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Two breeding periods?

slowfoot

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Hi all,

My male N. viridescens went into breeding condition in October of last year (a little early for them), and he courted aggressively until the end of December. During the past month though, he's been more focused on food (to the relief of the ladies), the courting stopped, and his nuptial pads faded away to nothing.

Well, they're back :cool: And he's courting again. Is this normal? They've just never had more than one breeding period per year (for many years). I'm actually not looking forward to more newt-making and I'm sure the female newts (who were just starting to get comfortable coming down to the bottom for food) aren't either.
 

FredLikesNewts

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yes in the wild its normal for a psuedo breeding period to occur in the fall, and normally in the spring. i think i read somewhere that the eggs arent laid until the following spring, since it would be too cold in the fall in the wild.
 

slowfoot

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Hi Fred,

I always thought that the normal breeding period for N. viridescens was in the fall. My newts have always courted in the fall/winter. I could be wrong... Though I definitely wouldn't call the first breeding session 'psuedo': they laid a large number of eggs.

I was just curious if they could actually manage to fit two breeding periods in a single year :confused:
 

Nathan050793

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I think in captivity (especially considering how spoiled yours are ;)) it is conceivable for them to have multiple breeding periods. They typically only have one prolonged period in the wild usually, from fall- early/mid spring.
 

Jennewt

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I agree, this is something that is not uncommon for animals that have been in captivity for a while. I would keep a careful watch on the breeding activity. It is possible for a male Noto to be too overzealous in courtship to the point that he injures a female. I had this happen. The poor female got a skin sore on her head caused by the amount of grasping she endured. I had to separate them for a while.
 

slowfoot

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My newts may be very slightly (but only slightly!) overfed :D

I still have the 'probation' tank set up, so male newt may have to go in there. He's pretty relentless once he gets going: the poor females can't eat or even go down to the bottom of the tank without risking being nabbed.
 
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