Question: T Marm wants out of the water

I have one t marm that has lost the gill thingys.

This fella is wanting out of the water.

He is nervous......I am nervous too.......no joke

I also have a spotted salamander that wants out to.

I am thinking they are at or near morph territory.

The water level is low. I have plastic plants for the t marm.

I am thinking the plant deally is not adequate.

For the spotted salamander I have a rock with a ramp in the water.

My question.....

I have compressed sphagnum moss.

Can I add some of this to the shallow water so grandma's babies can get out of the water????


Please help....I am charting new territory and as usual I kind of freak out :wacko:

I think sphagnum moss is a bad idea as it would lower the pH.

I'm attaching a photo of my newt nursery - it seems so work well for larvae and little newts. The species is Cynops pyrrhogaster. I'm keeping them in semi-aquatic conditions. It has a breathable lid (very important, they're climbers).
You could move your little guys into a fully terrestrial set up after they finish metamorphosis.

Here's also something about metamorphosis: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/raising.shtml

So do you think I will be alright if I mix the sphagnum moss with the soil mixture.

Once I applied the sphagnum the morph left the water looked around and went back into the water.

Is this morph ready for an enclosure??

The acidity issue applies to land as well as water - sphagnum moss shouldn't be used for newts at all. (You can use the search function to see more about it, it appears in many threads and also in the article about substrates on CC). Sometimes what is sold as sphagnum is actually a different type of moss but I really wouldn't risk it.

I don't have experience with raising marmoratus but of my cynops larvae, some took a couple of days before they were fully terrestrial and not returning to water. I think if the morph has a comfortable land area with shallow water around it, it should be fine for some time...at least until someone with more experience with marmoratus answers :happy:
You might want to give the little newt some hiding place in the land area so it can feel safe.
Once it's fully terrestrial you can can keep it in a small vivarium either with soil substrate and moss and bark for hiding places or on damp paper towels. I am not sure about keeping little marms semi-aquatic - best if you wait for more answers.

I too would not use sphagnum moss as it may lower the ph. There are many options for creating a land area for morphing larvae. The simplest are often the best - such as a floating piece of cork bark with some moss on top (not sphagnum) or a shallow semi-aquatic container with stone islands as in Eva's photo.

For T.marmoratus, once they spend a good portion of the day out of the water I transfer them to a 100% terrestrial set up of top soil, moss and bark hides. I know some keepers try to keep them as aquatic as possible but in my opinion they are not a difficult species to raise terrestrially.

I will definitely remove the sphagnum moss.

I have some tiny plastic cups with lids.

I also have some pieces of live rock rubble from my saltwater tank.

Do you think that would work??

I left the room to make more islands for the other 3 shallow containers.

When I returned, grandma's baby was up out the water and climbing up the side of the container.

When my daughter checked....this fella was on the underside of the lid.
I am telling you this baby wants out of the container PERIOD......

p.s. i have attached pics of my newly morphed baby.
He manages to make it to the temporary island roud:roud:roud:roud:

p.s.s. My daughter was being really onery and put an really really small outfit that Gizmo wore when he was a baby.

Sibling rivalry. I tell you......I want to take a secret vacation