M
matthew
Guest
01-05-03 Sitka, Alaska USA
Hi all!
I am excited to have finally found a web community devoted to newts! I have been thoroughly enjoying the articles and discussions found on this site. Caudate Central and Jennifer Macke's website (found here: http://members.cox.net/jpmacke/newts.htm ) have been extremely helpful. Below is a description of my current newts and my personal experience with amazing climbing abilities and hardiness of the Japanese Firebelly.
About my Newts:
I have kept newts since I was in the second grade. (That is about twelve years now!) My current colony consists of four adult Cynops pyrrhogaster newts in a ten-gallon tank with plenty of real plants and almost six gallons of water. The three males measure between 4 and 4.25 inches, (10-11cm). The female is just over 4.5 inches (about 11.5 cm). The female is about twice as wide as my males and is a much darker brown. Mostly my newts eat frozen bloodworms and frozen brine shrimp. When the ground is not frozen outside I usually feed them earthworms about once a month. The newt I have kept the longest is my largest male, Stripe. I purchased him seven years ago this February. I bought the other three newts just over four years ago. I will display three photos of my newts taken with my Fujifilm FinePix 4800Zoom digital camera with no flash. The photos were taken through the aquarium glass.
Newtdini:
I bought Stripe, (my largest adult male Cynops pyrrhogaster) in early February of 1996 for five dollars. At the time I had three small Chinese Firebelly newts that the pet store not surprisingly mislabeled as also being Japanese Firebelly Newts. (I recently learned the difference thanks to Caudate Central.) All four of them just kind of sat around like newts seem to do (except during feeding time), but every now and I noticed Stripe crawling up the side of the tank and once even hanging partly upside down from my Plexiglas tank cover. I was not concerned because the only possible escape hole was about an inch square (2.54cm).
One beautiful summer day after school I was enjoying some cookies when our renter rang our doorbell and pointed to a newt in the driveway, down one story and roughly 80 feet (24 meters) from the tank! Since it was a sunny day my mother had left the upstairs porch door open to air out the house. We decided that the only way the newt could have ended up in the driveway was for him to have climbed up and out of the tank, fallen to the counter, and then waddled to the end of the counter where he would have fallen down 4 feet, (1.25 meter) to the kitchen floor. Next he must have walked 20 feet, (6 meters) to the porch door were he marched right on through until he fell at least 15 feet, (4.5 meters) into my mother's flower garden. (He was filthy, so we assume this is pretty accurate.) From there, Stripe must have hiked another 30 feet, (9 meters) across our hot blacktop driveway to where he was when our renter found him. We rinsed him off and put him back in the tank. I patched the hole in the roof of the tank with extra Plexiglas, firmly held in place by duct tape.
I am sure this story will help everyone comprehend the astonishing climbing ability of the Cynops pyrrhogaster. Today, Stripe is often referred to as the amazing 'Newtdini,' and with a little luck will live at least another seven years.
Thank you for your replies!
Matthew Hunter
PS I will be in Greece for the next month (I return in early February), so I apologize if I am unable to respond to anyone's questions or comments.
Photos Should Follow Below}
Hi all!
I am excited to have finally found a web community devoted to newts! I have been thoroughly enjoying the articles and discussions found on this site. Caudate Central and Jennifer Macke's website (found here: http://members.cox.net/jpmacke/newts.htm ) have been extremely helpful. Below is a description of my current newts and my personal experience with amazing climbing abilities and hardiness of the Japanese Firebelly.
About my Newts:
I have kept newts since I was in the second grade. (That is about twelve years now!) My current colony consists of four adult Cynops pyrrhogaster newts in a ten-gallon tank with plenty of real plants and almost six gallons of water. The three males measure between 4 and 4.25 inches, (10-11cm). The female is just over 4.5 inches (about 11.5 cm). The female is about twice as wide as my males and is a much darker brown. Mostly my newts eat frozen bloodworms and frozen brine shrimp. When the ground is not frozen outside I usually feed them earthworms about once a month. The newt I have kept the longest is my largest male, Stripe. I purchased him seven years ago this February. I bought the other three newts just over four years ago. I will display three photos of my newts taken with my Fujifilm FinePix 4800Zoom digital camera with no flash. The photos were taken through the aquarium glass.
Newtdini:
I bought Stripe, (my largest adult male Cynops pyrrhogaster) in early February of 1996 for five dollars. At the time I had three small Chinese Firebelly newts that the pet store not surprisingly mislabeled as also being Japanese Firebelly Newts. (I recently learned the difference thanks to Caudate Central.) All four of them just kind of sat around like newts seem to do (except during feeding time), but every now and I noticed Stripe crawling up the side of the tank and once even hanging partly upside down from my Plexiglas tank cover. I was not concerned because the only possible escape hole was about an inch square (2.54cm).
One beautiful summer day after school I was enjoying some cookies when our renter rang our doorbell and pointed to a newt in the driveway, down one story and roughly 80 feet (24 meters) from the tank! Since it was a sunny day my mother had left the upstairs porch door open to air out the house. We decided that the only way the newt could have ended up in the driveway was for him to have climbed up and out of the tank, fallen to the counter, and then waddled to the end of the counter where he would have fallen down 4 feet, (1.25 meter) to the kitchen floor. Next he must have walked 20 feet, (6 meters) to the porch door were he marched right on through until he fell at least 15 feet, (4.5 meters) into my mother's flower garden. (He was filthy, so we assume this is pretty accurate.) From there, Stripe must have hiked another 30 feet, (9 meters) across our hot blacktop driveway to where he was when our renter found him. We rinsed him off and put him back in the tank. I patched the hole in the roof of the tank with extra Plexiglas, firmly held in place by duct tape.
I am sure this story will help everyone comprehend the astonishing climbing ability of the Cynops pyrrhogaster. Today, Stripe is often referred to as the amazing 'Newtdini,' and with a little luck will live at least another seven years.
Thank you for your replies!
Matthew Hunter
PS I will be in Greece for the next month (I return in early February), so I apologize if I am unable to respond to anyone's questions or comments.
Photos Should Follow Below}
