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My First Pleurodeles Waltl

Fishumms

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Hello. Have been lurking on the forum for a little and have decided to join. You guys gave me some suggestions on my tank in a previous post so I thought I would continue the journey. Today I purchased the last Pleurodeles Waltl (Spanish Ribbed Newt) from my local pet shop. Seems to be doing very well in it's tank. I am surprised how boldly active it has been from the moment I put it in the tank. They had several at the store for the last 3 months and since this was the last one it is probably used to activity around the tank. I think it probably likes its new tank as well since the tank it was in was very bare. I do not know if it is male or female. They said they had been feeding them crickets, but they seem to be mostly aquatic from what I have been reading. Should I continue with crickets or should I try other things? I have black worms and brine shrimp for my fish so it would be easy to feed with that. Thanks.

I don't know why that one photo is sideways, it is correct on my desktop.
 

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Asevernnnn

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Hello. Have been lurking on the forum for a little and have decided to join. You guys gave me some suggestions on my tank in a previous post so I thought I would continue the journey. Today I purchased the last Pleurodeles Waltl (Spanish Ribbed Newt) from my local pet shop. Seems to be doing very well in it's tank. I am surprised how boldly active it has been from the moment I put it in the tank. They had several at the store for the last 3 months and since this was the last one it is probably used to activity around the tank. I think it probably likes its new tank as well since the tank it was in was very bare. I do not know if it is male or female. They said they had been feeding them crickets, but they seem to be mostly aquatic from what I have been reading. Should I continue with crickets or should I try other things? I have black worms and brine shrimp for my fish so it would be easy to feed with that. Thanks.

I don't know why that one photo is sideways, it is correct on my desktop.
These are fully aquatic newts, a land area is pretty much a waste of space. I would use chopped up earthworms/nightcrawlers as a staple too
 

Mark

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We have a great care sheet for this species here: Caudata Culture Species Entry - Pleurodeles waltl

Given a land area they will haul out from time to time but most keepers prefer to keep them fully aquatic. P.walt are voracious eaters and can easily be offered a range of live foods and pellets. Earthworms are one of the most nutritious items for your newt.
 

Fishumms

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Thanks guys. I will get some worms then. I'll probably reconfigure the tank at some point in the future, but I have found another newt for sale so there are 2 now and I figured I would give them some time to get adjusted before I go stressing them out again.
 

Fishumms

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Thanks for the advice. I have found another one and it will be here on Tuesday so I probably won't disturb the tank for at least a month, but I am planning a re-scape already in my head. I think the simplest thing is to raise the water to the top of the filter, a full 10 inches and replacing the potted plants with aquatic plants or tall emergent plants. I could easily still create a smaller "land" area next to the filter and there already is the floating log in there as well. Seems to be the easiest way. Would 10 inches be enough water? I can easily move the filter higher, just put a block under it and raise it up. Again, thanks for the advice.
 

kewzoo

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It's cool that you keep a tiny person and some tiny little dogs in your tank too! :p

I like watching my ribbed newts eat too. It's so satisfying. But it looks like such hard work! I hope you're enjoying them. I'm really fascinated by my two.
 

Fishumms

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It's cool that you keep a tiny person and some tiny little dogs in your tank too! :p

I like watching my ribbed newts eat too. It's so satisfying. But it looks like such hard work! I hope you're enjoying them. I'm really fascinated by my two.

Haha. Thanks.

It does look like hard work, but they seem to figure it out after a bit and get better at it.

I just received my second newt today. It is a standard Spanish Ribbed newt. It came in the mail. I could not find any locally and where I got the first one from did not have anymore that were adult sized so I didn't feel they could live together. Don't want one newt to be come a snack. Anyway, the one that arrived today is surprisingly active. Even after braving the mail system, or in this case Fedex system, in a tiny little cup full of moss it almost immediately started hunting for food. I fed the other newt yesterday and there are still a few blackworms here and there.

The two newts also seem to be getting along alright. At first they kind of bit one another, but I think it was a case of seeing "food" where it wasn't. One would bite the other's foot, then the other would bite the first one's foot and they repeated this for about a minute. I think they figured it out. Maybe they figured it out.

The tank has changed a little as well. I added some more hides and a Peace Lilly. I also have been raising the water level. I have been waiting for the plants to grow enough so I don't drown them as I raise it. It's at halfway right now so there is probably 10 gallons of water. It has about 1.5 inches to go but it is almost to the level I want it. The newt that has been in there seems to like climbing in the peach lilly and the Tiger lotus behind it as well as hanging out in the "shallows" or the tops of the submerged pots in the back of the tank. I have yet to see more than it's nose come out of the water though.
 

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Fishumms

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Just some photos of the guys looking cute. They have settled into the tank very well. I am pretty certain that they are both males but I was hoping to get some advice on how to tell. All I can find online say "you'll know when they are next to each other" but they just look the same to me. That is what leads me today they are both male. Haha. I mean I have no idea.

Anyway, thanks.
 

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Asevernnnn

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Spanish ribbed newts (Pleurodeles waltl). Cloaca size is not a good indicator. Males have wider front legs, used for clasping the female. Females have proportionately shorter tails and fatter abdomens. However, these differences are very difficult to distinguish unless you have a male and female side by side. During breeding season, the male may become slightly reddish. He develops nuptial pads on the underside of the front legs, and the region at the base of the tail becomes wider

Taken From: Caudata Culture Articles - Sexing
 

Fishumms

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Spanish ribbed newts (Pleurodeles waltl). Cloaca size is not a good indicator. Males have wider front legs, used for clasping the female. Females have proportionately shorter tails and fatter abdomens. However, these differences are very difficult to distinguish unless you have a male and female side by side. During breeding season, the male may become slightly reddish. He develops nuptial pads on the underside of the front legs, and the region at the base of the tail becomes wider

Taken From: Caudata Culture Articles - Sexing


Haha. Thanks. I had read that before. I believe they are the same sex, either male or female I cannot tell and that was the answer I was trying to find. They seem to be of the same proportions.
 

Fishumms

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Some photos of the guys eating.
 

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Fishumms

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Fishumms

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In that video brine shrimp and black worms. That is the usual mix. They get a lot of frozen shrimp of several varieties when I am too lazy to get live food. I think they were eating pellets when they were raised because it took them a little while to figure out what was food. They have also eaten crickets but my girlfriend doesn't really like them making noise so not very often.
 
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