Questions on care for Marbled Newts

[iflanzy]

Posted this in the facebook group but I figured I might as well post here as well to get some more opinions.

I was hoping some of you marbled newt keepers would be able to fill me in on the care necessary for these guys. Over the last few months, I've clicked through 4 care sheets, including the one posted here on caudata.org, gone through every forum post about them, as well as read through all the comments on the facebook page and I'm getting some conflicting information. Of course if I'm going to get any marbled newts, I want to give them the best care possible, so a few questions.

Terrestrial vs aquatic? I read that you generally want them full terrestrial when juvenile but can go with a paludarium or full aquatic when adult, or put them in an aquatic setup during breeding season. If I don't care about breeding, would I be able to keep them 100% terrestrial as adults?
Best humidity range? Some of these guides say 70%-100%, other guides don't list but say to keep things wet. Comments here say to keep things relatively dry. I figured best bet from what I can gather is mist enough to keep humidity around 70% but let the substrate dry out before misting again. Plus, keeping plenty of dry and cool hides is helpful. I'll be building my own euro-style vivarium so I can easily add enough ventilation to the top to keep airflow high.

Food and temperature seem like the only things most people agree on for care with the staple being various types of worms or isopods. I plan on getting powder orange isopods as the clean up crew and starting a culture of European nightcrawlers on the side.
Anything I'm missing here or need to know before I dive in?

 

[Jennewt]

I'm not sure how they would fare if kept fully terrestrial throughout adulthood. At some point in springtime they might want to move to water, and if there isn't any I have no idea if that would be fine, or not. Most people want to keep them aquatic in order to see their beautiful crest during breeding season.

There are 2 aspects to humidity: air and substrate. Air humidity isn't very important, but the substrate MUST stay lightly moist at all times. It's not OK to let it dry out. And it also shouldn't every be soggy-wet. Amphibians don't drink, they absorb water through their skin, so slight moisture is a must.

What do you like about marbled newts? There may be fully terrestrial species that would suit you.

 

[iflanzy]

I'm not sure how they would fare if kept fully terrestrial throughout adulthood. At some point in springtime they might want to move to water, and if there isn't any I have no idea if that would be fine, or not. Most people want to keep them aquatic in order to see their beautiful crest during breeding season.

There are 2 aspects to humidity: air and substrate. Air humidity isn't very important, but the substrate MUST stay lightly moist at all times. It's not OK to let it dry out. And it also shouldn't every be soggy-wet. Amphibians don't drink, they absorb water through their skin, so slight moisture is a must.

What do you like about marbled newts? There may be fully terrestrial species that would suit you.

What I like about them, the color patterns, they seem more active than most other newts, definitely more active than salamanders, their temperature range fits the temperature I keep my house at between the summer highs and winter lows, and the natural vivarium habitat that I could create for them fits in with the style and aesthetic I personally like. Kind of hard to find a list but what are other newt species that are fully terrestrial?

 

[Herpin Man]

I keep them terrestrially, except for breeding. They have a water dish in their terrestrial enclosures. I don’t really measure humidity, but I do mist regularly. While I don’t let the enclosures dry out, I don’t keep them wet, either.

 

[iflanzy]

I'm not sure how they would fare if kept fully terrestrial throughout adulthood. At some point in springtime they might want to move to water, and if there isn't any I have no idea if that would be fine, or not. Most people want to keep them aquatic in order to see their beautiful crest during breeding season.

There are 2 aspects to humidity: air and substrate. Air humidity isn't very important, but the substrate MUST stay lightly moist at all times. It's not OK to let it dry out. And it also shouldn't every be soggy-wet. Amphibians don't drink, they absorb water through their skin, so slight moisture is a must.

What do you like about marbled newts? There may be fully terrestrial species that would suit you.

Have any suggestions?