Caudata.org: Newts and Salamanders Portal

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Did you know that registered users see fewer ads? Register today!

Newt Pics

Newtist

New member
Joined
Oct 22, 2013
Messages
29
Reaction score
2
Location
New England
Hello all,
I just wanted to posta few photos of my newt larvae and setup. They should start metamorphosing soon and I'm getting excited so wanted to share. They are Echinotriton andersoni, so little orange hands are in my future!
 

Attachments

  • photo 2 (1).jpg
    photo 2 (1).jpg
    97.1 KB · Views: 672
  • photo 3.jpg
    photo 3.jpg
    127.8 KB · Views: 493
  • photo 4.jpg
    photo 4.jpg
    184.5 KB · Views: 596

Fer

New member
Joined
Jun 15, 2008
Messages
70
Reaction score
0
Nice work, have you tried to raise them in a natural way, i mean, feeding a lot in a well planted tank?
 

Newtist

New member
Joined
Oct 22, 2013
Messages
29
Reaction score
2
Location
New England
I did not breed these myself, I purchased 35 fertilized eggs. They were laid on June 28th I believe (at least late June) and they all hatched. Unfortunately I lost a few along the way, but I have 28 strong crushing blackworms and brine nauplii. I "incubated" the eggs at room temps in my basement around 72-75F and they all hatched within 3 weeks. They been living isolated in 16oz cups in my basement since. In July temps were consistently 72-75, August 68-70, September 65-68, October 60-62, November 58-60 and currently their water temp is 54F. I was worried it might be too cold, but they keep eating like champs.

I have raised bunches of Notophthalmus, Tylototriton and various frog tadpoles over the years and I have found that raising them individually and at cooler than normal temperatures decreases mortality significantly. They take longer to metamorphose, but they are usually larger and healthier. I almost always have some kind of plant clipping or java moss in the cups to act as a primitive filter, but I just didn't have any with these guys and let it roll. They are incredibly hardy. They get an 80% water change every 2-3 weeks and outside of that I just top off as needed. For water, I just fill a 5 gallon Home Depot bucket with tap water and add a few drops of "fish water conditioner" from Petco.

As far as feeding, I fed them live artemia nauplii 2x weekly for the first month and then tried transitioning them to cyclopeez. Although they ate the cyclopeez like gangbusters, it fouled the water much too quick for my liking so I continued with the nauplii. Month 2 I began feeding a larger quantity of nauplii but only 1x weekly. Around 9-10 weeks I switched to live blackworms and feed them 1-2 worms 1x weekly. I thought I was going to have to slow the feedings way down once temps hit the 50s, but they just kept eating and pooping :)

So that's where I stand now. Its been a bit over 5 months and they're getting pretty big and darkening up in color. I've almost completed my "newtlet" tank and I'll post pictures once its done. For now, I just have some metamorph critter carriers with sphagnum moss, a bit of water and some cork bark that I will carefully add the "ready" larvae too when it seems like metamorphosis is nearing.

Whew, I went on didn't I? I hope this information was helpful or interesting!
 

Newtist

New member
Joined
Oct 22, 2013
Messages
29
Reaction score
2
Location
New England
Just a quick update here. A couple of the larvae are starting to darken up and develop that "chubby little belly" a lot of the Alligator/Crocodile newtlings possess. I attached a photo of the typical larva and one of the "chubby" larva so you can see the difference. There's also a few photos of the nursery with the transition tubs.

The anticipation is killing me, I believe the temperatures have really slowed the larvae's development. Last week they were at 49F, but still eating well! I'm working to get them up back to around 60-65F to see if it will trigger faster development. I'll let you all know how it goes.
 

Attachments

  • Nursery.jpg
    Nursery.jpg
    60 KB · Views: 567
  • Larvae body.jpg
    Larvae body.jpg
    64.8 KB · Views: 516
  • Larvae Morph Body.jpg
    Larvae Morph Body.jpg
    100.4 KB · Views: 569
  • Metamorph Tub.jpg
    Metamorph Tub.jpg
    154.6 KB · Views: 512
  • Larva Side View.jpg
    Larva Side View.jpg
    74.5 KB · Views: 550

mr cyclone

Active member
Joined
Mar 14, 2010
Messages
570
Reaction score
38
Location
Edinburgh Scotland
Awesome mate.Try and morph them at the biggest possible size ,I got mine as small juveniles and they loved to eat lesserwaxmoth larvae,whiteworm,isopods and dusted crickets
 

Newtist

New member
Joined
Oct 22, 2013
Messages
29
Reaction score
2
Location
New England
Awesome mate.Try and morph them at the biggest possible size ,I got mine as small juveniles and they loved to eat lesserwaxmoth larvae,whiteworm,isopods and dusted crickets

I'll need to get my hands on some of those other food items. I'll only be offering melanogaster and black worms for the most part and occasionally some hatchling crickets. Do you have any recommendations for vitamin/calcium supplements? I've always used Nekton Reptile powder and/or Repti-cal.
 

Newtist

New member
Joined
Oct 22, 2013
Messages
29
Reaction score
2
Location
New England
Hello all, I know its been a while, but they're finally here! My first two newts have metamorphosed. 2 down, 25 more to go! Here are the two that have "Grown up" so far.
 

Attachments

  • 1-Newtlet.jpg
    1-Newtlet.jpg
    205.2 KB · Views: 610
  • 2 Newtlet.jpg
    2 Newtlet.jpg
    240.4 KB · Views: 568

Newtist

New member
Joined
Oct 22, 2013
Messages
29
Reaction score
2
Location
New England
Thanks! I'm excited to see how many more I have when I get home! I'll post more photos once I bring out the big camera.
 

Newtist

New member
Joined
Oct 22, 2013
Messages
29
Reaction score
2
Location
New England
Ok here are some photos from a slightly better camera than my iPhone 4! I hope you enjoy looking at them!
 

Attachments

  • Morphlet.jpg
    Morphlet.jpg
    92.9 KB · Views: 558
  • Morphlet2.jpg
    Morphlet2.jpg
    92.9 KB · Views: 545
  • Morphlet3.jpg
    Morphlet3.jpg
    105.7 KB · Views: 497

Newtist

New member
Joined
Oct 22, 2013
Messages
29
Reaction score
2
Location
New England
Here are a few new photos of a couple of these guys now 2 months out of the water. They've surprisingly been quite active!
 

Attachments

  • E.andersoni 3-31-14.jpg
    E.andersoni 3-31-14.jpg
    60.8 KB · Views: 510
  • E.andersoni2 3-31-14.jpg
    E.andersoni2 3-31-14.jpg
    70.8 KB · Views: 416

Ancalagon12

New member
Joined
May 30, 2012
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Great job !
They really look like my ancients youngs wenxianensis and my actuals youngs lizhenchangi who breed so slow...
I'm curious, we can see the difference between the two species (wenxianensis-andersoni) at this age (without genetics tests) ? I don't think so :)
T. lizhenchangi, T. wenxianensis, T. asperimus and Echinotriton andersoni are incredibly close not only physically but also in behavior.
I look forward to seeing them grow !

Anthony.
 

adler0

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
70
Reaction score
5
Location
PA, USA
I got both of mine to eat chopped up "trout worm". Thanks a lot for these. If anyone is looking to buy from the OP these newts are great. I didn't think they would eat anything until my whiteworms arrived in the mail. I tried fruit flies and isopods, which they may have also eaten, but when I put in chopped up earthworm, they ate right in front of me.
 

Attachments

  • Screen shot 2014-04-09 at 2.14.58 AM.png
    Screen shot 2014-04-09 at 2.14.58 AM.png
    342.5 KB · Views: 427
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    There are no messages in the chat. Be the first one to say Hi!
    Top