Question: Purchasing Newts In Toronto

Hello, I am new to this site and looking for some advice. I currently own one P. labiatus (paddle tail newt) that I bought from a petstore in downtown Toronto. I have recently acquired a new tank and would like to purchase another species, preferrable a less common species. The store that I originally went to did not care for their newts properly, so I would rather not go back. Does anyone know of any other stores in the Toronto and surrounding areas?

:happy:

Hi Kay,

I recommend Menagerie Pet Store on Parliament ( Menagerie Pet Shop: Toronto, Ontario ). They carry a number of different types of newts and sals, and the animals are usally CB and are kept in very good conditions.

Thanks for replying so soon, the funny thing is that the shop you just mentioned is where I purchased my newt. I have to say they were kept in very poor conditions. Now of course this is just my personal opinion. I would really rather look for an alternative store IF there are others.

They certainly aren't perfect, but I think Menagerie is about the best you are going to find in the GTA. The alternatives are the Downtown Pet Store in Kensington (they keep their newts - all WC - in about 1 inch of dirty water with no hides, and use a heat lamp), and big box pet stores such as Big Als (where conditions are, at best, no better than Menagerie, the staff tend to be much less knowledgble, and you won't find much other than firebellies). One alternative is to look into an out of town supplier, such as this one ( Captive Herps - Canadian mail order reptiles | SmugMug ) which, if memory serves, is located in southwestern Ontario. This place does ship, although only when the weather is appropriate of course. There are also private importers who can import a variety of juvenile CB animals from the States, but this is costly as you will have to pay for the import-export permits, etc. Oh, you might also check kijiji listings - there do seem to be a steady trickle of GTA newts and sals posted there.

Yes I have to agree with you that the big box stores like Big Al's have little knowledge of anything other than fish unfortunately.

Well thank you for your helpful advice. I will check out Menagerie again to see what species they offer.

Good luck!

I absolutely sympathize re: pet store conditions in Toronto in general, btw. I purchased my first newt (a WC P. Chinensis) from the Downtown Pet Store at Spadina/Dundas (without knowing any better), and have felt pretty bad about it ever since. I know that conditions are crowded at Menagerie, and animals are often housed with other species that may or may not represent a danger to them, but at least they are fed live earthworms, have hides, and are kept in cool & low light conditions. Regrettably it seems that this (at least in my own limited experience) is actually pretty good in the world of pet stores. I only hope that standards will improve in the future as more people become educated about these things!

Oh my goodness, tell me about it! I felt horrible as soon as I saw the agression in my tank! And to make matters worse I felt horrible after I gave them back because I found out both had been lost, therefore probably dead now. I wish people would take caring for any animal more seriously than they do. I find it hard to understand the mistreatment of animals, do people really think they dont feel pain?

I agree that if we want to continue the selling of Salamanders and Newts, it is the buyers responsibility to demand higher standards. If we do not force breeders and sellers to maintain better housing, most will take the cheaper route.

Anyways this is getting quite long and off topic I suppose. Thanks for all your imput. I like talking to other enthusiast that share my passion.

No worries! I am more than happy to share my thoughts with another local newt enthusiast! Please do feel free to PM me at any time! I can also recommend CB importers (via PM) if you are interested.

Btw I just viewed the album of your paddletail! Sorry to hear about the aggression with the original set - I have heard that these are a particularly aggressive species. Yours looks like a beautiful newt though, and I'm glad that you have been able to offer him a wonderful caring home!