New to newts - Ribbed Newts Questions

Hello everyone, I am Senryo, but you can call me Kevin.

I have had alot of different types of aquariums, with a wiiiiiiiiiiiide variety of fish, crawfish, lobsters, and even rays, which are very harsh to deal with sometimes.

Salamanders/Newts, and reptiles are new to me, and require a different sophisticated approach.

I have some questions:

How potent is Ribbed Newt's toxins?

I am quite a paranoid guy about health, and this concerns me, I currently have two ribbed newts in a 100x30x40 aquarium refurbished to a habitat for them.

I am also quite the derpy guy, and got allergies so I rub my eyes alot, if I were to be a derp and get it in my eyes, what would happen, or lets say ingest it?

Also one of them has seemed to find a remaining piece of gravel, very small piece though, 1/5th size of it's head, would this become a major issue?

I am sure I will have loads more, but I can't think of them right now, thanks for reading!

Hello Kevin, and welcome! You can learn a lot about Salamanders and newts here.

I myself have seven ribbed newts and have not once encountered any issues with their toxins. Assuming you aren't handling them unless absolutely necessary you should be fine. I would say to be on the safe side that you should wash your hands after you put them in the tank but be doubly sure to do so if you come into contact with them. As far as I know they are not a very toxic species, unlike rough skin newts. Someone else may have a more precise answer though.

As far as the gravel I would make sure no more is remaining as it can be dangerous, one small piece shouldn't be a problem but I would keep in eye on his feeding habits for a bit.

Hope this helps and again, welcome!

Hi, welcome to the forum.
All newts are toxic to a lesser or greater degree, with Taricha being the most potent of them all, potentially fatal in fact. As I understand it Ribbed newts have comparatively mild poison, but it would still be dangerous to ingest, get in the eyes or into an open cut. As long as basic hygiene is followed there should not be any problems, just wash your hands before and after putting them in the tank. Its actually quite rare that you would need to handle your newts directly, but as long as you are gentle and don't make them panic they shouldn't show any defensive behaviour once they are settled.

Yeah I understand that, but I am asking what the effects would be IF it happens, mild toxins are still toxins, and either short or longterm can propagate health problems.

Thanks for the reply, appreciate it greatly!

I know ribbed newts are used in teaching aids with children a lot so I can't imagine their "toxins" are that bad. Also, you have to keep in mind that in order to produce toxins, often a relatively varied diet is needed. I know that with fire belly toads usually since most people only feed them crickets, they aren't very toxic. As others have said, not getting them riled up helps because that is when they actually release or whatever the mechanism is. I personally have never had mine do their rib thing, but I've only ever directly handled them twice, once when I put them in the tank for the first time, and then when I moved them to a new tank.

It would most likely be along these lines. Maybe not quite as severe, but I wouldn't want to try it.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...urergus/81129-kaiseri-poisoning-incident.html

Chinadog said:

It would most likely be along these lines. Maybe not quite as severe, but I wouldn't want to try it.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...urergus/81129-kaiseri-poisoning-incident.html

Click to expand...

In that thread someone specifically mentions getting stuck by P. waltl ribs and experiencing a numb hand, headaches, and vomiting. But this is only the case if the toxin comes in contact with an open wound, not from touching bare skin.

I after 10 years of keeping them have never seen the rib thing. But they are greedy and even a clean tank may have rotten food or worse in the water so if you have cuts or open wounds on your hands or even if you don't wash your hands after dealing with the tank this could be more of a health issue. regards KB

I hav kept Newts for over 45years i a have never had a problem.If you have a newt you must pick up you could use gloved hands,a fine net o even a small tub to move them with.Your newts are at more risk from you.