Going aquatic! How can I do this???

[felipe]

How can I make my Triturus cristatus go to the water!??? I know that they prefer to live in land, but in the water, they are much more beutiful, active and easy to feed! One of the 4 is aquatic, but three of them refuse to go under the water!!! How can I turn them aquatic?? I need suggestions!! PleasE! Thanks!!!

 

[jeff]

Felipe,

This is advice I gave to someone else who contacted me privately. It should hold true for your cristatus. It's the method I used to get my marmoratus to go aquatic:

First, make sure your newts have been well fed beforehand, as they won't want to eat during the transition phase (unless you pull them out of the water to feed them on land). Start with 1/4" of water for the first 4-5 days. Add another 1/4" of water after that. Keep them at 1/2" of water until they look like they're taking to the water. If they're still floating on the surface after 7-10 days they may not want to go aquatic. Hope this helps.

 

[terry]

Hello Felipe,

Jeff has already suggested one method to induce them to go aquatic. For me, I persuaded them to go into the water my mimicking the right conditions for them to go aquatic themselves.

My method followed the seasonal change as I like to get them into the water naturally and not force them. The temperatures at the time I moved them to a semi aquatic tank was 18ºC And the newts had a land area of floating cork bark and a water depth of 15 CM. The first to go in were the males and I added the females 2 days later. As they slowly get accustomed to the water I gradually increase the water level to 20 CM. The ones that do not enter the water willingly are not ready for an aquatic phase but do not loose hope. If temperatures are high, they may not enter the water at all. Temperatures above 20-25ºC may cause some adults to crawl back on land.

 

[felipe]

My triturus are all adults! I keep them in a tank with 1/4 of dry land and 3/4 of water... I think the temperatures here are too high!! If I can low the temperature they will turn aquatic???

 

[terry]

There is no guarantee since temperatures in Brazil can be high for newts. If you have Air conditioning you could try that! Or place them in a cool room. Even for me I placed them in a room without heating ( Because it is pretty cold over here) and let the natural temperatures do the trick). Remember if it gets too warm they will not always feel the need to go into the water. They will just aestivate/ rest on land when the weather is too warm.

 

[billie]

Is it wise to force a newt into being a swimmer? The person that sold me my marbled morph said that it could take up to three years or maybe never for it to take to the water?

I put a shallow bowl in my terrestrial set up a couple of days ago and yesterday I caught my newt sitting on a semi submerged rock in the bowl. Least I know he's not completely apposed to the whole idea.

My approch was going to be to wait if he starts spending alot of time in the bowl and if he does, start to make my set up semi aquatic. I don't know anyone with newts, this is my only life line as it is. This and a small book that talks alot more about salamanders than newts.

 

[jennifer]

Hi Billie, T. marmoratus are pretty adaptable. Some people keep them semi-aquatic all year, though they do stay mostly on land in summer, if land is available. When they are mature, they will take to the water in fall or winter, if they are being kept in conditions that would trigger them to breed. The only case in which it would "never" take to water is if it were kept under constant temperature all year and never went into a breeding cycle.

Your approach sounds good. If it shows an inclination to be in the water, give it increasing amounts of water. Once it reaches adulthood, it should be possible to keep it semiaquatically.