T.marmoratus decission.

I´ve kept my 6 marmoratus aquatic since late spring, and since then they have only grown about 1cm. They are looking very healthy though. i´ve been wondering about giving them a winter terrestrial time...maybe from now to january/february. They are now one year old and i was thinking they could benefit from a terrestrial stage. What´s your opinion? Do you think keeping them terrestrial now for a few months would be stressing or unnecessary, or do you think they will benefit from it and return to the water in february ready for breeding time?? They seem happy in their aquatic setup, but i´m just wondering what the best would be for them....and a terrestrial, cool rest just seems adequate.

I would not give the juveniles a colder period if you want them to grow (they eat less when temperature drops in winter). 1 year also seems very young if you want them to breed, this normally takes 2 to 3 years. I think aquatic marms are easier to feed, but I have no experience with aquatic juvies...

I am wondering why they have only grown 1 cm. When aquatic, they are usually big eaters.

Do you have terrestrial live food? For most people, it's more difficult to provide terrestrial food. If you do move them terrestrial, be sure they have a choice of land or water in their setup.

Yes that sounds incredibly weird to me. I got them to be aquatic because i thought they would grow faster that way, plus they look awesome in their tank and are extremely eassy to feed. I can feed them if terrestrial, i got all of them to eat from the tweezers before they went aquatic, and they ate great on earthworms, bloodworms and crickets(and the very ocassional slug). I´m a generous feeder, so they are always quite satisfied, that´s why i cannot understand why they´ve been growing soooo slow since they are aquatic. They are one year old and 8-9 cm long.
As for breeding, well i really do not expect them to, but since i´ve got two males already with a tiny crest, a swollen cloaca and white sheen, i thought maybe they are mature, and maybe the cooling period might benefit them. I mean, i know they are young, but the males look rather mature. Anyway my goal is not breeding (enough with the cynops), i just want them to be as helathy as possible, and since being aquatic seems to be stunting their growth somehow (i´m totally clueless) i think i´ll try some terrestrial time, and see if they start growing nicely as before.
btw i´m not intending on hybernating them or anything, just a cooler period of about 18-15ºC on land.

Hi Rodrigo..i haven't forgot about the papers by the way, could you e-mail me your address again and i'll sort them straight away.I kept mine terrestrial from day one and have five left from the same batch, what size are yours just now.

I already have a brick covered in java moss so that they can rest. They use it at night (actually i´ve only seen the two males and one of the females use it) and then when the lights are on they run to the water. As i said they are now between 8-9.3 cm long being the males the larger ones. The thing is they should be terrestrial now...but i got infected with the charms of easiness, and got them to be aquatic. Now since being aquatic is only an advantage for me i´m wondering if i should get them to be terrestrial again as they should have been. It´s no big deal for me, since i can feed them well on land, so i was thinking of going for the natural thing.

Oh, and thank you Ian, i had completely forgotten once again. I´ll be sending you a mial later on today, ok?