new pics

here are some of my P. labiatus

Beautiful labiatus. Thanks for posting.

Very nice animals. How many do you keep, and do any of them get along well enough to be housed in the same tank together?

I have six right now, three pairs, one pair is in a 55 gal, another in a 40gal and I am getting ready to introduce the last pair in another 55 gal.

I am wanting to house my two Pachytritons in the same tank. Its 4 feet long and I have had it for a while, but I can't seem to find a tight fitting lid with the dimensions the tank has. Looks like I will have to make a lid but I am anxious to try them in the same tank. How long have your pairs been housed together, Audrey?

Try Glass Cages on the internet. I believe they can supply any size you want.

Well one pair that I have I aquired from someone who said they had been keeping them together successfully for 10 years.
The second pair I just recently introduced and I have actually had to separate them while I make some adjustments to their tank, so I don't know their long term interaction.
The third pair is yet to meet!
But I have tried to pair other paddletails before and found a few simple things helpful. Of course plenty of hides is important. The size of the two individuals must be similar. Also if you purchase them from a petstore, it seems that they are often times young and very hard to sex, males can have distinctive male "parts" before white dots are ever present on their tales and when they are smaller nothing may be distinguishable in their gender. (so be sure you have a pair!) I have also found that individuals that have been housed by themselves for long periods of time seem to have a harder time adjusting to tank mates then ones who have been resently purchased.
Keep a really close watch on them when you first put them together. If there are fights and injuries, paddletails are extremely hardy and immediate treatment will prevent perminate damage most of time.
On a side note, there are also those who think that paddletails should be housed alone at all times except during breeding season. I am trying to keep them together at all times but with enough space that they can completely set up their own territory.
If you are interested there are also ways of feeding that help keep aggression down.

Thanks Audrey. I think I am going to go with a permeable tank divider for a while in the 4ft tank. I have had the female since Fall 2003, but the little male (and I am pretty sure its a male as it has an enlarged cloaca and is very long and lean, not pear shaped at all) I got from an individual who no longer wanted him this past July. He is only about half the size of the female in girth, but close to her length. I still think she could tear him apart, though, so they are not going to be allowed contact for awhile! I am planning on having lots of rock hides and plants as the male seems to like to hang out and hide in his plants (the female not so much). And I already mostly hand feed these guys now so I don't have to worry about finding and removing uneaten food later so I think that will help with any introductions down the road. I really appreciate your info. As soon as I can get my pair together I will post something.

Oh, and thanks Alejandro, I will check out that lead for the lid.