. I don't even know what Tubifex are, or why they are capitalized on all the care sheets. As for earthworms, would live bait shops be ok, the only problem with that I see, is they generally have very large earthworms/nightcrawlers.

Mainly asking because I'm trying to decide what to put into my new tank, and have come down to fire bellied newts, or fire bellied toads. And the toads seem to have the more common diet, so if it's going to be a problem to feed the newts I'll just go with the toads, but really like the newts a bit more. :\

EDIT: Wikipedia says:
So I don't think I'll be wanting any of those.
That parasite it lists is the cause of whirling disease. And while it says it's only in fish, I wouldn't want to risk it with anything else. Because I know that birds that eat fish with the disease are effected by it, I just can't remember how at the moment.

Tubifex is a freeze dried worm that is sold by pet stores with fish....I used to feed them to my fish at times...they do make a mess of the tank though...

As for slugs, not sure, earthworms can be bought at bait shops and some of the places that sell crickets. Maggot also can sometimes be bought where they sell crickets.

good luck!

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I was going to suggest trying bait stores, but she beat me to it!



I don't know about where to get slugs either. They'd be pretty messy to feed, I'd think.

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What type of food to use all depends on what species you're trying to feed. Feeding tiger salamanders is very different than feeding eastern newts, for example.

Tubifex is often capitalized because it's the name of their genus. While in a scientific name the genus should be capitalized, it's not necessary in the common name, but many people do it anyway. Funny enough, almost nobody does it for uromastyx or any species of dinosaur, but I'm getting off topic. Tubifex worms are also known as sludge worms. I believe the most common species is the red tubifex, Tubifex tubifex.

The Myxobolus cerebralis executes part of its life-cycle within Tubificid worms. I can't recall if fish need to eat the worms to obtain the parasite, but I don't think they do. As far as I know, the only role fish-eating birds play is that the parasite can stay alive in their gut, which means the birds help spread the parasite as they move. Though I don't think the parasite could infect an amphibian, you might as well be safe and steer clear of them. Amphibians are rather close to fish after all.

Anyway, the talk of worms and parasites aside, there are many alternatives for your caudate, it just depends on what kind you have exactly. Some species will feed on crickets, worms, and grubs. Others will respond better to bloodworms, mysid shrimp, brine shrimp, or daphnia. I wouldn't recommend using slugs as feeders. What are you trying to feed anyway?

Edit:
Sure, I go back and NOW I see the remark about the fire-bellied newts. Most fire-bellied newts in stores are either Japanese, Cynops pyrrhogaster, or Chinese, Cynops orientalis. In that case, ask for pinhead or small crickets. Frozen or live bloodworms, brine shrimp, mysid shrimp, and daphnia can usually be found at most pet stores. You may have to ask for them, they're often kept frozen in back rooms. Newt pellets may be eaten as well, and you could try fruit flies. Small earthworms or cut-up sections of larger ones would likely be enjoyed. Some individuals may take guppies as well. They're small, attractive, and not terribly fast.

I won't lie, the toads are easier to keep and feed and are more active. Often the hardest part of keeping newts is keeping the temperatures low enough, not the diet. Newts need cooler temperatures. Water temperatures above 70 degrees F brings them at significant risk to infections and disease. I usually aim for something closer to 60 degrees, but they can often tolerate as low as 40. Personally I'm still more a fan of the newts than the toads.

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