C.orientalis and N.v.viridescens

[andrea]

I've had 2 c.orientalis efts for quite some time living in harmony. One of them recently passed away. When at my local pet store (trusted, very good and knowledgable about their herps), I spotted a n.v.viridescens eft. I decided to pick one up because it was the first time I had seen one. My survivng c.orientalis is a female and just a bit larger, while the n.v.v is a small male. Would it be fine to house these two toghther? I have them together now and they both seem to be basically ignoring each other. My c.orientalis loves her little palm plant, and I have a feeling that even if he decides to go up there, she wont bother him at all, she's very doicle, the only agression I've ever seen her do was against a cricket! I have pictures of both of them now thanks to my new camera:

I'm going to keep my eye on them today to see how they function. Not much else to do during a hurricane...

 

[andrea]

Well, they seem to be enjoying eachother's company. See for yourself!:

Houdini, the N.V.V has his tail resting on Spot, my C.O.

 

[kaysie]

They'll be fine until the N.v.v. poisons your C.o. Do you realize the toxicity of Noto efts? They're deadly-toxic.

it is NOT recommended that you house these two together, and for EVERYONE's safety, I would separate them immediately.

 

[andrea]

Unfortunately, I'm in the middle of a hurricane right now, so I can't go and get a critter keeper for him at the moment, and I have no other way to seperate them at the moment. This is my first experience with north american newts, i've always had pacific area newts. How long do I have to seperate them? I'm not sure what the damage will be in my area so I don't know if I'll be able to get out. They seem to be staying pretty far away from each other at the moment, and my c.o. is doing well. Thanks for the warning, I wasn't aware of the eft toxicity. Question: How long is the eft stage, and would it be alright to reintroduce them once the n.v.v reaches adult hood and it's toxicity goes down?

 

[kaysie]

You have to separate them for ever. They cannot live together. Both animals are quite toxic (read http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/toxin.shtml and http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/newt_toxins.shtml) and should not be kept near other animals or children. They could be deadly! You should never mix species anyway (http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/Mixing_disasters.shtml). I wouldn't go putting a brand new animal into a pre-established setup, as the new animal (ESPECIALLY petshop animals) have parasites and foreign pathogens.