Alpine Apuana rebuild

[shnabo]

Today I moved my group of apuanas from a 10 gal to a 15 long. They hatched last April and are pretty much adults now/ need a little extra space to fill out and hopefully breed this winter. I also noticed one of them has a growth defect in its skull, it didn't develop properly(last pic). It has a lot of character and moves/ eats fine, but I will likely exclude it from the group during breeding season.

 

[shnabo]

These guys have grown quite a bit since my last post and are now getting ready for their first breeding season. I have a group of 6, I left 4 in their tank to cool with the rest of my newts and also put a pair in the garage to cool for about 2months (fluctuated between 1C and 6C). I just took the pair inside and have them re adjusting to room temperature (about 10 degrees from 6 in the garage) and then will move them to a room that is around 14-16 to replicate the natural transition/ prevent temperature shock as they are quite sluggish and moving slowly. The remaining 4 have been eating quite a bit and are in my ‘Newt room’, which is currently floating between 8-12 degrees C. Hoping for some eggs this year if all goes well.