Shared Terrarium

[TJ]

I set up a terrarium for a red eft. It is 12"x10" and has a clean water dish. It has a rock embedded in the ground for the eft to hide under. There is also a lot of moss and a big piece of tree bark for the newt. There is plenty of plant life, too. This is a two-part question.

1.) Is this a good setup for a red eft?
2.) Can I house Bufo Americanus and Notophalmus v. viridiscens in this terrarium?

 

[christopher]

the terrarium might be ok but I have little experience with red eft but I do know that it is never a good Idea to mix species...

 

[christopher]

read this link...http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/Mixing_disasters.shtml

 

[TJ]

Oh my god. Thanks for sending me there. I didn't think toads could be so aggressive. I'll just keep an eft or two then.

 

[christopher]

no prob, and good luck.....

 

[edward]

A small B. americanus would probably be okay (there is some significant differences between agressiveness in toads much less in the genus Bufo) for a very short period. The real problem is that these guys grow very quickly and are very efficient hunters which will cause problems for the newts as they will outcompete the newt for food and can get large enough to eat the newt (which would also probably kill it).
If you want to keep an anuran with it and it is legal to collect one in your area (always check not only the state regs but the town and county regs on possesion of exotic pets (and yes although they are native species they are considered exotic pets), I would suggest one of the Pseudacris as a possible cage mate.

Ed

 

[TJ]

I forgot what Pseudracris was. I'll check my field guide an check it out. Thanks for the help.

 

[TJ]

Okay, I googled Pseudacris and found spring peepers and other small chorus frogs, but when I looked in the field guide, it was under Hyla.
So does this mean I can keep a spring peeper as a cagemate?

 

[TJ]

Can a red eft share a terrarium with one or two Plethodon cinerus?

 

[TJ]

Is it safe to keep a red-spotted eft with a spring peeper?

 

[jennifer]

Considering that the cage is only 12x10", I would say that it's too small to mix any species. You never know what effect the presence of another species may have, in terms of causing stress and competition for food. In a large enclosure, they can avoid each other.

In theory I think a red eft and P. cinereus, if they were collected from the same locality and were roughly the same size, could possible share a tank. But this tank is too small for mixing in my opinion.

 

[jennifer]

Tim, I moved this last post over here. Please do not start new threads that ask the same question.

 

[edward]

Tim,

In general, it is possible to keep a P. cinereus or a Pseudacris with a red eft but until you have experience keeping one animal, would I not suggest adding a second species to the enclosure regardless of the size because based on your questions, it sounds like you are collecting or have access to collect these species locally to where you live and are looking to keep animals that you find together.
I would suggest that you try to keep the red eft alive for a couple of years before trying to keep multiple species together.

Ed

 

[TJ]

Okay thanks for all the help.

 

[blake]

i'd say the spring peeper is probably safe to keep with your eft, if you have good plant cover you'll probably never see the peeper unless it's eating. i used to have a peeper and all it did was wedge itself all the way up in the very top corner and sleep until i fed it. it would only eat spiders, and it was quite a site to see too! legs all sticking out of its mouth. i wish i had pictures. bottom line is, you're probably not going to see the peeper much and it definitely wont bother your efts. i would imagine they'd get along okay

 

[cameron]

I have a bird-voiced tree frog with my two Plethodon Glutinosus and they have been fine ever since.