Broken-striped newts

Hello all!

I'm a new member, though I've lurked here for quite a while. I just wanted to share a few photos of my cuties - my three broken-striped newts. I have two females and one male. I've had all three since I was 16, and I'm 31 now, so we've been together for a bit. The three have moved with me all over the US. They currently reside in a planted 10 gallon that sits on my desk next to my computer. Dangerous, I know, but it's worth it to get to watch their antics all day.

I've kept a number of different newt and salamander species and these guys are by far my favorites. They're always very active and are constantly begging for food. I can tell them apart by their markings: one female has a nearly continuous stripe and the other doesn't. And the male's tail spots are much more widely distributed. Plus, he has buff back legs.

Here are the two females doing interpretive dance:



Here is my male (on the left, in non-breeding condition) and one of the females:



My female, slurping up bloodworms:



"Are you gonna feed me, or what?"



They've reproduced every two years or so, but I've never managed to raise the young past the eft stage. They all turn into beautiful bright red efts and then die

Hi Slowfoot, I'm glad you've decided to join us! I love the photos.... but you are making me very nostalgic!!! I had a group of N.v. dorsalis from 1983 until 2004. They were my first, and favorite newts, and lived a very long time. When I moved to New Mexico in 2003, they died off one-by-one during the first few months I was here. I suspect they couldn't adjust to the hard alkaline water (though I've not had a problem for any other species I've kept here).

In my post on Sept 29, I detailed my difficulties in trying to raise the young from my N.v.d.:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49576
I could probably give you some tips for getting through the eft stage, but as you can see, I haven't had much luck with them either.

You might also find this thread interesting:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48797

Thanks for the welcome and the links!

I think I've read almost everything posted about these guys (and red spotted newts). They're a lot of fun to keep.

As for the young, I guess they're just incredibly difficult to raise. The last time I attempted it, I was in a lab that was working with very small plethodontids and young A. macrodactylum, so we had plenty of small food, environmental chambers, etc. But still, nothing. It was very frustrating. Now (I hate to admit it) I just let the females eat the eggs after laying. It's just too heart-breaking.

Also, any ideas on longevity for these guys? I'm getting a little worried that my three may be reaching the tail end of their lifespan.

I do know of one person who has gotten F2 generation dorsalis, so it is possible to raise them to adulthood in captivity.

I started with a group of 12 of them in 1983. By 2000, I had 3 of them left. In 2003 I had 2 of them left (together with some I had acquired less long ago). If I hadn't moved, who knows, I might still have those last 2.