Notophthalmus viridescens tough to keep alive?

[ntny]

Hi Folks,
i have recently taken great interest in Notophthalmus viridescens
i was not able to find any Plethodontidae or Pleurodeles waltl for a long time.
i looked at Notophthalmus viridescens care sheets and them are pretty attractive and interesting species esp the Red Elfs, they seems like a kind of Triturus of USA
i have seacrh the forum and it seems some fellow hobbists has great diffculity keeping them alive for long term.
i hope to learn more from you folks before accruing them
May i know if they are tough to keep alive and what are the reasons?

Thanks and cheers
.

 

[Otterwoman]

The adults aren't hard to keep alive, nor are red efts (larger ones), but it is extremely difficult to raise them cb from when they morph to becoming aquatic adults.

 

[ntny]

Hello Otterwoman,
Thanks for your great advice
Good to hear they are not too difficult to keep alive for long term. i am probably getting some adults Notophthalmus viridescens 1m 2f trios
i hear you that they are hard to keep alive during metamorphosis. Do they drown easily or they just get sick and refuse food and die off easily?
i also read the males will always try to mate and tires the females and which leads them to death. should i keep males and females separate until breeding season?
another question do they need a larger land area? example like Tylototriton verrucosus? or they are more like firebelly newts which very aquatic?

thanks and have a nice day

 

[warrior]

The males and females are together in the wild so they can be kept together in captivity.When they mate the male is aggressive but I have never seen any female die from it.They love frozen bloodworms and live black worms.They do like to get on land sometimes so a land area is a good idea.

 

[ntny]

Hello Eddie
Thanks for advice.
May i know roughly how large the land area required, 30% of the terrarium space is ok?
or a small turtle floating dock will do?
i am using mostly Zoomed turtle floating docks for most of my semi-aquatic and aquatic caduates

thanks and cheers!

 

[Thomas F]

The males tries to grab the females only during the breeding season, it's mostly in spring and early summer, sometimes there is a second breeding time in autumn. It's useful to have lots of plants and litter leafs where the females can hide, especially while the breeding period! If you want to have a bit control about the breeding success you could put a pair in good breedingconditions in an extra tank. After the amplexus when the female takes successfully the spermatophore you can put the female in an tank for her own, with lots of waterweed and wait for the eggs. This can last some weeks.

A problem for the females could be too many males. I have more males than females and didn't keep them all together during the breeding season. But with 1.2 you are on the safe side!

Cheers,
Thomas

 

[ntny]

Hi Thomas,
Thanks for your great advice.
may i know if adult Notophthalmus viridescens requires a sizeable land area or a small land area will do?
are they highly aquatic like example firebelly and warty newts?
the reason i asked because i keep Tylototriton verrucosus which is supposed to be highly aquatic but they are not really as they spend quite a lot of time on land and seems to prefer larger land area.

thanks

 

[Otterwoman]

They don't need a land area, just some place for them to haul out on to now and then, a floating piece of cork or something. A turtle dock should be more than adequate.
THe larvae just stop eating and die off.
I have never seen a female die from amplexus, either.

 

[ntny]

Hi folks
may i know for red efls typically how many years before the transform into adults? and typically how big does red elfs grows? i am a little worried they might be very small and hard to feed and keep alive.
thanks

 

[ntny]

Hello folks,
I like to find out which is best staple food options and most easily accepted by Red Elfs
i have read they are quite difficult to feed and keep alive
1)Small mealworms 1-1.5 cm, readily available. are they too big for Red elfs?
2)Small crickets 1 cm, not always available are they too big for Red elfs?
3)Live tubifex worms in a small dish readily available
4)Chopped earthworms up to 1 cm in a small dish readily available

Thanks and have a nice day

 

[wlfkfilms]

I only have adults now but in my experience:

My adults do hang out on a tortoise dock or floating plants. The largest female spends more time out of water.

Eggs and adults seem to readily feed on worms, slugs, and small inverts. For efts, I'd suggest a lot of food available at all times. Perhaps springtails, worms, and Isopoda living inside a terrarium with some leaf litter? Worked for me before, but I haven't raised from eggs to adults yet.

 

[thunder7]

I would go with 3 and 4, especially 4. Earth worms are the most nutritious and best tasting option. The first two might hurt your newts or the newts might be unable to catch/eat them.
Hope this helps

 

[ntny]

Hi Folks,
Thanks for advice on the food items. i guess i will stick with small earthworms and live tubifex worms.
Another question, i read the metamorphosis of Red elfs takes about 2-7 years.
May i know what factors delays the metamorphosis as long as 7 years?
Higher temperature? wetter environment? more food available?
Thanks

 

[Thomas F]

The metamorphosis takes only a few days... what you mean is the time till they go back in water to breed the first time. Most of my offspring do it after three years, a few rare individuals after two years, but not with much success. And they didn't stay long in water, I have take them back to their terrestrial setup for the rest of the year. One year later these newts are in water without any problems. A very few young efts needs 4 years. But this is all under captivity.

may i know if adult Notophthalmus viridescens requires a sizeable land area or a small land area will do?

I have two setups for them, an aquatic with only a piece of corc bark, and a terrestrial tank for those who stays longer on the corc bark in the aquatic tank. When they reduce their tail seams it's time to switch.


Cheers,
Thomas

 

[ntny]

Hello Thomas,
Thanks for sharing your experiences
May i know if CB Notophthalmus viridescens juveniles will turn into RED Color Efls?
or they will look like adults olive greenish colors?
i read some threads that CB Notophthalmus viridescens juveniles won't be RED colors.
Thanks

 

[David339]

I have Notophthalmus viridescens in the red eft stage. These guys are pretty easy to take care of. I've read it takes about a year in captivity til metamorphosis to adulthood because of the availability of food. One of them appears to be turning greener but doesn't hang out on the water half at all. I feed mine baby red wiggler/earthworms(about an 1/2 inch long, really thin), flightless fruit flies, and tiny isopods. I have two 3 inch and three 1 inch red efts. The little ones I give flightless fruit flies and springtails.

 

[Thomas F]

i read some threads that CB Notophthalmus viridescens juveniles won't be RED colors.

All of my cb juveniles turns into an orange coloration.

On the pic is my small group of cb 2018.


Cheers,
Thomas

 

[PhilbertCoffee]

I always train mine to take freeze dried tubiflex from my finger. I've had success in both land and water stages this way. Then just supplement with some pellets or whatever lives in the tank (small snails, small guppies).