HELP Ive got some crested newt eggs - how do i hatchem?

[jim]

Well im new to this and know very little about amphibs at the moment. Anyway the situation is this, my friend recently gave me a large jam jar with some alpine crested newt eggs in it(they seem to be attached to pond weed clippings). What should i do to give them the best chance of hatching, ie- room temp, change jar, do they need light???

(Message edited by pob on May 18, 2005)

 

[william]

were these wild caught?!? you should put them back from where they came if they are, straight away, it is illegal to do collect this species at any stage, it can lead to a £2000 fine per newt!!!!!!! you should tell your friend what could happen to him!

if i'm mistaken and they are captive breed then i'm sorry.

 

[jim]

theyre alpine crested newts he keeps them in an outdoor enclosure in summer!

 

[william]

alpine crested newts???
there are northern crested newts, southern crested newts, danube crested newts, italian crestred newts and alpine newts, i've never heard of alpine crested newts... whats the scientific name?

 

[jim]

well if its not an alpine crested newt than its an alpine newt heres its latin name - Mesotriton alpestris i found on google(sorry im not to up on my newts).

 

[william]

oh right i thought it was unusual lol! it is always best to use the latin names when on this forum since a lot of confusion can arise when using vernacluar names, this is a text book example. but anyway back to your question:

i'd read this it will help you lots, if there is anything you want to know which isn't there then ask, there are plenty of people here who have had success with this species.

http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Triturus/T_alpestris.shtml

good luck!

 

[jim]

thanks mate ill have a look at that.

 

[pin-pin]

Hello!

Now that it's all cleared up, I'll be moving this thread to the Newt Help section at the end of this week.

If you have any objections, please private message me.

 

[benjamin]

I've heard of alpine crested newts before scientific name: Triturus carnifex.

 

[mike]

Your'e quite right Ben.

Jim, take a look at:http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Triturus/Triturus_sp.shtml
They are very different newts regarding egg development especially.

 

[jennifer]

Back to the original question... keep them in a flat shallow container, changing part of the water every couple of days until they hatch. You know about not using water with chlorine, right?

See:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/raising.shtml

 

[william]

i always thought that carnifex was the italian crested newt... never mind.

 

[mike]

You are right too Will, as you pointed out using the vernacular can be very confusing.

Griffiths, in his book "Newts and Salamanders of Europe" refers to T.carnifex as the Alpine Crested Newt. It's distribution range being Italy, southern Alps and the Balkans.