Alpine newt husbandry Guidelines

[Jay Redbond]

Hello all,
Here are the alpine newt guidelines I have been writing for BIAZA. It would be great if people had a read and could let me know if their is anything important that I have missed out.

Kind Regards
Jay

 

[Azhael]

I don´t have the time right now to read it all, but a quick view shows that largely it´s quite ok, but there are some mistakes.
The species is not "alpestris", that´s the specific name or epithet. The species is the binomial Ichthyosaura alpestris. There are some other minor mistakes like "apuanas" and such, but that´s just spelling.
Also, you mention that some subspecies are neotenic which is not true. Some populations are, although it´s more apropriate to say that some individuals are neotenic, with some populations showing higher percentages of neotenic individuals.
There are also quite a few spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, but i guess that´s just cause you haven´t checked yet for the more definitive version.

I disagree with some housing recommendations, particularly the 50% water changes, and the full cleaning every three months which is just bonkers!

Anyway, as i said this was just a superfitial check.

 

[Molch]

a nice start so far , I can tell you put a lot of effort into this

to critique: what Azhael said - I also don't agree with housing descriptions. 12 adults per 12 gallons is WAY too crowded, in my opinion. No wonder you would get ammonia buildup this way, esp. if you clean the entire tank every few months, which would just destroy your biological filter.

In a well cycled tank w. some plants that is not overcrowded, there should never be any ammonia buildup.

also, the husbandry section should contain info on temperature requirements.

Right now spelling and grammar are really bad (no offense), and that definitely needs fixing for the whole thing to look credible and professional.

watch word substitutions that a spell check won't catch, e.g.,
to - too
whether - weather
there - their
a part - apart
calices - callouses? (something for which we are supposed to check the eyes)

Cheers Claudia

 

[Jay Redbond]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for all your points I will take them into consideration and change some of the text. They are just guidelines and to be honest I have never had a problem with ammonia in my collection yet. The 12 adults in one tank is actually at least a 24 gallon tank so I will change that. But yeah the spelling is shocking I’m not the best at spelling and as you said the computer doesn’t help. So thanks for the help.

Kind Regards
Jay

 

[Molch]

there I go - it's spelled calluses

 

[froggy]

I agree with the comments above. Overall, the guidelines are OK, but there are some changes that need to be made, in my opinion. Further to those suggested above, you should include sections on maintaining other life-stages, such as larvae and juveniles. For breeding programmes and research populations, information on this is vital. Also, the statement that this species can be kept aquatic all year round isn't strictly true, particularly of juveniles. Some subspecies, including I. a. apuanus, mare very amenable to aquatic maintenance as juveniles PROVIDED A SMALL LAND SECTION IS AVAILABLE WITH A HIDE, whereas as others, including the nominate (I. a. alpestris, are not nearly as amenable to this and usually require at least a year of terrestrial housing. Other than for neotenic individuals, terrestrial rearing as juveniles is probably the safer bet if subspecies is unknown.

Also, I am not sure what the relevance of the heart and respiratory rate sections are...I'm not sure why its useful to have a couple of sections on just two of many physiological measures....


Best wishes

C

 

[Jay Redbond]

Hi again,
Just a quick one about the Latin I have used for example aquana, this is so I am told by my good friend Jean Raffaelli the new spelling. Also the descriptions are what he gave me and I keep and breed six of the subspecies so have seen neotenic in some individual and not others from the same subspecies. So I will make a reference to that, I have got adult I.a.veluchiensis that are neotenic and some that are not.

Kind Regards
Jay Redbond

 

[Azhael]

"apuana" is correct, but "apuanas" is not, hehe.
Apuana is the new femenine version that many people choose to use so that the gender of the subspecific name and the new genus name Ichthyosaura are both female. The former form "apuanus" was masculine to coincide with Triturus.
It´s true that some subspecies seem to be more prone to neoteny but that is not the same as saying that a particular subspecies is neotenic for there is no subspecies that contains 100% neotenic individuals.

 

[Molch]

"apuana" is correct, but "apuanas" is not, hehe.
Apuana is the new femenine version that many people choose to use so that the gender of the subspecific name and the new genus name Ichthyosaura are both female. The former form "apuanus" was masculine to coincide with Triturus.

you mean my alpine newts are all GIRLS now ?!

 

[Kaysie]

you mean my alpine newts are all GIRLS now ?!

Haha! I think this is one of the hardest concepts for native English speakers to grasp about a foreign language, the idea of nouns with gender, which may or may not correspond to what the word means. I never could understand why the German word for "girl" is a neutral noun. I don't feel neutral!