Are my marmoratus ready for water?

[Molch]

So my marms - which hatched May 2011 - are now ca. 11-12 cm and in the last few weeks their sexual characteristics have emerged - turns out I have 6 boys and 4 girls. Simultaneously, they have become more diurnal and have even begun climbing the walls of their tank - which they never did before.

It looks as though they are set on going somewhere. I assume they are looking for water? Even though it's kinda the wrong season...but should I take this as a hint that they want to find a breeding pond and it's time to set up an aquatic tank?

 

[Neotenic_Jaymes]

I had a group that did that around fall. They were similar in size also. I put them in a 50/50 set up with shallow water and a lot of plants. Most of the group went aquatic but some were not ready. I also put worms in the water to entice them. Honestly I could have waited till spring to introduce them to water. They actually laid eggs prematurely and most eggs were duds and it was a very low egg count. When spring came the females mostly laid duds also but that could be a age issue.

Also they could be more active because ambient temps are more suitable.

 

[Molch]

Also they could be more active because ambient temps are more suitable.

thanks Neo; ambient temps haven't really changed much in that time period...I wonder if they might sense fall is in the air and they are migrating because they search for winter quarters?

At any rate, they suddenly are much more mobile than before.

I used to take care of captive caribou, and they got the migrating bug every fall and spring before calving, when they make migrations in the wild. They'd pace the fences like crazy just days before dropping a calf. So the ol' migration urge is hard-wired, even in a fenced caribou...so maybe captive newts get similar urges?

 

[Neotenic_Jaymes]

thanks Neo; ambient temps haven't really changed much in that time period...I wonder if they might sense fall is in the air and they are migrating because they search for winter quarters?

At any rate, they suddenly are much more mobile than before.

I used to take care of captive caribou, and they got the migrating bug every fall and spring before calving, when they make migrations in the wild. They'd pace the fences like crazy just days before dropping a calf. So the ol' migration urge is hard-wired, even in a fenced caribou...so maybe captive newts get similar urges?

I don't really see my older groups of T.marmoratus acting in this behavior. Could be a subadult/juvenile thing. And I do agree with you, they tend to be more mobile and even scale walls around this time.