N. viridescens? Where?

[pat]

I, in grade school, had two awesome newts. One a C. pyrrhogaster from a pet store which lived for 8 years until I went to college and my parents let him escape, and the other a N. viridescens which my friend found and it lived for 5 years before it died. I have recently tried to start keeping newts again because I got my own apartment. I bought two C. orientalis from what I thought was a respectable pet store. One has since died and the other won't eat. (I've posted a thread in the help section)

Long explanation aside, I want to do things right this time and get some newts that will eat and hopefully some day I can give breeding a try.

I live in Pennsylvania and I was thinking of trying N. Viridescens because other than the crested newts I think they are the coolest and I have had some prior experience.

However, I have no idea where to find them, I certainly don't want to go to a pet store, and I don't see any breeders of them anywhere. There are some science suppliers but I hear now that they have that fungus problem.

Any advice?

 

[dane]

eastern newts are pretty common, Im sure if you went out and looked you could find one and hold onto it(if laws allow you to), the efts hide under logs and such near water and ponds and the adults are within them(ponds, lakes) I have seen a few sight online were you can purchase them but i do not remember what they are called

http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Notophthalmus/N_viridescens.shtml

 

[al]

I agree with you, the red spotted newt is one of my early childhood favorites. Try some of the biological supply stores. You can also try posting on the "Wanted" section of advertisements here. There may be some keepers and breeders that could help you out.
This species appears to be on one hand easy to keep, but they can also get diseased fast if overly stressed or if their environment is not adequate.
Other species that are good to start off with are: Cynops pyrrhogaster, C. ensicauda, Triturus karelini, and pleurodele waltl. CB species are more than likely healthier.

 

[pat]

Thanks for your help guys, I will look into ordering them, the lab that I work in may even have some, now that I think of it. If not I will order some when it gets a little cooler.

Unfortunately my last C. orientalis now has two sores on him and has lost the function of one of his arms; so sad. I doubt he will make it much longer. Hopefully I can avoid this kind of thing in the future.

Oh, by the way Dane, Modest Mouse is one of my favorites, I'd have to say that The Lonesome Crowded West is one of the best albums of the past ten years, and Moon and Antarctica is pretty close behind.

 

[alberto]

Hello Pat
The Red Spotted Newts are one of my favorite newts and I have raise and breed them for years with out any problems! And their efts are lots of fun to raise!
Keep us posted when you get some!
Good luck

 

[jennifer]

Hi Pat. Sadly, a large fraction of the C. orientalis sold in pet shops are in bad shape by the time they arrive.
http://www.caudata.org/people/JM/firebelly.html

The most humane and ecologically-sound ways to get a pet newt would be to either collect your own in the wild from a local abundant population, or get captive-bred. Being in Pennsylvania, you may be able to get CB newts at one of the local herp shows where Michael Shrom sells them. Before you order them by mail (newts ordered by mail may be just as sickly as those in pet shops), you might want to look into this.