ask the expert about warty newt

septama · Mar 21, 2008

Dear all,

I'm a new member here, currently living in Canada, my daughter just got a newt for her elementary level scientific project, after doing small search trough internet and browsing several topics in this forum, I'm nearly sure it is a kind of warty newt (paramesotriton?) but some said it is a giant newt (?)I think I need to get more acurate info from the expert here, what kind of newt it is exactly, is it male or female? and where do he/she prefer to feed, subaqueous(underwater) or subaerial, I try to give it bloodworm underwater, and it seems work, but I saw it has a bit difficulties to swallow them (it eyes always blinking several times and looks like it take a deep breath before it could swallow the food). It could finish a cube of freezing worms (approx 1x0.75x0.75 cm) in a half an hour with that really slow feeding pace.
here are some pictures of it, sorry if it is a bit blur since it took by my daughter:happy:

Azhael · Mar 21, 2008

Definitely Paramesotriton sp.
No idea about the species though, because it can be really hard to tell.
Looks female because the cloaca is small, but it could be a male out of breeding season or a young individual, so you may have to wait for other signs to appear.
The swallowing thing sounds just normal...they use their eyes to push food down the throat and since bloodworms are rather small they may take some time to swallow...i wouldn´t worry at all about that.

Jennewt · Mar 21, 2008

I agree with all of what Rodrigo said. The correct common name is warty newt, but pet shops invent all kinds of silly names, like "giant newt", etc. Warties are slow by nature, so if it's inactive and eats slowly, that's all normal. Are you using frozen bloodworm cubes, or live ones (in which case they are blackworms)? You'll need a routine for keeping food out of the gravel.

Lasher · Mar 21, 2008

Welcome.
I wouldnt say I'm an expert, but Honkongensis, maybe?

Swallowing sound normal, they often chomp a mouthfull of food then take a little while to swallow it down. Are you defrosting the blood worms? You could also feed chopped earthworms(on land and in water) or try small crickets and roachs if its on land.

I've always found Paramesotriton difficult to sex, so I wont guess. The main diffrences' in the clocoa, but sometimes only pronounced enough to tell ythe difference in breeding season.

You mentioned you got him/her for your daughters science project, you are aware newts can live for quite some time?

Jennewt · Mar 21, 2008

That's a good point, Lasher. This newt will probably still be around when the daughter leaves for college!

Just as a pre-emptive warning, don't add any other animals to the tank without very careful consideration. Don't trust pet shop advice.

Otterwoman · Mar 21, 2008

Jennewt said:
The correct common name is warty newt, but pet shops invent all kinds of silly names, like "giant newt", etc.

The pet shop where I go has them currently as "Rough-skinned newts".

Jennewt · Mar 21, 2008

otterwoman said:
The pet shop where I go has them currently as "Rough-skinned newts".

That's even worse, LOL. "Rough-skinned newt" is the correct common name for Taricha granulosa, which is a different newt entirely!

DosJax 12XU · Mar 21, 2008

otterwoman said:
The pet shop where I go has them currently as "Rough-skinned newts".

I've seen it too.

audrey · Mar 21, 2008

I believe your newt is a male paramesotriton chinensis.

paris · Mar 21, 2008

looks like it to me too-can't see the tell tale yellow spot behind the upper arm but not all chinensis have that in adult hood.

septama · Mar 21, 2008

thanks to all for the quick respond, now I got wealth of infos, and at least I'm not worry to give her a food. Yes the pet shop sometimes give a different name that lead to confussion, in the first time, considering to their terminology (giant newt), I though it could be some kind of giant salamander like the one we often see in zoo :grin:
Currently I keep it in 5 gal terrarium together with scavenger fish such dojo loach to clean up the uneatten food.
Million thanks and happy easter !!!

septama · Mar 21, 2008

Lasher said:
You mentioned you got him/her for your daughters science project, you are aware newts can live for quite some time?

Yup, I got the info from this forum that this newt could live more than 9 years, and we quiet aware for it, my daughter really love her/him and we will keep it as long as it can. We also plan to find her/him a match after we know whether it is male or female.

Lasher · Mar 22, 2008

septama said:
dojo loach to clean up the uneatten food.

Ah, I love weather loachs! Might out grow your tank, though, I believe the largest recorded specimen was just over 16 inchs.
Keep an eye on the newt if theres one of em in with him, they should be harmless but loachs can get quite hyperactive and do tend to flop about all over the place alot(not to mention re-aranging your tank decorations if they arent fixed!). It may stress your newt, but its not a combination I've tried, just a thought.

Jennewt · Mar 22, 2008

Yes, I wouldn't recommend keeping the newt and loach together. In the short run they may do OK, but you never know. If the loach is one that gets large, it will outgrow the tank. Go to this page and search for "loach":
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/Mixing_disasters.shtml
Also, with a tank that small you need to be extra-careful about water quality (partial water removal/replacement on a weekly basis). There are some other articles about this:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/articles.shtml
The tank is unheated, right?

Lasher · Mar 22, 2008

Further to Jennewts post I'd like to say loachs and newts can co-habit safely(I use oto's without any problems) but observe carefully and pay carefull attention to size.
If it moves and fits in your newts mouth it will consider it dinner, but as anyone who's disturbed a sleeping loach can attest to they are more than capable of defending themselves with their assorted pointy bits(*very* pointy bits, they can draw blood if your not carefull).

Jennewt · Mar 22, 2008

Some newts have died as a result of attempting to eat cory catfish, due to being impaled by the spines. I'm not very familiar with loaches, so I won't give any absolute advice, but there are some issues about the loach that septama should think about.

Lasher · Mar 22, 2008

Yes, I didnt mean to imply that there werent, Jen. Just recent discussions here have kinda highlighted how we can be a bit negative and overbearing when new users are considering species mixing.

Weather loachs have erectile spines beneath the eyes. Their dorsal fins are also sharp, as are the barbels. They are quite capable of injuring unattentive owners fingers and could cause serious, if not fatal injuries to a newt.
Further to that, I wouldnt have thought it would be too difficult for the newt to catch it either.

Basically, Septama, be (really) carefull.

septama · Mar 22, 2008

Hi Jenewt, the tank is unheated, the temp range is within 19-22 c, if it is reach more than 22 than I add a bit cold water just to equalize. I observed that the newt looks healthier when the water is colder (e.g. 19-21) but I never try to make it lower than 19.

Ok, I'll move the loach as soon as possible:ufo:
so what kind of cleaner is suit to accompany the newt? snail?

cheers

septama · Mar 22, 2008

just an update photo taken to expose its abdominal, it has a big bulges in its kloaka, should it is a male or female?

paris · Mar 22, 2008

the belly pattern and tail colour difference confirm its a chinensis. as for cloaca-both genders have puffy ones, i go more by tail length to body comparison, males have a shorter tail -but its a relative thing and i dont have any sort of equation or value for you to use. males are usually smaller than the females (age makes a difference though) in body length and relative girth, but new imports off the pet trade are not in the best health-so be prepared for that newt to get a whole lot fatter in captivity. as for getting it a mate soon, both females and males are semi aggressive-esp to their own kind. my experience is females more so than males (although i may just have a bunch of wimpy males and alpha females). i just recently had to separate out 2 females who fought all the time-one eventually tore a hole right down to the muscle in the side of the other (so much for them working out their differences)

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