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Marbled newt help

S

sarah

Guest
Hi,

My college has just received 2 marbled newts, now we are wondering, what setup do they need?

Mostly aquatic?
Mostly terrestrial?
half and half?
substrate?

any help will be greatly appreciated!
 
S

sarah

Guest
they look the same as the ones in the pic by Jean-Pierre Collet, size and colour wise, not sure of the age but i'd say they were adult, they are about 7-8cm in length, but they won't go near the water at all, they just sit under the piece of bark all day
sick.gif
 
I

ian

Guest
Sarah..at that size they are no where near adult size .i have some around that size i bred this year, adults are around 12cm. keep them terrestrial with a shallow water bowl ,i feed mine on small crickets and blood worm ,the blood worm i put on a piece of dampened kitchen roll.You could also try small pieces of earth worm . Oh and make sure you have a tight fitting lid...Ian
 
S

sarah

Guest
thanks, they have eaten some tigerworms so far, they didn't eat for about a week but that is to be expected from being relocated.
they have an aquatic soil substrate, with a layer of spagnum moss and a large piece of cork bark as shelter, then they have a shallow bowl of water (which thye won't go near)

So when they are adult, will they begin to spend more time in the water and demand more? or do you have to manually force them into aquatic life?
 
G

garrison

Guest
I wouldn't force them into the aquatic life. Generally they will become semi-aquatic to aquatic once they are sexually mature and are in the middle of a breeding season. I have found some individuals will stay in the water the rest of the year no problem while other have no interest outside of courting. Either way you may just want to give them the option eventually when they are bigger, be patient, and they'll be ready when they're ready.
 
J

jennifer

Guest
I agree, skip the sphagnum. A better alternative is to throw in some cuttings from pothos or other simple-to-root house plants. And what do you mean by "aquatic soil substrate"? Is the preference to keep them terrestrial for a while, or to give them a semiaquatic setup? Either can work for this species, though if they seem determined to stay on land, I would recommend a terrarium.
 
S

sarah

Guest
Aquatic soil, its usually used in most setups for frogs, toads, newts and sals as it doesn't go stagnant like normal soil, they have this and then a shallow bowl of water, they had bark substrate, which is better?

I will tell them about the moss though!

do they need more water, its about a 15cm round shallow bowl.
 
J

jennifer

Guest
I think bark substrate, or real soil, would be better than the aquatic soil. Since they have just a water bowl, I think a real soil terrarium makes more sense. A bed of wet gravel (which I think is behaves similarly to the aquatic soil) tends to foul easily.


(Message edited by jennewt on October 18, 2006)
 
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