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Buy a LID ASAP!

Bismarck

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Hi,

I have to put this up in hopes that nobody makes the same mistake. Please buy a lid ASAP.

Allow me to explain...

I got these amazing Alpines, recently. I have an incredible aquatic enclosure with a lid. Okay so the lid had 2 holes from a previous tank where I placed filter tubes through, but plenty of lid. I checked on them daily as they are entertaining to watch and feed. 2/3 Alpines disappeared completely from the tank. These consummate escape artists are nowhere to be found ANYWHERE?!! Trust me, I looked. Now I am kicking myself for not spending for a $10 lid to save me all that spent for those cool newts.
 

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Otterwoman

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If it hasn't been that long and you think they may still be alive, put out a wet towel a couple places they might be (near dark places) and it may actually attract them.
 

Herpin Man

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All small salamanders climb, including Alpine newts. They can squeeze through any tiny opening; I use tight fitting lids of my own design for all my salamanders.
First things first- find those newts. Otterwoman is right, they are probably still alive. Try laying out damp towels, as they will seek out moisture. Any dark, damp, protected area you have, search thoroughly. A partially dehydrated newt may be difficult to see- use a flashlight to help see them. My advice is to get to it quickly, while there is still a chance.
One more thing worth mentioning; I have found that newts are more likely to try to climb out if there is an issue with their enclosure. Lack of cover, incorrect temperature or, more often than not, poor water quality. If your tank was not fully cycled, check the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels.
Now go find those newts!
 

MnGuy

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Sorry. That’s a bummer. Like the other person said, keep looking and put out a damp towel or shallow bowl of water.

Same thing happened to me (also a hole in a screen lid), but I found the one missing newt right away and rehydrated her and she’s fine now.

Funny thing is I never saw any of my 3 alpine newts on their logs, but the one day I forgot to forget the home one newt found her way out. I still haven’t seen them use their log in the two years since that escape.

Good luck!
 

Otterwoman

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I had a dream last night that all my newts were roaming loose in the house and when I saw this post again I realized why!
 

Bismarck

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Sep 9, 2018
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Location
New York
Alpine UPDATE

Hi,

I thank everyone for their support and not calling me an idiot. I was planning to post a picture of wet paper towels all over the place, but I still did not find those Alpines anyways. So I got two options...

1. Leave that last Alpine by itself with their new crappy fully sealed lid.

2. Find more Alpines because the one I have is depressed in a tank all by themselves. I posted a picture of how well they got along and now it is sitting there just waiting for me to fill the trough as there is nobody to hang out with.

I also promise the caudata community that I will not kill anymore newts. I am still dumbfounded that there is no way how they escaped. I must have bought trapeze artist newts because the only way they could have escaped was walking upside down on that lid and hoist their body weight through a hole not intended for them.

P.S. anybody got 2 Alpines to sell?? It is not for me, please do it for the newt.
 

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