First vivarium. Help me chose species!

[cfaas]

Hello all,

After just finishing my first vivarium I am looking into what amphibian species to keep in the tank. I was thinking salamanders or newts.
What do you guys think would thrive in this type of environment? I was thinking maybe marble salamander, as I could probably catch them myself here in NJ. Fire salamanders seem like a neat choice also.

There is an egg-crate false bottom under the substrate, so there's about 6 gallons of water in the tank, and at it's deepest is about 2.5 inches in depth. Is that enough water for any newt species?

Here are a few pictures

Thanks for any help, it is greatly appreciated.

 

[cfaas]

Another thought, crested newts? I am in contact with a guy selling a variety of crested newts at the Hamburg show at the end of the month.

 

[ChristianV]

You could probably put any salamander in there as they are not fully aquatic and like to stay on land. The water would be good for them to bathe in if they ever need to, but the water is not big enough to how any aquatic species of newt. You could get newt efts and eventualy turn the vicarious into. Half water half land. I would suggest Ambystoma tigniruim , Ambystoma Opacum, Ambystoma Maculatum, or any species of salamander (mainy the Ambystomas). Also I would add more burrows to the land part and you could actualy get some dart frogs instead of salamanders. Fire Salamanders would be pretty hard to find in the US, but would be great for this enclosure.

 

[adb]

If you haven't chosen yet, or for anyone else reading this thread, from what I have read, ambystoma maculatum need fairly cool temperatures to thrive. The plants you have in there look like bromeliads and other warm temperature species except maybe the ferns. just be prepared to keep the tank at 50-70 degrees Fahrenheit and definitely no higher than 75 according to ReptilesMagazine.com.

Hope that helps!

 

[itsnotoproblem]

I would think about either expanding the water area or considering something other than a newt or salamander to stock your viv with.

 

[Rupert]

I'm more concerned about the temperature more than anything else if you are going to house caudates in there.Most, if not all, caudates require cool temperature below 75 degrees, optimally in the 60s range. Will your plant choices thrive in such temperatures?

Regarding the water volume, definitely not enough water space for any aquatic newts.

 

[Peyote]

Great job! Just want to ask if you have posted your construction details anywhere? I am about to build another tank and I'd be pretty pleased if it looked as good as yours.

Cheers

 

[Niels D]

It looks like it's ideal for smaller toad species. If you put an ambystoma sp in there it wil put a lot of the dirt in the water. That would be a lot of work for you to clean the setup.