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new kweichowensis

troutnerd

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Well after nearly a year of expectation...my kweichow have arrived. The breeder who sent them to me have them in wonderful health.I'm pretty sure they are WC and they have been dewormed etc.

Two very fat females and one male. All adults. I've put them in a 40 gallon 50/50 with a much deeper water(12 inches) side than my shanjing tank.This is the first tank I did with a great stuff background....and I'm mixed on it. I also made a very large glass partiton and siliconed stones to it. Maybe I should save this for info the vivarium section?

Anyway,I'm excited and nervous about having my third colony of tylo. Hopefully what I've learned from the shanjing and verrucosus will help me with the kweichow.

I'll keep you all posted as I move forward with them.

Gord
 

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freves

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Enjoy your kweichows Gord. Definitely one of my favorite species. I have kept mine in several different types of vivaria including a setup similiar to the one that you have pictured. They did well in all of the enclosure designs however breeding did not take place until they were placed in a mostly aquatic setup with a float. I have no idea whether or not the actual environment stimulated the breeding behavior or if it was just their time.
Chip
 

troutnerd

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Just an update.After about 4 weeks, my three are doing well and all feeding. I did have a bit of a blip however.The day after my kweichow arrived the male developed a sore on its mouth.Quite a large one at that.I freaked and instantly put it in quarantine.The good news is that it came in good health and was actually quite willing to eat despite the sore.I've been treating it with polysporin and it is slowly healing, but it's rather slow going. The quarantined kweichow is in a cool part of the basement in a tub with paper towel and a little cave. It seems quite content in this set up.It recently did its first poo...which made me happy since it had eaten quite a few worms with no scat. Perhaps being bunged up is part of the stress of shipping/treatment?

I also changed the main tank a bit..and filled the water side with coconut fibre and a soaking pool. They were not going in the water so I figured I'd give them a few more places to walk and hide. I may change this in the spring to see if I can get breeding etc. The two females are all still shy, and don't come out to feed when I appear like my shanjing do..but I'm sure that will change.They are both eating garden worms but seem very slow and not as aggressive overall as my shanjing. They are gorgeous creatures and I know I'm lucky to have them.

Thanks for your input Foster.

How many of you keep kweichow aquatic with cork islands?

GE
 

troutnerd

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Well..I figured I'd post another update 9 months on. First the bad news...my male with the sore never got better. He survived for 2 months eating ravenously..but his sore stayed..and he finally just died. Very odd. I didn't do a post mortem...but he seemed robust and otherwise healthy.When I looked him over,however,there was another small sore developing as well. This animal had been a long term captive,so I can only assume something happened in transit to me. It was sad as the male was the most active and least shy of the three.

The two females,I'm happy to say, are doing well.They have both become very friendly and greedy eaters.But they hid for months. I made a little underground cave and they just stayed there. I know they came out in the dark as they mucked up the water dish etc. And they would eat if it was presented to them. But it's only been the last couple months they would come out with the light on.I've toyed with changing their set up to a more aquatic one, but am afraid of a relapse into shyness.

But they are a gorgeous and rewarding tylo.Maybe I'll find another male some day..but the odds,sadly, are not good.

Gord
 

louise

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Sorry to hear about your male. My kweis are also on coco fibre with a bit of moss and bark, and they have a shallow pool which they only ever seem to use at night.

Good luck with your remaining females.
 

freves

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When my kweichows were housed with less water, in general they often stayed in the water for long periods of time. When they were kept in a primarily aquatic enclosure they actually bred. Now the enclosure design has a good bit of land but also more swimming space than they have ever had before and they rarely seem to use it. I'm still looking for that happy medium.
Chip
 

bobberly1

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Males always seem to die in trios. It's happened to me twice with killifish and once with Apistogrammas (both fish if you're lost). And you can never seem to find another male.
 

rigsby

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The best cure for the sores you mention is silvadene cream available from your vet, it has never let me down yet.The sores are common in the crocodile newt species.
 

John

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Regarding Ian's excellent recommendation, many medications have different names in different parts of the world - it is probably worth googling that drug to find out if it's called silvadone where you live. You wouldn't want to go to the vet for something only to be told "huh?".
 

liam

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Hi there,

I cannot comment on or give advice on the use of that cream in this particular situation, but in the event that you have not yet looked (or that your search has been fruitless), Silvadene Cream is also sold under the brand name "Flamazine Cream". If neither of these brands exist in your area, the actual drug is Silver Sulfadiazine. Most vets should hopefully recognise that and be able to direct you to the appropriate local brand, if neither of the above. It is a topical antibacterial and antifungal.

Cheers!

Liam.
 

troutnerd

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Over a year now and my two beauties are thriving and feeding like machines.

They gobble up just about anything I throw at them. They are largely land based, and I've not bothered to try and switch to a 50/50 set up again, since they have no boyfriend to play with anyway. Truly marvelous animals with quite a bit of personality once they become comfortable in their surroundings.

Wish my male had hung in there!
 

troutnerd

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Well I finally got around to taking a couple pics of the updated tank as requested.They don't seem quite as good as my first ones from last year, but I'm not sure why.Anyway,there is no water side now, just a large dish they barely use.They spend most of the time in their cave that they more or less created against the sloping glass..or in the clay hut. Both animals are very active and very healthy. They will stroll l round in the light quite often now, especially when the tank gets watered. I hope to one day move them to a larger tank with a water side but for now this will have to do.

GE
 

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NewtZoo

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Had a problem with my kweichow newts as well and thought I would update this thread with more info.
My W.C. Kweichow had been doing great for several months and one of my females developed this sore on her lower chin (see pictures). I have been treating with one drop of Gentamicin and Ophthalmic Solution on the sore every 4 to 6 hours and I have noticed a drastic reduction in the size of the sore. I will post more when/if it heals.
 

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