More Oregon newts... now Breeding

Hi all, Glad to have this forum back..

Anyhoo.. The last post I made, I had adopted 2 oregon newts.. now it is up to 25.. <font color="ff6000">A lady took her kids camping and came upon a large mass of newts in the pond..and her kids wanted to save them from whatever might eat them, and instead of saying NO, she took the entire breeding pond home..and then put an ad in paper to find a home for them.</font>

I will be housing them for a month or so, until the Local Fish and game can find a place for them to be set free..(They may not be allowed to be set free.. The lady that captured them kept them in tank with a clawed frog.)

BUT It is breeding season, the females are VERY fat, possibly gravid. and the males are going nuts.. HOW do I encourage egglaying?? What do THEY need to be comfortable enough to lay eggs?? What about the current?? Should I keep the filter off??

OR, since I will not be able to release "captive bred" newts, should I not worry about it?? It may be more of a headache then I want to know.

Tell me what you think??

Billie

If they were in with a clawed frog, I highly doubt they'll be re-released. Xenopus is thought to be the leading vector for Chytrid fungus. Re-releasing them would be a probable death-sentence to all amphibians in the immediate vicinity. Keep an eye out for chytrid, and KEEP THEM QUARANTINED or you may lose your whole collection.

I can't say how to encourage egg-laying, as I haven't figured thatout myself. They lay eggs singly, wrapped in a leaf.

Wow. Billie you should take some pictures. 25 Oregon newts?! (shivers with excitement)

....buuttt I'm glad it's you with a zillion mouths to feed.

I wouldn't have it any other way.. I love these guys.. I kind of hope I get to keep them...at least some of them.. but I also feel bad that there is an entire breeding section no longer in the wild.. That is at least a 1000 less newts.. Why can't people just leave nature alone?? Couldn't they just save one or two...NOT THE WHOLE POND???????


As for the newts, they look great.. No wounds, all are fat, all are eating..I have 3 tanks of 5 newts each so I can monitor them better.. THEY are playing all over the tank. With out a care in the world.. Wish it was that easy for ME...

Billie

hey i got a 55 gallon that needs a few more t. grans. lemme know if you need homes for them if you can't release them. i can give a good home to about 4 of em.

Hi Billie,

That is very sad that the woman who took those will most likely not even be punished for doing so. I'm not familiar with the laws in Oregon, but there is a 4 animal per person limit in California. It is good that you've contacted the fish and game service. I hope the situation comes out well for you (and the newts!)

Hopefully you can tell that lady that "saving" these newts from "what might eat them" is a pretty silly excuse. Instanteous death occurs to most animals that eat a Taricha. This might be why they're playing without a care in the world.

As long as you maintain good water quality (It must be a big task with more tanks), they should be fine. I wouldn't turn the filter off until you actually see eggs.

Adding plants for cover and also for egg deposition (anarchis, java moss, etc.) will probably be enough. If you want to keep the newts from eating the eggs (they're notorious for this), you should remove the eggs from the tank as soon as you see them.

Even though you can't release "captive bred" newts, there are always people (especially on this forum) that are interested in forming a breeding colony. Sending eggs is often quite easy. If you were interested in raising a few yourself, I can say that it's a hard but very rewarding adventure.

(Message edited by apples on April 21, 2006)

GOOD newts..lol Most of the newts have been released!!! The FROG in question was a BULLFROG, NOT a clawed frog..They have been set free in a new wetlands in the area. SO, I am down to just 5.. My original 2 plus 3 of the skinniest of the bunch. BUT I have no idea how many newts were given away to other people, could have been as many as 50.

Funny, the laws here in Oregon are weird. The oregon newt is not protected, so the person who took them will not get in trouble for that. SHE DID get a fine for the bullfrog..But sadly, the frog will be destroyed...not native, and contributes to demise of endangered pond turtle and red legged frogs.

So, I get to love the ones I have, and not feel too bad for keeping them.....and they are so cool!!!!

Cheers,

Billie
ps, will post pics soon,

Bullfrogs also carry chytrid. I hope you didn't make a mistake.

They were handed over to fish and game. According to the officers, they were to be set free in same mountain area they were taken from.

They were only in captivity about a week before I got them, so it should be ok..

Billie

i owned an oregon newt for a while and i absolutely loved him. unfortunately my sister (age 13) took him out and "Accidently" dropped him down a furnace vent!