T. kweichowensis crocodile newts

A

anthony

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Hello everyone. This be my first post on caudata.org forum, which is fantastic by the way. I've been wishing to get into the crocodile newts(particulary T. Kweichow). Well after checking around, I had managed to pick up 2.2 male to female ratio. These were fresh imports have only been in the country for 2 weeks. Just recieved them today, and already I lost 1 male. It had appeared that he'd been beaten up in shipment. The man I purchased my group from told me he would send out a replacement ASAP, which is great.

I have only a few questions. I was going to seperate them into their own seperate containers for quarantine purposes, but I decided to put them into a quarantine 29 gallon. This simple setup consists of sphagnum moss, several PVC pipe for hiding shelter, and a deep container for hydrating/swimming and a small internal filter. The temps are around 68-72(fluctuating), and I have all this illuminated with a cheap sunlight bulb(flourescent). Now, I've chosen this because it hold moisture and will keep them hydrated as well as several sterile hides. How does this sound? It's a 50/50 shot of land and water. Also, I haven't tried feeding yet, but I'm going to attempt with large rain worms in a day or so. I've been debating how to achieve this. Either leave the chopped worms in a bowl in the cage, or feed with tongs? BTW: does anyone who works with these know how long the acclimation period takes(at least enough for them to move around and act realatively normal)?

Thanks for taking the time to read my rather long first post.

All the Best,
Anthony

(Message edited by portillo on June 15, 2006)

(Message edited by portillo on June 15, 2006)
 
Welcome to the site, Anthony.

Just wanted you to know I edited your thread title to read "T. kweichowensis" instead of "T.Kweichow"

In fact, I've been editing thread titles for a while now because people have been taking such liberties with scientific names that others who are new to the hobby really don't know what's what (I sure didn't when I started out here!).

Also, after the genus name (in this case Tylototriton or T.) there should be a space and the first letter of the second word, the species name, should be lower case, not capitalized.

And ideally -- though I don't want to sound too picky -- scientific names should be italicized (well, at least in scientific papers they are).

Now, about those Kweichows of yours...
lol.gif
 
Welcome to the site, Anthony.
Personally, with Tylototritons, i'd keep them all isolated in sterile conditions for the first month or so. I use damp kitchen paper (changed daily) and a piece of drainpipe or guttering as a hide. I'd also remove the light as it may add stress to an already stressed animal. As for feeding, during this quarantine period id feed quite often to build them up a bit....it's all about getting them settled and stress free at this point.
If you haven't experienced any problems in a month or so then you should be okay to put them all together.
 
Sounds like overall good advice, Andy.

Only I guess Anthony should also keep in mind Ed's warnings about the danger of "refeeding syndrome" -- severely malnourished newts shouldn't be given too much nutrition too rapidly as a body that has been chronically deprived of nutrition "becomes metabolically deranged when calories are suddenly provided" (according to one explanation of the syndrome).

(Message edited by TJ on June 15, 2006)
 
Good point Tim, it's not something i'd thought of as i've not experience this...luckily.
 
Thanks for the warm welcome. Ok, so I'm going to put each in his own container. Do you recommend I put a water bowl in each as well, or no? Looks like I'll be putting each into sterile plastic tray, then adding moist paper towls, and a piece of PVC, sounds good. LMK if there is anything else needed. Thanks guys, I look forward to posting here more often.

God Bless,
Anthony
 
Alright, so I've gone out and purchased some non-bleached/recycled paper towel. So here's where we stand. They are now setup in seperate containers with moist recycled/non-bleached paper towels, and a piece of 3-bend PVC. I've placed the enclosures almost to the floor so they are staying about 68-72 degrees. So I'll try feeding tonight with waxworms and maybe some chopped rain worm(earthworm, nightcrawler)left in a small shallow dish. I figure this way I'll know how much and of what they have eaten and therefore will be able to see what their favorite foods are and feed accordingly. Hopefully they start to come around, time will tell of course. Thanks guys for all the advice. And Tim, next time I post, I'll make sure the scientific name is in the title as well as italicized. It makes sense for others to gain some knowledge when reading, so this makes perfect sense. BTW: Yes or No for a water dish?

Anthony
 
Water bowels? Sure, why not...it wouldn't hurt to put them in and see if they're used or not, so long as they don't hog space and remain sanitary. But they could probably do just as well without, especially during quarantine. Your call! But then I shouldn't be commenting at all as I did poorly with Tylototriton and no longer keep newts of this genus...

As for the italics, ah, never mind about that as you'd probably be only the 2nd or 3rd person on the site to go to the bother, and one doesn't want to be seen as putting on airs, does one?
lol.gif
 
Thanks Tim, I'll probably leave the water bowls out, just to be on the safe side. I did pick up some large euro nightcrawlers. I've cut one into several parts(keeping in mind to repeat my apologies to the worm). I've since put 1 small piece into each container to see if they eat them. I'll probably come back in a few hours and see. Hopefully they pick these off. I'll be following Ed's advice about overfeeding. It will just be 1 small bit of food everyday until I know they are getting enough and look like they are putting on weight, then it will be cut back to every other, then every second. After this I figure that they will be ready for a larger enclosure together. Thanks for all the tips, I'll be updating often so as everyone that has offered info will know how they are fairing. BTW: this is the last question, is it really a good idea to change the moist paper towel everyday? Will this disturbe the animals?

All The Best,
Anthony
 
Yes Anthony, i'd change it everyday...the animals will be fine. Also, you don't need to put a water bowl in as the Kweichowensis will get enough moisture from the damp paper towels.
As for the feeding, i doubt you'll need to leave food in with the animals...these guys are usually voracious and eat when ever offered. My last lot ate from my hands from day one. When mine were going through this quarantine period i'd feed them every two or three days...after they'd ate id then clean their set up.
They love earthworms to bits...feed a bit more sparingly with the wax worms though...they're quite fatty. When you drop worms in with them just put one near the entrance to their hide, they should come right out to eat when they see it.
 
Wonderful, thanks Andy....... two of the three already ate a piece of earthworm, so I think I might try putting the piece near the entrance of the other one. Thanks for the tips, I hope these guys make it, seems like they should.
 
Ok, last post for the day.........well, maybe not, but my last female ate today. This is great, this is a good sign. So far I'm 3 for 3...........
Anthony
 
Glad to hear it, Anthony.
As i say, it's all about getting the animals comfortable and stress free. Once acclimatized to captivity these animals are very hardy and a joy to keep, just leave them to adjust and they should be fine.
 
I've been reading about animals in quarantine and using spring water. Now I went out and purchased some spring water for misting. I've read an article about various spring water at caudataculture.org. It clearly states not to use Sam's Choice Spring Water(high PH). Well, I have 4 gallons of the stuff, will this be ok to use? I'm trying to keep everything going good(hence quarantine). Any advice would help greatly. If I'm not able to use it for misting, then I'm going to call around and see if I can't find some Deer Park water at one of the health food stores around. Again, thanks for the advice.

Anthony

(Message edited by portillo on June 16, 2006)
 
Hi Anthony, it's a little harder for me to answer this question as here in the UK our water is very good compared to that in the states. All i do with my water is leave to stand for a day or two and thats enough. In the US however i hear your water often has loads of chlorine and chloramine in it.
Hopefully one of the American members of the forum will offer some advice on this subject. If not try mailing one of the more experienced American members and i'm sure you could get an answer to your question.
All the best
 
Thanks for the input Andy, I've just e-mailed Paris, so hopefully she has some insight for me. I've looked this morning, it's not the spring water I thought it was. It's called Great Value Spring Water. I'll wait to see what she has to say about this.........thanks again!

Anthony
 
If your local water isn't bad, tap water with a dechlorinator is fine. When I do water changes with my kweichowensis I siphon some off, add dechlorinator, and shoot the new water in from a food safe (r.v.) garden type hose. Unless you know of a problem with local water I don't see the advantage of spring water. The industry is poorly regulated and you might have impurity in the spring water.

I do use distilled water to mist show tanks to avoid calcium stains. Other than that all water comes form the tap for me.
 
Thanks for the input Michael, I'm thinking the tap with conditioner will be the best.

Anyways, the Kweichowensis are doing great. All ate again today. So I'll probably skip a day in between just so I'm not overfeeding.

The chance came today while cleaning the quarantine tanks to check over the Kweichowensis. 2 look great, but one of the females has 2 spots that have developed. 1 on her back, and a second on her head. There is liquid coming out(clear, and it just bubbles, then stops). Now, I'm thinking of treating with Polysporin(better than Neosporin)for treating animals at least. But I would love any thoughts anyone might have for treating these wounds?

Anthony
 
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