C.e.p tightwire performance

[TJ]

 

[joeri]

Say hello to Tarzan!

 

[TJ]

Ah, I like that, Joeri

It does seem a lot more like he's swinging through the jungle on a vine.

 

[uwe]

Hi Tim,

great picture. Actually this is the way they try to escape sometimes. I have a stop mounted on my aerator pipe.

Uwe

 

[john]

This is a lovely set of photos. I think the most interesting part is the fact that many newts will use their tail in a prehensile fashion like a primate.

 

[TJ]

Thanks. As you may know, C.ensicauda are not very good climbers -- well, at least not as good as C.pyrrhogaster and C.orientalis. I had never had any escape me until last week, when I came home to find not one but three of them wandering on the floor. As it turns out, there was some moss hanging on the tubing from the water surface to the top of the tank, which they must have used to climb out.

 

[john]

I've had issues with them climbing glass too. I never had this problem with Tylototriton but Cynops ensicauda seem to hate the water. Now that I've set my 18 little monsters up in a nice aquarium with Java moss, petrified wood island and filter, most are remaining aquatic or sitting on the rock. I'm quite pleased to say that more than half of my recently metamorphosing group are now ~completely aquatic of their own will. They're even begging already.

I do still get climbers though, and I've had a few scares that my lid wasn't on tight enough. Luckily I've had no escapes yet. I lost 2 of my Neurergus kaiseri a few years ago to climbing/escaping and since that happened I've been very paranoid about it. If you think Cynops are bad, Neurergus kaiseri are like Spiderman, and they will always find that little hole, where ever it may be.

 

[TJ]

Today, I found a C.e.popei in -- of all places --my axoltl tank. Funny, I thought, as I'd taped the air tubes to the side of the tank and figured that had solved the problem. Determined to get to the bottom of this, and eventually learned how it had escaped by observing its second attempt.

Here it is starting out:

 

[TJ]

Well, well, so whadaya know, it's the very same one as tried to escape before! (out of the couple of dozen that live in this large tank)

 

[TJ]

It's making progress!

 

[TJ]

Oops!

Better luck next time

Only I hope there won't be a next time as I've fixed the problem.

 

[kaysie]

They're worse than squirrels! You can almost see the look of lost hope on his face in that second-to-last picture, "Oh! I was so close!!"

(Message edited by kaysie on June 01, 2004)

 

[joseph]

LOl

I just lost a C. orientalis like that today...only this time it was a cord intake...not an air line tube. Now a lonely(male most likely) has the tank to himself besides the fish. I've duct taped the area shut on both sides and hopefully he'll get a new mate soon(pretty sure the other was a female).

 

[TJ]

Very sorry to hear that, Joseph. Have you found it? If not, I'd certainly encourage you to keep looking as it may still be alive somewhere...

For anybody who may not have noticed it yet, here's a link to Jennewt's article on preventing escapes:

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/escape.shtml

 

[kaysie]

Joseph, I just lost one of my Ambystoma jeffersonianum... well, I didn't lose it, they were being sal-sat while I was in europe. But he's in a cold, damp basement, so with luck, we'll find him soon.

 

[john]

Look what I spotted tonight...

 

[paris]

looks like they have done the '100th monkey trick' (a collective learning phenomenon) despite being half a globe away! it really is amazing to see them do that since they are so uncoordinated on the ground, especially when it comes to ledges.

 

[nesaraj]

Thanks for the photographs and ideas everyone. I found one of my C. Orientalis today

. I found her dead but not decayed under the oven. I had noticed her trying to escape before and thought I had fixed the problem. I have now removed the filter, so there is no cord for anyone to scale. I plan on making modifications to the lid tommorow. Finally, I made the other 3 a nice large land area, and reduce the water area.

 

[joseph]

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>Tim (Tj) wrote on Wednesday, June 02, 2004 - 08:12 :</font>

""<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

Tim, this was a few weeks ago...but I found the piece of newt jerky not soon after...very depressing.

 

[ashriel]

Kaysie, you are so right! The look of "Oh!" is hilarious...literally made me laugh out loud

Sorry to hear of the fate of 'lil escapee buddies though...