What would be the best kind of newt for a paludarium?

[Gabes44]

What would be the best kind of newt for a paludarium? Perhaps something like a marbled newt or a Chinese fire belly newt?

 

[minorhero]

What would be the best kind of newt for a paludarium? Perhaps something like a marbled newt or a Chinese fire belly newt?

Depends on the setup and size of the tank. Is there a top on the tank? What temperature is the water vs land? Do you want the critter to be on both land and water? How much land to how much water? etc etc.

 

[JM29]

Depends also (and in my opinion firstly) on the species you want. The age of the animals also.

For example, for the two species you cited :
- Marble newt is terrestrial most of the time except in the breeding season when it is fully aquatic.
- young marble newts are fully terrestrial
- Adult chinese fire belly newts are fully aquatic
- Young CFB newts are fully terrestrial at least the first year after metamorphosis

Moreover, terrestrial forms often hide during the day.

When terrestrial, the species will need enough terrestrial space, independantly of the water part.
When aquatic, it's the same : you'll have to provide enough water volume, depth, water quality... independantly of the land part.

And newts rarely spend the day alternating between land and water.

So, if you have a species mostly aquatic, the conception of the water part should be the same as an aquarium : enough volume, enough depth and avoid pollution from the land part. This land part would be there only for the lanscape.

 

[Gabes44]

Depends also (and in my opinion firstly) on the species you want. The age of the animals also.

For example, for the two species you cited :
- Marble newt is terrestrial most of the time except in the breeding season when it is fully aquatic.
- young marble newts are fully terrestrial
- Adult chinese fire belly newts are fully aquatic
- Young CFB newts are fully terrestrial at least the first year after metamorphosis

Moreover, terrestrial forms often hide during the day.

When terrestrial, the species will need enough terrestrial space, independantly of the water part.
When aquatic, it's the same : you'll have to provide enough water volume, depth, water quality... independantly of the land part.

And newts rarely spend the day alternating between land and water.

So, if you have a species mostly aquatic, the conception of the water part should be the same as an aquarium : enough volume, enough depth and avoid pollution from the land part. This land part would be there only for the lanscape.

So for a marbled newt, the paludarium should be either something like 80% land and 20% water or fully land

 

[JM29]

You cannot say : "it is mostly terrestrial, so I'll make a mostly terrestrial setup". Even if a newt only spends 3 months a year in the water, when aquatic, it's fully aquatic and its needs

For example, your newt, if alone, (about 18 cm or 7 inches as an adult) will need at least :
- 0,1 square meter of land, with a rather dry part
- 0,1 square meter of water with a depth of 18 cm
- an easy access transition zone between the two.
(multiply by the number of newts you have)

All that being said, you can choose to have a paludarium 80% land / 20% water, or 80% water / 20% land, or anything else if you want.
With a 80% land / 20% water solution, the 20% water should be at least 0,1 square meter for 1 newt.

 

[Gabes44]

You cannot say : "it is mostly terrestrial, so I'll make a mostly terrestrial setup". Even if a newt only spends 3 months a year in the water, when aquatic, it's fully aquatic and its needs

For example, your newt, if alone, (about 18 cm or 7 inches as an adult) will need at least :
- 0,1 square meter of land, with a rather dry part
- 0,1 square meter of water with a depth of 18 cm
- an easy access transition zone between the two.
(multiply by the number of newts you have)

All that being said, you can choose to have a paludarium 80% land / 20% water, or 80% water / 20% land, or anything else if you want.
With a 80% land / 20% water solution, the 20% water should be at least 0,1 square meter for 1 newt.

Alright, thanks for the information