With only 20 (max) options, I had to compact them as best I could, and of course it is "tainted" by what I keep and what I consider most popular...I'm sure anyone who would write the poll would choose different options. No one has to list their species if they don't want to, but make sure you click off all the appropriate boxes!
But if you check any of the "Other" boxes I'm curious to know what they are.
Jake, in addition to all those turtles, you have all these newts? Yikes!
I'm proud to say my "Other" caudates are some of my favorites!
Yes Dawn, I do keep a few newts and a few turtles, I believe the word you were looking for is "Yay!!", not "yikes"! Lol! It's fun to surround yourself with the wonders of the world (if you have the time and desire), I don't see a trip to Europe or Asia in my near future, and pictures of the animals don't show you just how interactive they are with their surroundings so I do the next best thing
.
That makes me think I should have done a separate poll for what Europeans vs North Americans own. But this will do for now! I'm surprised how many people own marms.
T.marmoratus are the most commonly kept Triturus, even though some people still charge a LOT for them, they're surprisingly easy to get to breed and you can raise them accidentally if you do everything right! I see c.b. marms replacing the pathetic imported orientalis in the future, just give it a few years!
I noticed that "taint" when you listed verrucosus separately from the other tylo's. I would expect T. shanjing to be more commonly kept here in the US because of all of the imports. I am sure that this situation could be very different in other parts of the world however.
Chip
Chip is absolutely right. T.shanjing (and kweichowensis to an extent) are imported in ridiculous quantities and a lot of people who normally wouldn't keep newts are drawn to their attractive coloration.
While it's true you have a knack for raising the verrucosus in quantity, other people selling the c.b. juveniles for insane prices in this poor economy discourages many newtists from purchasing them. Plus, you can buy a full grown T.shanjing for less than some c.b. newt vendors sell the juveniles for which encourages more w.c. sales and less captive bred
The only solution is to buy your newts straight from the breeder and not from people who want to profit off of the hard work of other people who actually care about the animals (don't just have a price on their heads) and keep the adults healthy enough to breed and raise the offspring. Though some people selling those high priced newts pose as breeders, but in reality are just greedy liars with "newt budgets" and not breeding groups...look out everyone!
