Questions RE: plants, larva floating, & possible release

Hello-- I've just joined recently, and have some questions. I've got a young larval newt/salamander that a coworker gave me about a month ago. (We work for a mosquito control company, and she knew that I am raising some tadpoles I found in a rapidly drying puddle. I've got major guilt about his being taken from his natural habitat, though.) He was found in a vernal pool in southern New Hampshire, but as yet I haven't been able to identify him.

I think he was newly hatched when he was given to me, as he was very small (about 1/2 an inch) and almost entirely transparent. He has grown to be about an inch long, has arms, and has wee leg buds. I'm keeping him in a small tank with a few smooth rocks at the bottom. I generally try to change a majority of his water at least every couple of days, though I am going to begin daily partial changes (assuming I don't fall down dead after a 14 work day warring against mosquitoes...). I've mostly fed him frozen bloodworms, though I've tried brine shrimp (they seem to die when they are put in his water). To be frank, I was so sure he would promptly die that I haven't put a tremendous amount of time into his care. He has survived my desultory care long enough, and I am going to try harder.

At any rate, ideally I will release him into the wild, but I am not sure if I should. Mostly because I don't know that he could survive, but also because his original home is totally dry and I don't know that I should put him anywhere else in case he is carrying disease. Advice?

Also, he has been floating at the top of the tank quite a lot, and from what I've been reading, apparently that might mean he isn't healthy. Thus my committment to providing better water quality... But is there another reason he might be floating? It's not likely that he would want to get out of the water before he has legs, is it?

Finally-- are there any aquatic plants that could be toxic to newt larvae? Would it be all right to put some spider plants in his tank (I keep the bottom of the baby plants in water until they make roots)?

Today I did put some mosquito larvae in his tank, and last I saw, he was being very sneaky and creeping up to sniff around them. He seems a little jumpy when they move though, and not in the "hopping" way as if he's hunting, but just as if he's startled.

I'd better stop before I drown you all with words. Thanks!

Beatrice

You seem to be on the right track. Your reasons for not releasing him are spot-on, and I agree with you. I don't think you need to feel any guilt about the removal of one larva from a drying-up pool. It's very different (much less impact) than removing an adult from the wild.

Feeding him mosquito larvae is good. If they are suitable size, I'm sure he'll eat them. Floating can be from not eating enough or water quality issues. No, he cannot climb up out of the water until he is approaching metamorphosis, which isn't going to happen for weeks or, more likely, months.

I think a spider plant should be fine. I've also used cuttings from pothos and spiderwort houseplants.

Thank you. He's seems to be doing all right, but isn't eating the mosq. larvae yet (I've removed all the larger ones, and left him a few stage one little guys...). He has begun attacking his bloodworms, even though they are dead-- he creeps up and then thrashes them about before eating-- and isn't floating anymore, so I think he's feeling better. All of which encourages me to continue taking good care of him.

Did you have to wiggle the blood worms? Or cut them up smaller? I'm trying to move my larvae to frozen/prepared foods now.

It really depends on speices. I have had great success feeding frozen (thawed first) bloodworms to various types of larvae, but others totally ignore them. depending on his size, it may be necessary to cut them up a bit, however this makes hand feeding a pain.

When introducing "dead" foods to my hatchlings, the first few times I use a turkey baster and a bit of tank water containing the food. I then squirt this right in front of the little guys, giving the illusion of life. This method works well with some, but not all.

This time of year in your area, the earthworms are getting a move on. You may find it easy to collect a few smaller ones a week and feed them in pieces to your pet. (as long as they are collected for a place free of lawn and garden treatments and pesticides)

Another option is blackworms, which may or may not be available to you locally in a pet shop, or you can order them online.

Also, I would just like to add that I am very jealous of your access to mosquito larvae...I wish I could get them in reasonable amounts to feed to my critters.

As for the floating, what is the temperature of his water? generally speaking, cooler temperatures are beneficial to many species.

Congrats on your new acquisition!