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The Case of the Vanished Newt

ael

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My C. Orientalis eggs hatched a few months ago, and I've been raising them in a bare (but for some assorted java moss) 10 gallon tank. The first one morphed three days ago.

Yesterday, around noon, I noticed the newly-morphed newt and one larvae were floating (in the having-trouble-keeping-self-down kind of way, not casually), so I logged on, read some articles, and set up a small, shallow-water, aquatic plant tank for the two affected newts. And good news! When I got back from work at about 11pm, the larvae had gone back to normal and seemed perfectly fine. (Whew!)

What is troubling me is this: During the 10 hours I was gone, the somewhat sick, 2-day morph, somehow managed to escape a closed tank. Yes, I know newts are escape artists, and yes, there was a small hole in the lid for a cord (although no cords were involved in this setup). Presumably, this is how it escaped.

But, despite the evidence at hand, I'm still not convinced this is entirely possible. The morph had been exhibiting all the signs of weakness, barely able to hold itself up out of the water. There was no land area touching the sides of the tank to give it a leg out of the water, and there was a ledge around the edge of the tank before it could get to the hole. (Also, none of my adult newts have ever been able to crawl for more than a few inches along the glass without falling off--is skill at climbing a gene? Cause he hasn't got it.) Also, the hole was tiny (although, yes, a very small morph could crawl through, I doubt I would have been able to push it or drop it through, were I so inclined) and somewhat randomly placed along a wide stretch of glass far from any corners, so the morph would have had to crawl along the top edge quite a ways before finding it.

Searching the surrounding area, too, revealed no newt, no newt body--even though the tank sits on a long, wide ledge (big enough for a person to stretch out on). And on the ground around the ledge (the whole room!), also nothing. Also, for the record, not clinging to the lid.

I guess further elucidating the UNLIKELINESS of the situation in no way changes the fact that it somehow HAPPENED. But my question is: how foreseeable was this event?

As Sherlock Holmes says, eliminate the impossible, and whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. So, as another possibility: How much physical exertion is reasonable for a 2-day morph? Because even if it escaped, I can't see how it could have crawled such a distance that my frantic search couldn't reveal it.

I don't believe the larvae could have eaten it, as the morph was larger, and could crawl onto land. Also, the remaining newt didn't seem sufficiently large enough to have consumed an amount of food larger than itself--and there were no suspicious injuries or body parts floating around the tank.

Is it possible that it totally disintegrated (http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/why_larvae_die.shtml)? It seems even more unlikely, but would there really be no trace?

Yes, I suppose this post is just a way of me grappling with the absurdity of the situation. But still, reassurance, chastisement, sympathy, additional confusion, hand waving freak outery--all responses, as far as I'm concerned, are appreciated.

Thanks all :)
 

Azhael

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They desintegrate fast, but not THAT fast. If you have looked thoughly and found no sign whatsoever of the morph, then it has scaped. Never substimate their hability, they are REALLY good at scaping...O_O
New morphs, very specially small ones, are extremely good at climbing the sides of a tank. Adults eventually fall off, but morphs don´t, they are little spidermans (it´s rather remarkable really..).
 

Otterwoman

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When I am looking for newts, I feel around the inside upper lip of the tank...they often stick upside down there.
 
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