1st timer question.

A

aaron

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Hi i am very new to this site / salamander/newts.
I have 2 other tanks one is a 25g extra high with 1 cuban tree frog and a 46g bowfront with firemouth cichlids and rainbow cichlids.

Basically i have a 55g tank that i want to set up as a terrarium with part of the tank having water in it. What would be good to keep in this tank.

Keep in mind that the tank will be in my bedroom where i dont have AC. So it is possible that the tank can reach upper 80's in the summer. I can maintain correct temps in the winter.

If you can just give some good ideas of what too keep i can find care sheets on them. THANKS!

Sorry for long post
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Hi aaron, somewhat new to newts as well. However, from my few months of experience, I know that most newts require lower temperatures and that 80 would be very bad for most of the ones I know about. Maybe there are some warmer climate ones that I don't know much about, but I don't think so.
 
for a 55 gallon there is no way to cool it down other then a chiller, which is a few hundred bucks.
 
There are a couple of newts that could tolerate temps up to 80 or so, but at the upper 80's, you should just forget about newts. If you can keep the water temp down to 80, then consider Tylototriton verrucosus or Cynops ensicauda or Pleurodeles waltl.
 
I CERTAINLY understand why you would rather have newts, because I would too! But I know there are lots of tropical fish that would love those temps. Just an idea in case you like fish too.
 
If you were wondering what to put in your tank
I suggest eurycealongicauda if you have dirt in the tank if you were putting water in the tank I suggest fire newts.
 
Chinese firebellies that are healthy long-term captives can survive short heat-waves into the 80s F (30C). I doubt they would survive that temperature if it were sustained for several months of the year. I highly doubt that Eurycea could endure living in a tank in a very hot room, though I don't have any specific info about them.

Here is an interesting article about temperature tolerance during a heat wave:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~josfon/salamandervereniging/docs/Temptol5-1UK.pdf
 
putting ice cubes(made from matured or rainwater)in tank water is a simple if somewhat inaccurate method of lowering water temperature for aquatic specimens.
 
Are you just wanting newts, because salamanders are great pets too.
 
The ice cubes will never keep up with 80 degree weather, you could not make them fast enough. Also, Ice packs work but you have to change them every 2 hours if you are going to make a dent in the heat.
 
a better method often used by people from areas which recieve high summer temperatures is to hibernate or brumate the animals in the refridgerator during the hottest months, and in effect reverse the breeding seasons by allowing them to become active when the weather begins to cool. this naturally occurs to a similar extent in southern europe, where aestivation occurs during the summer months and breeding commences in the autumn when cooler weather and rain arrive
 
yea. that seems to make sense too. but that refridgeration thing I most doubtful with. I fear that will be harmful to the animal.
 
Unless you had a dedicated fridge where you could warm the temperature slowly, and alter the light cycles, I doubt you could change the natural cycle that caudates are on. I would be wary of putting them in the fridge for longer than a few weeks.
 
not sure what usa salamanders do but in europe most newts hibernate on land for 3-4 months in total darkness at temps close to freezing and are unaffected by daylight length untill they actually return to the water to breed.most modern refridgerators can easilly be set to operate at temps of 5 or 6c or 43f safely, and i have used this method for 20 years now on reptiles very successfully. i also know that many usa herpers use this method exclusively for temperature sensitive species such as salamandra.
 
Philip, if the salamanders are not ready to go into their winter phase, sticking them in the fridge for 3 months can be detrimental to their health.
 
obviously suddenly reducing them from 80 to 40 will harm them. a gradual reduction in temps over a few weeks can be accomplished using ice in the spring before it gets to 80f. i don't think its anywhere near 80 in buffalo at the moment is it? as the guy said he can maintain correct temps in winter. one point worth a mention is that caudates go into winter mode because its getting cold, not because they suddenly decide its time, and over time can be induced to be active and breed at any time of year by altering temps and photoperiod
 
I have bred Pseudobranchus a. axantha year round by initially cycling the dwarf sirens and then keeping the temperature at 72 F and a 12/12 photoperiod. If I ran the photoperiod up to 14/10 or down to 10/14 or moved the temperature above to 74 F above or below 70 F breeding would be stopped and I would have to recycle them, but as long as the temps were kept at 72 F and a 12/12 photoperiod, eggs would be laid about every three months.
So altering the temps and the photoperiod can have significant effects on the breeding conditions, but these are not always the triggers that cause oviposition.

I usually do not recommend (outside of emergencies) altering the temperature by more than a degree a day.

Ed
 
that sounds about right to me.my only real experience is with temperate species, which naturally fit their breeding cycle into the most suitable time of year, which even in europe varies considerably. in northern scotland for instance suitable weather for emergence from hibernation and breeding for newts occurs in march. but in southern spain and portugal some pygmaeus larvae would already have morphed by then
 
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