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Paddletail Breeding?

Blackhawk IV

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hi
i have five Paddletails (all Labiatus), three males and two females. the three males are exhibiting signs of wanting to mate (swollen cloaca, papillae and frantically tail waving) however the females dont seem to want to do the same. they are all around six months old and i keep them in a 200 litre tank. is there any way to encourage the females?
 

Daniel

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I have no personal experience with paddletails but I assume that six months is rather young for breeding. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will help you - I move the thread to the paddletail section.
 

Blackhawk IV

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also here are some pictures of my newts
 

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Jennewt

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When blackhawk says they are 6 months old, I assume he means they have been in captivity for 6 months.

In addition to the link Ian gave, there are also some old posts in this section of the forum you might find helpful, so be sure to browse a bit.

From what I've read, paddletails sometimes use tail-waving as a territorial gesture, so the activity may not be strictly breeding-related. Good luck with them, in any case!
 

Blackhawk IV

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thanks for your help
i have already looked at the site thanks. another thing is that i was wondering if i need a bit for them to go out of the water as i have a fully aquatic setup.
 

keechoo

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I have a little area where they can get to very shallow water. Mine went there when he became ill and from what I've read that is exactly what they do. Otherwise, I don't think I would have really noticed.
 

IanF

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Due to the size of your tank, it would take ALOT of gravel to make a shallow end. As far as I am aware, they sell these shelf like things at dobbies. You could mabey stick that to the side of the tank and but some gravel on it, although I'm not entirely sure if the newts would be attracted to that (when I last saw them they seemed to like swimming alot so it might work).
 

Blackhawk IV

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Yeah, i know but i would only really buy something like that if they really needed it as its pretty expensive and takes up a lot of room.
 

Blackhawk IV

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Hi all,
i just read Erik's thread on his breeding successes. but how am i supposed to get my tank temperature down to the low 40's F in my bedroom? i know the best way would have been to keep the tank outside or in the garage but that would be impossible now that it is filled with water.

Any suggestions?
 

Blackhawk IV

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here is a picture of my tank setup as well, i use an external filter (Fluval 205) which cascades nicely into the water on the left side. like many newt keepers i have a terracotta plant pot in my tank which they like to hide in. And also a large plant in the middle (i have no idea what kind it is)

Any ways to improve the setup would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
 

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coendeurloo

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Hi Blackhawk,

You might want to consider a larger tank, plus many more hiding places if you want to keep all 5 of them, as it is well known that P. labiatus tends to be very aggresive and territorial.
 

Jennewt

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Hi all,
i just read Erik's thread on his breeding successes. but how am i supposed to get my tank temperature down to the low 40's F in my bedroom? i know the best way would have been to keep the tank outside or in the garage but that would be impossible now that it is filled with water.

Any suggestions?

Every winter for the past 4 years, I have moved one or two tanks to the garage. It is a major production to move them, but I know it's the only way that the newts will breed. (These are not paddletails, but another "mountain stream" species.) I remove the newts to a holding container, drain the water into buckets, put all the decorations into a big tub, move the empty tank to the garage, and set it back up exactly the way it was. It takes an hour or two per tank to do the moving, including all the fiddling with the electricals. And in the springtime, I repeat the procedure to move them back to the basement.
 

Jake

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Hi all,
i just read Erik's thread on his breeding successes. but how am i supposed to get my tank temperature down to the low 40's F in my bedroom? i know the best way would have been to keep the tank outside or in the garage but that would be impossible now that it is filled with water.

Any suggestions?

Blackhawk-

I've just been leaving the window in the newt room cracked open about an inch all winter and the lowest the air temp in there got was 38-39 degrees with the tubs closest to the window freezing over numerous times. I got the idea from Audrey and looking at her success with T.granulosa, I'd say it's worth a shot.

Keeping them in the garage like Jen said will probably work better though. That way you don't have to worry about anything freezing over, or about a ridiculous heating bill!

Good luck with your attempt. Keep posted if you see more signs.
 

Blackhawk IV

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You might want to consider a larger tank, plus many more hiding places if you want to keep all 5 of them, as it is well known that P. labiatus tends to be very aggresive and territorial.

i thought that a 200 litre tank would be okay for them as on Caudata Culture it says that around 30 litres for each newt is acceptable? i am also aware that my tank is pretty bare and i will have to buy a few more things for them to hide in. thanks for the reminder anyway!
 
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