hello new to the forum

[rick]

Hi all from Pepperell Massachusetts. New to newts and salamanders. I am thinking of starting a setup and figured I better educate myself before I jump into anything. I remember the days of my youth looking and catching local salamanders. They seemed pretty cool little creatures. I am a former saltwater reefer, who just converted to a freshwater planted tank. So a salamander tank of some sort seems like the next most logical step right :).

I am reading the FAQ's and care sheets right now. Anyone want to point me at a few beginner species to look at?

[Matt]

Terrestrial -

Tiger Salamander (A. mavortium, A. tigrinium)

Semi-Aquatic -

Chinese Fire Belly Newt (C. orientalis)
Japanese Fire Belly Newt (C. phyrrogaster)
Spanish Ribbed Newt (P. waltl)

Fully Aquatic -

Axolotl (A. mexicanum)


Also, you could get Fire Belly Toads (B. orientalis) because thier care is very similar to that of the Fire Belly Newts, but you should go to a different site for a caresheet on them. I would also recommend only buying from breeders, not from a pet store.

What are the temperatures around your house and what kind of species are you looking for? How much time/money are you willing to spend on this?

[rick]

My wife actually said oh you are looking at salamanders the smooth wet ones...:) She didn't really support my reefer tank or my current plant tank so that was a bit of good news. Seems like that is the implicit yes to continue researching and such....

So far I am most interested in the Chinese Fire Belly Newt (C. orientalis). I have a lot of research to do before I actually buy any. I want to be sure these are an animal I can and want to keep. We are in the stages of looking for a new place to live hopefully with a basement. Right now heat may be an issue with the place we live though I do have a chiller left over from my reef days maybe I could utilize that. As far as buying from a breeder I see that as my only option. Having been a reefer, and now in planted freshwater I am sensitive to purchasing wild caught versus bred. Hopefully after we move I will have plenty of room to satisfy all my aquatic hobbies. I will never admit it but I want to set up a seahorse tank too....That will satisfy my reefer instincts. Seahorses require 66-72 degree tanks so that is a reason why I have not done that as well yet.