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Question: Thinking about newts

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BabyNemo

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Hey everyone,
I've been really in love with newts and their environment and care since I was very young. Finally, I'm able to begin planning to bring new additions into my animal room.

I'm not sure if this is the right place or not.

Here goes:
I was looking at the Exo Terra 36 x 18 x 18 enclosure that many Local Pet Stores carry. Would this be sufficient for newts?
For a beginner looking at newts, what would be the best ones to start out with?
Anything about care and different species would be greatly appreciated. When I do research on them, there is so many different opinions on the best beginner newts, the enclosures. And the care. I'm hoping to get some information on newts from people who have first hand experience.
Thank you!
 
sde said:
That would be a good sized tank to start with. I would recommend Pleurodeles waltl ( ribbed newt ), as they are pretty easy to care for, are readily available, and should eat pretty good as well.
Here is a care sheet on keeping that species. Caudata Culture Species Entry - Pleurodeles waltl -Seth
Click to expand...

Thank you! I will look into that right now!
I just looked, and I'm not sure how I feel about a newt that gets 6-8 inches. Is there any easy to care for newt that stays smaller? There's really nothing that I have against bigger species, just the fact they tend to creep not only me, but some of my family members out.i hope that doesn't sound "bad" in any way.
 
Hmm, well if you want something smaller, than a Cynops orientalis or Cynops pyrrhogaster or Cynops ensicauda or Cynops cyanurus would be good. The only problem with them is they need small pieces of food, which can be difficult to provide if you are feeding earthworms/nightcrawlers ( suggested food ).
Here is a link to that same site, scroll down to where to see Cynops on the left hand side, those are all the species I listed. http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/caresheets.shtml -Seth
 
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sde said:
Hmm, well if you want something smaller, than a Cynops orientalis or Cynops pyrrhogaster or Cynops ensicauda or Cynops cyanurus would be good. The only problem with them is they need small pieces of food, which can be difficult to provide if you are feeding earthworms/nightcrawlers ( suggested food ).
Here is a link to that same site, scroll down to where to see Cynops on the left hand side, those are all the species I listed. Caudata Culture Caresheets -Seth
Click to expand...

I love cynops ensicauda. Does that mean you would have to 'cut up' the worms then or what?
 
Yes you would have to cut the worms up, but at least they don't feel pain. I love Cynops ensicauda too, I have five juvenile C. e. popei.
 
sde said:
Yes you would have to cut the worms up, but at least they don't feel pain. I love Cynops ensicauda too, I have five juvenile C. e. popei.
Click to expand...

Yeah cutting the worms up would be a tiny problem. Well, maybe. When I got my three turtles I would not touch even dead, dry shrimp. Now I have no problem with it. I think after time I could get used to it. Just.. The guts and what not. Do worms even have "guts" ? Or is the inside just... Feces and whatever else? Sorry, I won't ask anymore about that, I feel like I'm sounding stupid. I'll just google it.

How many Cynops ensicauda do you think would be able to go in the 36 x 18 x 18? I was thinking about having a back corner for land, heavily planted with a gentle waterfall and stream going into the aquatic part. Of course no strong currents.
 
When you cut the worms no guts or anything really come out that I have seen, other than feces.

Very good sounding setup idea! I think you could have 5 or so. Maybe a few more, I haven't ever seen a adult in person, so I don't really have a good idea of how many could be in a tank that size. But five should be fine.
 
sde said:
When you cut the worms no guts or anything really come out that I have seen, other than feces.

Very good sounding setup idea! I think you could have 5 or so. Maybe a few more, I haven't ever seen a adult in person, so I don't really have a good idea of how many could be in a tank that size. But five should be fine.
Click to expand...

Then I should be fine if I just wear gloves. And I'm not sure how exactly I will make the gentle waterfall and stream. Everywhere I have looked used styrofoam and aquarium sealant and "Great Stuff" and all sorts of weird chemicals and equipment. I saw a "waterfall kit" but the reviews were terrible.
 
ExoTerra tanks don't allow much depth. That makes them completely unsuitable for any aquatic species.
You should get a typical aquarium, you know, the opening on the top and nothing that compromises the maximum depth anywhere along the way.
Go for an absolute minimum of 10 gallons, but larger is always better. A 20gallon would make things much, much easier.
If you want small bodied newts, then Hypselotriton cyanurus is probably the best option among them because of the large, aquatic juveniles, as opposed to the tiny terrestrial ones of other Hypselotriton species.
Cynops get somewhat larger, particularly females.

You can find reliable information on the CC articles as well as the hundreds of threads in the Cynops/Hypselotriton section. Get to work!
 
Azhael said:
ExoTerra tanks don't allow much depth. That makes them completely unsuitable for any aquatic species.
You should get a typical aquarium, you know, the opening on the top and nothing that compromises the maximum depth anywhere along the way.
Go for an absolute minimum of 10 gallons, but larger is always better. A 20gallon would make things much, much easier.
If you want small bodied newts, then Hypselotriton cyanurus is probably the best option among them because of the large, aquatic juveniles, as opposed to the tiny terrestrial ones of other Hypselotriton species.
Cynops get somewhat larger, particularly females.

You can find reliable information on the CC articles as well as the hundreds of threads in the Cynops/Hypselotriton section. Get to work!
Click to expand...
My dad does not want to do a typical aquarium because they're not specifically made for this kind of thing. He doesn't want to go around messing with the amount of weight on the surface area of the bottom of the tank. I have an extra 36 gallon, but he will not allow me to use it and change the 'structure'.
 
Incidentally, where do you plan to get your newts from? Just asking because it seems like Georgia is a difficult place to find salamanders/newts.
 
BabyNemo said:
My dad does not want to do a typical aquarium because they're not specifically made for this kind of thing. He doesn't want to go around messing with the amount of weight on the surface area of the bottom of the tank. I have an extra 36 gallon, but he will not allow me to use it and change the 'structure'.
Click to expand...

What the heck are you talking about ?
 
I can't imagine a container less specifically designed for this kind of thing than an exo terra vivarium.
Newts are either seasonally aquatic, or fully aquatic in captivity, so why would you want to keep them in a habitat designed (I think?) for terrestrial snakes?
If it's because the vivarium will look nice on display in the house, then I can totally understand, but I would urge you to re consider before you try to keep newts in it.
 
Chinadog said:
I can't imagine a container less specifically designed for this kind of thing than an exo terra vivarium.
Newts are either seasonally aquatic, or fully aquatic in captivity, so why would you want to keep them in a habitat designed (I think?) for terrestrial snakes?
If it's because the vivarium will look nice on display in the house, then I can totally understand, but I would urge you to re consider before you try to keep newts in it.
Click to expand...
It's not about looks. It's the fact that my dad doesn't want to 'change' a tanks structure. It would be in my room, so I couldn't care less about the "look nice" factor.
 
I'm not sure i understand what your father is thinking but using an aquarium for aquatic newts would not be "changing a tank's structure".
If he is dead set on using an Exo-Terra tank i'm afraid the vast majority of newts are not at all adequate inhabitants for that kind of tank. Not even remotely. He should either consider an standard aquarium, or other kinds of inhabitants.
 
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