Any breeders of Taricha torosa (California Newt)

Hello, I am starting up a new newt habitat after some time. I had 3 Chinese Firebellies before and would like to try my hand at raising California Newts. I would also like to breed them so, preferably unrelated if at all feasible... I am prepared to wait for the right animals. I still have yet to set up my 40g breeder I just got.

I have a quad (that I believe were wild caught but they have been in captivity for quite a while) that I am trying to breed. So far they have entered the water, one male’s tail has flattened and they still have the rest of march in the fridge before i take them out. I have heard it is difficult to breed them, but I will let you know of my results come spring

Roughskinned said:

I have a quad (that I believe were wild caught but they have been in captivity for quite a while) that I am trying to breed. So far they have entered the water, one male’s tail has flattened and they still have the rest of march in the fridge before i take them out. I have heard it is difficult to breed them, but I will let you know of my results come spring

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Quad? I take it that is your way of saying you have four newts...and fridge...? Are you winterizing them in the fridge?? How is that working out? What type of setup do you have?
Supposedly they do not reach sexual maturity until about five years. But, if you don't know their origins they may very well be that old. It sounds like they are displaying mating behavior.
I winterized my Cynops by simply shutting the heat off in one room and shutting the door during a Steamboat winter. The temp stayed around 50-55F. They bred that following spring.

Yes, I mean to say I have four newts. Here’s a brief description of how I’ve kept them in the hope that they breed:
I kept them for the summer at about 70-73, and starting in October I gradually lowered the temperature in their 3/4 land, 1/4 water setup until it got to about 45 degrees in January. In December, I increased their water level to about 6 inches from the previous 2. Once the temperatures Had got to about 50 degrees (which happened after I had increased the water level) 2 of the newts entered the water (I believe these to be male). The newts were in my basement, and the coldest I had been able to get them was 45 until one day when it hit 40. Thats when the other 2 newts entered the water. But I knew It was not going to stay 40 in the basement, so I bought a fridge, set up an entirely aquatic setup with a turtle dock, and set the temperature of the fridge to 40 degrees. Simultaneously, I have decreased their light cycle from 14 hours down to 10 in January, and now I am increasing the light cycle once more.

All the newts have stayed in the water since being moved to their aquatic setup, and the one newt I am sure is a female looks to be swollen with eggs, while the one newt I am sure is a male has developed a slightly flatter tail and more pronounced cloaca.

Information I have gathered says that they need a good 2 months of 40 or so degrees in the water and that the males bulk up and develop their massive tails in the spring, and then proceed to breed.

I will let you know how things go when I begin warming them up

Hey there. Would you mind looping me in on this update? Also looking for some of these guys

Hey! So, unfortunately I was not successful this year - but there is hope for next year. First, after they’d been warmed up for several weeks, I witnessed one of my males go into amplexus -with another male lol. I’ve reached out to a few people to see if it was anything I did wrong, or if it was rather that my female was too young (she left the water fairly early on). This year, I somehow managed to acquire two 4-year-old probable females, so I’m very excited about what next year holds. Here’s some photos.

Awesome! Crossing my fingers for you. Torosa seems particularly hard to come by right now - I guess because they aren't the easiest to breed!

Thanks! I'll take any luck I can get!