Rescued newt

leanne · Mar 24, 2006

Yesterday I was in a pet store---not PetSmart but some Mom and Pop place out of town---and was looking in a tank of firebelly toads and saw this newt in the middle of them all, looking miserable. I asked what the status was, they said some lady came in and said she couldn't take care of it any more, didn't tell them anything about what kind of newt it was or how to take care of it. I figured it was a California newt, and that the toxins from it were probably not a good thing for the toads and vice versa (DUH), and so I bought it. It looks like a Taricha torosa, the under-eyelid is yellowish. What do you think? I don't buy creatures without being prepared, except in an instance like this. I am doing research as fast as I can, and s/he has already eaten several chunks of nightcrawler from my eyedropper. Thanks in advance for any insight.

TJ · Mar 24, 2006

Hi Leanne.

This sounds like what you need:

http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Taricha/T_torosa.shtml

leanne · Mar 24, 2006

Thank you Tim---is it right that they are more aquatic than terrestrial in the "adult" phase, which I probably have here? S/he is 5" long?

leanne · Mar 24, 2006

Well, I'm going to try a half-filled 10g aquarium with a filter for starters, with some leafage (Pothos and plastic plant combination) sticking out of the water, to see if she (I think it's a she?) takes to land at all. Here's my temporary setup so far:

TJ · Mar 24, 2006

Sure thing, Leanne.

I assume so, but even though I have the experience of having kept these fantastic animals, I lost three of them, and thus I've disqualified myself from giving others advice on how to care for them, even what not to do as I'm not exactly sure what I did wrong

Perhaps our very own Taricha-woman Pin-pin can advise you. I'll give her a heads up

Having said that, mine spent most of their time in the water but some of the time on land.

(Message edited by TJ on March 24, 2006)

leanne · Mar 24, 2006

Took a couple more pictures, I'm pretty sure it's a torocha and not granulosa, is that right? And female?

leanne · Mar 24, 2006

Don't disqualify yourself! You have already helped me tremendously

I am working on putting a flat surface on the top of the water that she can climb onto, and will observe from there.....thanks for alerting Pin Pin, too!!

joan · Mar 24, 2006

I think it's T. granulosa. Even though the lower eyelid is slightly lighter, the line between the dark dorsum and light ventrum is pretty sharp, a characteristic of T. grans. It also has the 'normal' T. grans coloration and eye color.

I was only able to sex mine during breeding season, so I can't really say.

Keep it aquatic! Mine are much better eaters when they're aquatic. I give them a small island to haul out on, but they rarely use it. Maybe twice a month, one of the 4 will climb out, and that's it.

ali · Mar 24, 2006

I agree with Joan. I've also heard that you pretty much never see torosa in the pet trade. And while this didn't exactly come in on a pet shop truck, I'm sure it did previously.

leanne · Mar 24, 2006

So do you think this is a good setup, then? Got a filter, water with good pH levels, and stuff to hide in and climb out on?

ali · Mar 24, 2006

Leanne, I think that looks great! Your newtie should be happy in there.

I would recommend a feeding dish, if you don't have one, but that's about it.

leanne · Mar 24, 2006

Ok---hey, the castle in there, do you think aquarium decorations like that affect alkalinity/acidity of the water?

ali · Mar 25, 2006

Hmm. I'm not an expert on anything like that, but I wouldn't expect so. I mean, they're made for aquarium use. I normally rinse my decorations well first, but I wouldn't worry too much about that.

TJ · Mar 25, 2006

Leanne, please be careful as I have used a castle in the distant past, and one of the newts got stuck in a small castle window and died. So make sure any openings are large enough for the newt to easily swim through. Also, take care because a lot of tank muck can accumulate under decorations like that without one realizing it, and mess with water quality. If you're using uncycled water there, I'd worry less about pH and more a sudden spike in the ammonia level.

Have you read this article?:

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

leanne · Mar 25, 2006

Thanks guys for the replies---hey Tim~~I didn't have time to cycle the water, given the situation, but I do have all the openings in the castle big enough for her not to get stuck, so that is good! Since I don't have substrate, I'll just lift the whole castle to suction out any waste with a turkey baster.

She ate like a piggy the night I got her (Thursday) and hasn't eaten since---probably she is full, right? Paranoia here.

ali · Mar 25, 2006

She could just be stressed. I would try to give her some space and not fiddle with things in the tank (I'm not assuming you have been, just noting that if you are she might need her newty peace. lol)

I was worried about my t. grans because they hadn't eaten in two weeks, and then I had to leave for spring break (about a week and a half). And when I got back they still hadn't even lost any weight. T. grans are hearty, she'll be fine so don't stress about it yourself.

pin-pin · Mar 25, 2006

Hey Leanne,

Hello! From the sounds of it, if you already have the little guy eating, it's a great sign. Your tank looks fantastic--one note is to have some land with some cover for the newt to climb out on. Sometimes they won't climb out on the land portion if they feel it's "unsafe."

Having them aquatic is the easiest, but I've found Tarichas are little garbage cans in terms of eating regardless of whether they're on land or water.

Tim, you're quite the self-effacing keeper there.

I'd take his advice over mine, as he's kept about 100 times the amount of animals that I have (at least!)

The best way to tell between the torosa and granulosa is when they lay the eggs. Granulosa produce singular eggs while torosa lay a cluster of eggs. I wouldn't pry open the jaw of your little guy to look for the volmerine teeth unless there is some real need to identify the exact subspecies (for example, if you're doing breeding stocks for studbooks).

leanne · Mar 26, 2006

WOW, THANK YOU, you guys~! This info is awesome, printing this whole page out right now

. And I am ecstatic to say that she ate a whole LARGE cricket this morning!

Ali, yeah I need to just not fiddle with stuff in the tank for awhile like you said (but it's so tempting). And Pin Pin, what do you think about this for an island on top? Is that pothos leaf some good cover, or maybe I should add some more foliage on the island for her to hide in? Thanks again everyone for your help!

(Message edited by Tadpole on March 26, 2006)

ali · Mar 26, 2006

Wow, interesting island! I didn't know those things would float! Has she been on it yet? I'm afraid that when she pulls herself up she'll let water into it, thus filling it with water and it will sink. Has this happened? Hehe.

If that doesn't work, I recommend looking where the hermit crab supplies are and getting a piece of corkbark (as large as you can find. Mine is about 3x6 inches, which will float. Mine is covered with java moss for softness and because it's pretty, but you don't have to have that.

I love your plants, by the way.

leanne · Mar 26, 2006

Excellent idea, I am going to have to google corkbark to see what it looks like, but yes I would like a more natural effect like that----and maybe order some java moss (have you ever seen this link? It's incredible for supplies! http://www.herpsupplies.com/products.cfm ). Actually, the island is pretty stable due to some "support beams" of pothos plants underneath, but I think I like your idea better. Hey, do you have pictures of your setup?

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