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Triturus a. alpestris hibernation

C

chris

Guest
I`m usually good about getting my newts into hibernation by now, but this year I have been a little busy. My female T. a. alpestris are very gravid, and the males have their crests. I was wondering about some opinions that people may have about hibernating them in this situation. Should I place them in a small tank with water in the fridge, or should I place them in small containers with moist moss like I usually do? I plan on hopefully breeding them again this spring. Any comments are welcome... Thanks
 
K

kai

Guest
Hi Chris,

Most (all?) aquatic newts can be easily put in reasonably large plastic boxes (from a reliable source like Tupper Ware) with a little bit of water - best taken from a garden pond with good water quality. 1-2 cm (0.5") is enough but higher water levels seem to make no difference IM(limited)E - make sure that enough air is provided though.

Don't crowd the container or otherwise the water quality will suffer. If you need to change the water, place it in the fridge for a few hours.

Don't use a fridge which gets opened regularly.

Best wishes,
kai
 
D

dln

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Hibernating Crested Newts. I've read several accounts about hibernating triturus species for breeding and there appears to be a huge varience in methodology. I've read articles that claim 4 weeks is enough while some hibernate them for 3 months. I've seen variance in desired temperatures from 34 to 42 degrees. I've read items that say to hibernate in a plastic container with shallow water and plants and other items saying to hibernate them in moist sphangum moss. I've even read that hibernation isn't necessary at all, just mild temperature and lighting changes, to induce breeding. I've got 10 triturus cristasus I'm getting ready to hibernate. What do you do to hibernate your Triturus?
 
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caleb

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Personally, I don't bother hibernating mine, but I've not got fussy species at present. I know someone who breeds most of the Triturus species, and only hibernates T. montandoni. Mine get down to about 10-15 degrees C in winter, and breed OK.

If you do want to hibernate them, I'd recommend not changing from aquatic to terrestrial, so use shallow water if they're in the water, moss if they're on land. Any temperature between 5-10 degrees C should be OK. As for duration, the shortest I've heard is 30-40 days, so anything longer than that should be OK. They can stay in as long as you want if they're not losing weight...
 
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dln

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Appreciate your input. I'd prefer not to hibernate them if I don't have to.
 
K

kai

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I've heard that some people have had more (newt skin) problems with aquatic hibernation of the cristatus species group than with terrestial hibernation. You can transfer aquatic newts into boxes with damp paper towel and they will change into the terrestial mode very soon.

With only a few specimens I'd greatly recommend to hibernate them to enhance their chances to become sexually active in the same period. With 10 individuals this shouldn't be a problem and a cooler winter period without strict hibernation might be sufficient.

No plants when hibernating aquatic newts!
And no Sphagnum with any newts, please!

Best wishes,
kai
 
F

fiona

Guest
Why is sphagnum bad for newts?
Is that year round or hibernation only?
 
J

jennifer

Guest
Sphagnum and peat moss are acidic. It's generally not something that will kill a sal immediately, but it can be a source of stress that will weaken them.
 
K

kai

Guest
And it's not "environmentally corect" anyway since peat swamps are destroyed by mining Sphagnum and peat. Better use some suitable moss species which you can collect yourself.

Best wishes,
kai
 
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Chil

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just found one of my alpine newt lying pneumonia.bottom of tank in garage not moving but not convinced it is dead. any suggestions?
others are fine. doing a water change to be on the safe side.
 
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