CB shanjing

[foster]

I've noticed several different dealers on another site who have been offering cb Tylototriton shanjing. I am assuming that these animals are truly cb as the ones pictured are compared to a quarter in size and it would be hard to believe that wc animals of this size would survive the collecting/shipping process. In any case I was wondering if the supplier is a member and if so would he or she post their breeding methods. I very much enjoy the group of adults that I got back in the summer and am eager for any additional information that I can find regarding husbandry and breeding. Thanks in advance.
Chip

 

[garrison]

Have you checked the species profile on caudata culture?
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Tylototriton/T_shanjing.shtml

It's a good start

 

[jennifer]

I believe those animals are CB. However, I doubt that they are shanjing. T. verrucosus seems a lot more likely, based both on the coloration and on the fact that verrucosus are a lot easier to breed in captivity.

Whoever produced these animals must have produced a prodigious quantity of them. They have also been reported to have shown up at a reptile show in California. (Since CB are so rare, i'm guessing those were from the same breeder). This is another piece of evidence suggesting they are verrucosus, as verrucosus produce large numbers of eggs quite reliably.

 

[david]

The ones on the Reptile Depot site look like they might be shanjing. And how about their prices? $45.00 for the "special" club price for the Alpine newts, $45.00 for the "special" club price for the "cb" emporer newts. On the old Saturday Night Live show there used to be skits about Insane Eddie's electronic store, where the prices are insane. Apparently Insane Eddie works for Reptile Depot now.

 

[shaun]

JV reptiles of the infamous salamander sale was also selling cb "shanjing" a while back.

 

[michael]

We saw some a the NRBC show at Philadelphia last week. I really didn't look close enough to say which they were. Maybe Ed would know. I was excited to find 2 female T. tailangensis at the show to put with all of the extra males I got when I ordered 3.3 on line and got 5.1

 

[foster]

Garrison,
Thanks for the tip but I have checked out the species profile as well as every reference to Tylototriton in the archives. Most of the information on this site is better than I have found in any book.

Jen,
Good point about the verucosus. I am certainly no authority on distinguishing the two but this seems to be a probable explanation.

Michael,
Good score with the 0.2 tailangensis. I think that herp shows can be pretty depressing much of the time and I am glad that those animals ended up with you.
Chip

 

[john]

I've seen these photos. They look like shanjing metamorphs to me. As someone who has actually seen and raised such metamorphs in person (I have photos on my other computer), I don't believe they're verrucosus.

 

[edward]

The ones I saw in person looked exactly like the shanjing metamorphs I hatched and raised a number of years ago. The verrucosus id crossed my mind but I thought they looked more like shanjing (even though the only verrucosus metamorphs I have seen are in pictures).

Ed

 

[paris]

dave-check out the photo of the 'alpine' newt....looks more like a cristatus to me. that company is at least honest compared to some individuals (although they are a very large company -and really dont have alot of time for smaller sales items)-they do respond to customer questions directly, it just takes some time. i did buy some newts and frogs from them and all were in good health. the other 2 smaller 'suppliers' offering the cb babies are pretty unreliable. getting photos or even a response to a question is difficult. the asian guys i got from the florida dealer-esp the hynobids-were in bad health for 'new' items. i wonder also who they got them from-is there a possibility they got them from CB offspring from asia? looking at the photos though-they do look delicate, im not sure if they are at a stage that they eat heartily, esp crickets that are probably the choice food offered.
the pricing of animals is very volatile. the price is set by their suppliers-pricing is odd, i have seen p chinensis lately for 40$ on the big supplier list, yet i have gotten them before for 12$ and even 4$, same goes for kassana maculata -i have seen those at my LFS for 5.99 each-but now the last batch were selling for 30$ (a year later). usually crested newt adults (WC)sell for 25-50$ here in the USA, but i have gotten an alpine before for 7$ (im sure it was one of the 'B' grade bulk ones available from a certain supplier who couldnt shift it while also not being able to get it to eat -along with the montadon i got with it).