Slow growth rates of young C. pyrrhogaster?

[Molch]

I have a small crop of young pyrrhogasters (sassayama) from last year. They are almost a year old now; they hatched last March and morphed in August.

They eat and look fine, but I'm scratching my head over their slow growth rate. I keep them aquatic at ca. 12-15 C and feed them blackworms and chopped earthworms mostly. They are still only about 2 inches long and appear to grow just verrrry slowly. All my other newts grow much faster.

Is this typical of pyrrhogaster or is something amiss?

 

[Mark]

In my experience they are very slow growing. I have some females over 2 years old that are still way off full grown. The males are generally smaller and appear to reach maturity and full size quicker.

 

[Sawyer]

Seems like Japanese species can generally be slow growing. I have 2 popei that were born last year and are now over a year old and I'd bet they aren't even 2 inches.

On the other hand I have some n.kaiseri that are roughly the same age and in the 2 months I've had them they have grown a full inch and gained mass.

 

[Azhael]

I see wild variations among individuals. Some grow quite fast and others take a very long time. However, since they can all be kept aquatic after a certain point, i don´t really mind. On average they take two years to reach maturity, while other species do it in less than a year (mind you, some take longer....)

 

[gar4016]

I keep them aquatic at ca. 12-15 C and feed them blackworms and chopped earthworms mostly.

Molch, since Cynops can be more tolerant of higher temperatures, I wonder if keeping these at 18-21C would improve their growth rates. Does anyone have experience at raising juveniles at different temperatures and comparing growth rates?

 

[Molch]

thanks all; I am considering moving their tank to a slightly warmer room, so they'll grow a bit faster. My other room is about 17-18 C..