Taricha torosa

[velasco13000]

Hello I recently got a group of 6 torosas.. I had a few questions. The previous keeper had kept them terrestrially, are torosas more aquatic or terrestrial. Second question is that they are not eating too well. The previous keeper only handled them, but they aren't accepting much food and they might not be used to hunting for their own food. Any suggestions?

 

[Neotenic_Jaymes]

Let them acclimate if you just got them. Once they get used to the change they should start eating if nothing is wrong with them. If you've had them for a few weeks and they haven't eaten then try different food items. Sometimes changing tanks or setups will drastically change a newts behavior. Especially going from aquatic to land and vise versa.

You did mention they were kept terrestrial. Did you change to an aqua setup? From my experience they were very terrestrial. But living habits and preferences differ from population to population. Just offer land and water and see what they prefer.

 

[huug]

Hi,

Torosa are terrestrial newts. They only hit the water in breedingseason if they were given the choice. A small bowl of water in the terrestrial tank is always good.

What 's typical about Taricha species, is that in comparison to most newtspecies, they like relatively smaller prey. So dont feed them big nightcrawlers or full size crickets etc. Small prey will trigger them most. Allso,..if they cannot hide enough, they might be stressed and not eat well.