N, strauchii breeding

T

Tim Robin

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Today was a great day! I have seen our 2.3 N. strauchii doing a lot of courting behavior. Four weeks ago I saw both males fanning like crazy. I have not done anything special to induce breeding. They are kept in a 20 gal long tank. They are in our exercise/Newt room in the basement. I have the heat vent closed. The room is finished but has a tile floor. For the last several months the ambient temp in the room is around 60. Today I happened to witness a spermatophore and a male blocking the female. She took it up! It was amazing. Now I have many questions. First, are they like N. kaiseri, that she should start laying within 2 weeks or so? The tank is set up identically to one Jennewt described here on the forum. I have attached a couple photos. Where should I look for eggs? I hope I find them. Do N. strauchii like to deposit them on the plants or underside of rocks? Is it possible that they will deposit them up in the loos gravel? That could be hard to find them. Wish me luck, and I will keep you all posted on any news. I (Tim) am so excited, not many N. strauchii successes posted on here.

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They lay on the underside of rocks. They are very unlikely to lay them in the gravel area. I would add more rocks to the tank, both as places for eggs and for general hides. Flat rocks are most often used as egg sites. The small saucer with the hole in one side is nice; if you don't have access to nice rocks, just add a bunch more of those.

Not to be a wet blanket, but some folks have seen loads of courtship and still not gotten eggs from this species. But I'm pulling for you! Seeing a spermatophore actually taken up is certainly encouraging.
 
Congratulations, I love this species
 
Well the females have started laying. I have not removed any eggs yet as I just saw them appear today. So far I can count 12. I am so excited! :D I hope some are fertile and I can get them to hatch. I will get pictures when I can. The females seem pretty private and I don't want to bother them.
 
Yay, Tim!! That's excellent news!!!:D

ferreron said:
During november and december they were exposed to low temps, about 5ºC or slightly more. During january it's been unusually hot in my area, and although temps inside the tanks have never gone higher than 10-11ºC, they, in general, did rise over those of previous months. Now the cold is coming back and I'm worried this could condition them in some way.

Do you think I should use a heater to prevent the temps going down and gradually and artifitially increase the temperature, or should I just let the cold do its thing?
Click to expand...

I faced the same dilemma this year. Our winter is dragging on very long, but I felt it was time to bring up the temperature for the strauchii. I decided to move the tanks from the garage (10C) to the basement (16C). This is warmer than I wanted, so I have a small fan blowing across the top of both tanks. This is keeping the water temp at a perfect 13-14C, and one of my groups has started laying eggs.:D
 
The eggs appear much darker in color than the N. kaiseri. I have removed 12 eggs. I am so excited. The females are still very fat. We have had some cold weather and their water temp has been around 58F. Come on fertility!!:lol:
 
those are so cool looking. i've never seen these offered before are they hard to find? they remind me of baby mangrove monitors.
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Tim Robin said:
The eggs appear much darker in color than the N. kaiseri. I have removed 12 eggs. I am so excited. The females are still very fat. We have had some cold weather and their water temp has been around 58F. Come on fertility!!:lol:
Click to expand...

58F (14C) is perfect for them to lay. Once they get above about 61F (16C) they will stop.
 
I pulled 12 more eggs out of the tank today. Is it normal for them to appear dark on one side and white/cream on the other? I guess time will tell. Ugh, now comes the wait. :wacko:
 
Yes, that is how they should look. You should be able to tell if they are good within a week. Sooner if you have a microscope or a good hand lens. If I were to make a bet, I would bet that some are fertile, but not all - I've never seen strauchii eggs that didn't have at least 25% duds. Fingers crossed!
 
I took a few pictures of the eggs today. What do you think?

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We are up to 41 eggs. None have molded yet. Come on baby strauchii! :D I will get photos next week of the progress. I am so happy and excited! I am reading all I can find on raising newtlets!!
 
I would hesitate to make the call on any of the eggs in the photos. I'm pretty sure the second photo is a dud. Some of the duds will show changes in the color of the nucleus as they go bad. The bad ones will eventually get milky, but it takes a while.
 
I found these three eggs on the bottom of the tank near the back. No idea how long since they were laid. I almost threw them out. I am no expert, but they are looking really good. I had to get out the macro lens. So far REALLY good.

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I then had to look closer at some that have been in the separate container. I removed them and placed them on a lid and took a look with my hand lens. I am so excited. These could be a couple days to a week old. I started keeping this weeks in a separate container. The females are still laying!!! :D

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Looking good good good, Tim!
 
Amazing photo's! Those are certainly fertile! I can't wait until my group is old enough to lay ( they are 2 years old now)
 
We have had these guys just over a year. I can't remember how old they were when we got them. Do you remember Jen? The eggs keep coming!
 
Tim's strauchii were CB 2009, so they are a bit less than 2 years old.
 
Mine are from '09 as well...

Mine are kept at 19C at the moment, can this be a reason that nothing is going on? One of the males has a huge cloaca, but not in breeding colors yet. Is this all temperature related?
 
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