My colleagues and I are preparing some husbandry guidelines for the European Association of Zoo's and Aquaria (EAZA) for Typhlonectes spp.
Before we write the guidelines we thought it would be a good idea to consult with both private keepers and different zoological institutions to find out their experiences.
If you have any experience keeping Typhlonectes, please take the time to fill out the questionnaire and send it back to me via email provided on the attached explanatory letter.
You will need to download the three documents below to fully complete the questionnaire
Explanatory letter http://www.sendspace.com/file/t5f1j2
Not to throw a spanner in the works but in this day and age it's very foolish for people to download files from individuals they've never heard of. I'm sure you're a nice chap and that you're genuine but whilst you say what you intend to do you give no explanation of who you are and why we should trust you with our computers. This is also your first post and you give nearly zero details in your profile (not even a country, which is a violation of our rules actually).
I caution anyone downloading these files to have an up-to-date virus scanner functioning so that they can scan the files links above.
Sorry John. I should have introduced myself in the post. I work in the Herpetology department at The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust at it's head quarters in Jersey.
To over come the issues mentioned below I shall iclude as much as the questionnaire in this thread as possible
I am afraid that the file entitiled additional information will need to be downloaded, it has pictures and diagrams of how to differentiate between the species of Typhlonectes, however the questionnaire can be completed without these files
Dear Typhlonectes Keeper
Caecilians are perhaps the least known group of amphibians. Worryingly, the conservation status of many is unknown and there is surprisingly little published on their captive care. We are aware that a great deal of knowledge exists in both the private sector and in many institutions. We are currently compiling information concerning the captive husbandry and reproduction of Typhlonectes spp. We aim to write husbandry guidelines on Typhlonectes spp. and make these available to members of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). It is our hope that this will lead to advances in the captive husbandry and subsequent breeding of Typhlonectes in European institutions.
We would be extremely grateful if you would take the time to fill out the attached questionnaire and return it to us. Please return your completed questionnaires to Benjamin.Tapley@durrell.org. The deadline for questionnaire submission is the 1st of March 2008.
Les Augrès Manor, La Profonde Rue,
Trinity, Jersey JE3 5BP
Channel Islands, United Kingdom
Typhlonectes sp. questionnaire
If you keep more than one species of Typhlonectes please write which species you are referring to in each of your answers below.
General
What species of Typhlonectes do you keep?
How long have you been keeping them?
Housing.
What are the dimensions of the enclosures you keep your animals in?
What substrate (if any) do you use?
Do you have any live/artificial plants in the set up? If you have live plants, which species do you have?
Do you provide refugia? If so what do you use?
Do you keep your Typhlonectes in a group or individually?
If you keep Typhlonectes in a group are there any associated problems? E.g. resource monopolisation by certain individuals or aggression? How did you monitor such problems?
Do you maintain any other species in the same enclosure?
Were there any problems associated with keeping Typhlonectes in the same enclosure as other species?
Lighting and water
Do you provide lighting? If so what kind of lighting do you provide?
What is the photoperiod in your enclosure? Does this remain constant throughout the year?
What water do you use for your Typhlonectes? E.g. Tap water/rain water/RO water?
What depth of water do you keep your Typhlonectes in?
Do you use any treatments/conditioners in the water? If so what brands?
How often do you carry out water changes for your caecilians? how much of the water do you change.
What temperature do you heat the water?
Do you use any filtration in the enclosure, if so what type?
Diet
What do you feed your Typhlonectes?
Do you use dietary supplements? If so what brand do you use, and how often do you supplement food?
How often do you feed and in what quantity?
How do you deliver the food?
Have any particular diets caused problems?
Are there any special dietary requirements for different aged animals? E.g. do you feed adults the same diet as juveniles?
Reproduction
Have you bred your Typhlonectes? If yes, to what generation?
How often do you breed your Typhlonectes?
Did you condition the animals to breed? E.g. through diet, group size changes, temperature changes, raising water levels etc.
What time of year did you witness, mating and/or birth?
At what sex ratio do you keep your animals?
How many juveniles did the female give birth to? Was there any neonatal mortality?
Were juveniles housed separately?
Did you manage to raise all juveniles successfully?
At what age did juveniles first feed, and on what?
Do you have any information on rates of growth?
At what age did your juveniles reach sexual maturity?
Health
Have you ever have any health issues? If yes, please describe the issues and treatment.
What is the maximum longevity you have recorded for Typhlonectes in captivity?
Do you keep any other species of caecilian? If yes, which species.
If you have some information that does not fit into the above please feel free to include it here.
I managed to copy the additional information file to the thread also
Figure 1 The cloacal discs of Typhlonectes natans and T. compressicauda. The lower half of the discs are divided in either 4 or 5 sections depending on the species.
Figure 2 The caudal disc in T. compressicauda.
Figure 3 Typhlonectes natans
Figure 4 Typhlonectes compressicauda (NB – difference in colour, and distinct tail ‘fin’)
Not necessarily but if you’re wanting to continue to grow your breeding capacity then yes. Breeding axolotls isn’t a cheap hobby nor is it a get rich quick scheme. It costs a lot of money and time and deditcation
Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus Japanese . I'm raising them and have abandoned the terrarium at about 5 months old and switched to the aquatic setups you describe. I'm wondering if I could do this as soon as they morph?
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