Posted this in the facebook group but I figured I might as well post here as well to get some more opinions.
I was hoping some of you marbled newt keepers would be able to fill me in on the care necessary for these guys. Over the last few months, I've clicked through 4 care sheets, including the one posted here on caudata.org, gone through every forum post about them, as well as read through all the comments on the facebook page and I'm getting some conflicting information. Of course if I'm going to get any marbled newts, I want to give them the best care possible, so a few questions.
Terrestrial vs aquatic? I read that you generally want them full terrestrial when juvenile but can go with a paludarium or full aquatic when adult, or put them in an aquatic setup during breeding season. If I don't care about breeding, would I be able to keep them 100% terrestrial as adults?
Best humidity range? Some of these guides say 70%-100%, other guides don't list but say to keep things wet. Comments here say to keep things relatively dry. I figured best bet from what I can gather is mist enough to keep humidity around 70% but let the substrate dry out before misting again. Plus, keeping plenty of dry and cool hides is helpful. I'll be building my own euro-style vivarium so I can easily add enough ventilation to the top to keep airflow high.
Food and temperature seem like the only things most people agree on for care with the staple being various types of worms or isopods. I plan on getting powder orange isopods as the clean up crew and starting a culture of European nightcrawlers on the side.
Anything I'm missing here or need to know before I dive in?
I was hoping some of you marbled newt keepers would be able to fill me in on the care necessary for these guys. Over the last few months, I've clicked through 4 care sheets, including the one posted here on caudata.org, gone through every forum post about them, as well as read through all the comments on the facebook page and I'm getting some conflicting information. Of course if I'm going to get any marbled newts, I want to give them the best care possible, so a few questions.
Terrestrial vs aquatic? I read that you generally want them full terrestrial when juvenile but can go with a paludarium or full aquatic when adult, or put them in an aquatic setup during breeding season. If I don't care about breeding, would I be able to keep them 100% terrestrial as adults?
Best humidity range? Some of these guides say 70%-100%, other guides don't list but say to keep things wet. Comments here say to keep things relatively dry. I figured best bet from what I can gather is mist enough to keep humidity around 70% but let the substrate dry out before misting again. Plus, keeping plenty of dry and cool hides is helpful. I'll be building my own euro-style vivarium so I can easily add enough ventilation to the top to keep airflow high.
Food and temperature seem like the only things most people agree on for care with the staple being various types of worms or isopods. I plan on getting powder orange isopods as the clean up crew and starting a culture of European nightcrawlers on the side.
Anything I'm missing here or need to know before I dive in?
