Hello from NorCal

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beberly37

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I found this forum while googling for care of red-bellied newts. I live in the Mayacamas Mountains about an hour north of San Francisco, California and every time we get a little bit of rain the newts come out in droves. My 3 year old absolutely loves them and gently moves them from the driveway and paths so they don't get "squished". Remembering how much fun it was to find frog eggs and watch them grow and hatch as a tot myself, I thought it would a great experience to snatch up a few and keep them in a terrarium so she could learn their life cycle.

I'm fairly certain that they are Taricha rivularis, "black" backs and "red" bellies, but we do occasionally see what is either a local color variation having brown backs and yellow bellies or different Taricha. The next time it rains (if that ever happens again) I'll make sure to get some images and start a proper post about them.

Anyway, this is or might be my first venture in keeping amphibians, I briefly had a royal python in grad school when my brother had to choose between cohabitating with his girlfriend or his snake, so aside from that reptile, I've been a dog/cat/bunny guy.(I don't count our 17 laying hens as pets, there are employees).

I do wish to point out my surprise at how elusive these guys are reputed to be, since during/after a rain I have to consciously avoid stepping on them.

Cheers!
 
Welcome to the forum!
You live in one of the best places in the world to look for newts and salamanders, congratulations, you have made me thoroughly jealous! :D
 
Hello and welcome :) That's awesome that you have so many newts around you. Also that your child makes sure they are safe from getting squished! That must keep him/her very busy when they are out in 'droves'. I like how you have pets, but that the chickens are deemed 'employees' lol.

Look forward to seeing your pictures.
 
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  • Shane douglas:
    with axolotls would I basically have to keep buying and buying new axolotls to prevent inbred breeding which costs a lot of money??
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  • Thorninmyside:
    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
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    @Thorninmyside, I Lauren chen
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  • Clareclare:
    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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    @Clareclare,
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