Info on Breeding T. kweichowensis

[Viv]

Hi guys. I have a male and a female T. kweich and I was wondering if anyone knew how to breed these newts? Well, as usual, I have some questions.

1. Would a pair work?
2. What is the temperature drop, if I need one?
3. Do I need a big water dish them?
4. Do I need plants in the water?
5. What would be a good diet for them to make them ready for breeding?


And thats all my questions. So by for now. Thanks

 

[freves]

Hi Alex,
All of your questions can be answered by reading through the older posts. There is a wealth of information to be found here.
Chip

 

[Jennewt]

For breeding, they need more water than just a dish. Even for just two of them, you'll need a large tank to provide both land and water that this species needs. And I agree with Foster, you need to read the information that is already here.

 

[Joost]

I've bred them in a 60 cm tank (2 males, 1 female). Backside of the tank was a wall of stones, to provide them a land area with mosses. Waterlevel was 13 cm. They need a cooling period, and they courted only with higher temperatures and sunny days.

T. kweichowensis

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...inotriton/69599-t-kweichowensis-breeding.html

 

[Viv]

The problem with the first thread is, I can't read it. I understand some of it from the pictures though. Is there any chance that you have pictures of the set up which you put the newts in?

 

[Joost]

The problem with the first thread is, I can't read it. I understand some of it from the pictures though. Is there any chance that you have pictures of the set up which you put the newts in?

I don't have a pic of their aquatic home, I have them terrestrial by now. The tank has been sold long time ago. But it was very basic.

As for the firts link: Does google translate or something like that work? It's not neccesary, it's more for the pics. The link for the caudata.org thread is a summary of the Dutch thread.

 

[Viv]

Thanks, what should the temperature drop be?

 

[Joost]

Lowest temperatures they get here is 8-12°C. I planning to do this again this winter.

 

[Viv]

Cool. I am gonna try this year, except I don't think they will breed. Well, mabye I will have good luck. Good luck this winter!

 

[Otterwoman]

I acquired four kweichows this year, and I keep them under the exact same conditions and same typed of 50-50 tank I have my T. verrucosus, who have bred three years in a row now. I wonder if that'll be good enough for the kweichows? I can't wait to find out.

 

[Viv]

Good luck to you too Otterwoman! I hope you breed them.

 

[FrogEyes]

T.kweichowensis and T.cf.kweichowensis like it fairly dry in the off-season, so beware of keeping them in a damp or stagnant environment. Winters in Guizhou and Sichuan are brief, but chilly, averaging around freezing for two months. My T.cf.kweichowensis spent the summer [at least the calendar SAID it was summer] outdoors. I think July was the only month I didn't see snow somewhere near here. The salamanders spent much of the time under the leaf litter. On warm nights, they'd be surface active during or after rain. I didn't bring them indoors until after the fall evenings got colder. They stayed out through several freezing nights and a snowfall or two, but were always able to shelter from the cold, and came indoors before a hard freeze. They can definitely handle cool temperatures, and I expect that T.cf.kweichowensis can handle cooler than true T.kweichowensis. We'll have to see about the actual breeding, but a significant seasonal change should work.

FYI, some T.verrucosus populations spend the winter under several feet of snow, and even the "low" altitude populations are at high altitude with winter temperatures barely above freezing.