Bloated or just a little chubby?

[natuhlee]

Hi everyone. I have two Chinese firebelly newts. I've had them for a little over a year, and one is much bigger than the other. I try to feed them the same amount, although I do leave some worms in the tank for them to scavenge. I'm thinking it's possible that the one is just a good hunter while the other is not, though I just wanted to make sure s/he is not bloated or gravid. I tried to take a couple pictures, although I know they're not very clear. Let me know what you think!

 

[Chinadog]

I think she's probably gravid, or as you say, just a bit chubby. She looks very healthy and given the size difference you describe I'd say you have a male and a female, so you might have some babies quite soon as well. From what I can see of their tank, it looks perfect for them, so just keep an eye out for eggs in folded over leaves.

 

[Methos5K]

They look healthy to me as well. Such stout little newts they are.

 

[natuhlee]

Thanks for the replies! All the pictures above are of the same newt. I'm posting a picture here of my second, littler one. I know it's kind of hard to tell the size difference without them being next to each other in the same picture, but I don't want to disrupt them for a photoshoot! Is there any way to prevent baby newts without separating them? I thought you had to go through some whole debacle to get them to mate? Also, what does one do with all the baby newts? I'm not in a good situation to expand the newt family right now!

Ps I'm very happy that you said their tank looks perfect, I did a lot of research to make it so and glad they look healthy!

 

[natuhlee]

Here they are next to each other, featuring my snail.

 

[Chinadog]

He, he, there's no debacle to get these to breed, if they're happy and of different sexes they'll breed! Many of the eggs will be eaten by the parents, but some normally survive. Those few that hatch will normally find enough food in the parents tank to keep them going until they are old enough to eat the same food as adults.
If you really don't want any extra newts at the moment, just keep an eye out for eggs and put them in the freezer overnight to stop them developing.
Mind you, it looks like there will be a ban on importing any kind of newts into the USA very soon, so the humble Chinese firebelly might become more valuable, almost overnight!

 

[natuhlee]

Somewhere I read that they can lay up to 200 eggs, but it sounds like that's not true! I can probably raise a couple, and give them to my friends who want them and can take care of them. Or sell them for a fortune! Haha!

 

[Chinadog]

Once they get going 200 eggs is quite possible, but they tend to lay them spread out over a period of months in captivity.
I actually think the they'll go up in value after the ban, but don't plan the huge house in Beverly Hills and the Ferrari just yet!

 

[natuhlee]

So say they lay 200 eggs, how many are actually likely to eventually turn into newts? Also, what do the eggs look like?

 

[Chinadog]

They look a little bit like frogspawn, but they are laid one by one and the female will fold each one in a leaf. Here's a very good article from Caudata Culture about hatching and raising babies.

Caudata Culture Articles - Raising Newts and Salamanders from Eggs