granulosa keepers in the uk ?

[spoons]

these are pretty much my favourite newt ! i just wish you could actually get them in the uk , i had one female for over 20 years , she died today , but i found one more last year ... its taken 15 years to find another one , i walked into my usual shop, and the guy just brought it out with a big smile , like "this is for you , will you stop bugging me now ?"
does anybody else in the uk have any T.granulosa ? i only have one female and they seem to be rare as hens teeth in northern england !

 

[louise]

I have 4 young ones.

 

[rigsby]

Dartfrog has Torosa but you never know.

 

[spoons]

i just got two torosa from pollywog ! made up !

 

[uwe]

How you know they are torosa?

Uwe

 

[spoons]

mainly because their eyes are much bigger and stick out past the outer profile of their heads and they have yellow eyelids , they're also much larger than the adult granulosa i have in the same tank , and the adult granulosa i had for 22 years before it died two years ago ... i'm 99 % sure they're Torosa ... they're easier to tell apart when you actually have the two together at once

 

[uwe]

sorry spoons to tell you, that are not the criteria to tell this two species apart. The animals vary too much inside the species to differntiate the two just by the eye-lids etc.

I know both species also in comparison and the adults are not to differnetiate by look. Only in defense posture and in the way they deposite their eggs.

What do you mean by "i have in the same tank". Do you keep them together? If yes, this does not make any sense as they may interbreed.

Uwe

 

[spoons]

I know all this Uwe ... I'll post some pics later today when I get time to take them. The two Torosa have been exhibiting amplexus so hopefully I'll find some egg clusters soon to solidify my identification ... also T. Granulosa are very hard to come by in the uk. I got the Torosa from Pollywog , both they and dartfrog had T.Torosa in stock , and as the only reputable amphibian retailers in the UK that I know of , I would presume they're right , and obtained them at the same time , probably from Europe .
I should add ... I do hope I'm wrong and they are Granulosa , but when you see the pictures I'm sure you will agree , they may interbreed yes , and when I'm completely certain they are different species I will seperate them . Although the Granulosa is happy totally aquatic and the other two are spending most of their time on land
I also have no intention of stressing my much loved specimens into exhibiting the unken reflex , I much prefer them to be totally unafraid of me , and I like hand feeding them !
I've kept Tarichas , for over 25 years now ... I know a little more than you may think about them dude . But one thing is for sure , they are difficult to differentiate between the species , much like asian warty newts , which I am going to need some help with later today !

 

[spoons]

I have 4 young ones.

thats amazing louise ! where did you find them ? if you manage to breed them let me know !

 

[uwe]

Hi,

I am surprised that it is hard to get hands on T.granulosa as this is the species sold by the pet trade, even when they call them torosa.

The only way to get torosa is a getting animals from the sites in California, which is possible (in smal quantities) with permit. This is the way that there are animals with known point of Orogin in Germany.

The animals in the Pet Trade are wildcaught animals from the Upper West Coast where legislation is/was not so strict.

"I also have no intention of stressing my much loved specimens into exhibiting the unken reflex , I much prefer them to be totally unafraid of me , and I like hand feeding them !"
For the sake of knowing onceandforall instaed of speculating this would be worth it.

BTW if you would like to have granulosa, I think I have posted every year for more than 10 years offspring of my T.granulosa.

See you

Uwe

 

[spoons]

is it easy to ship them from germany ? i would definately love to get more granulosa !... it is odd that they dont come in to the uk often , i think it may be because they are not as "pretty" as cynops and phyrrogaster species and probably not as cheap to import to the average aquarium or reptile shop .
i'm taking photo's as we speak .. from one taricha guy to another your input is much appreciated ! see what you think in the pics in an hour or so

 

[spoons]

actually you might have to wait a few days for photo's ... my camera wont work .....

 

[uwe]

no problem.

normally I have every year off-spring of granulosa and its no problem bring them to the UK.

Prices are reasonable.

See you

Uwe

 

[spoons]

that is AMAZING news thanks uwe! pm me when it happens for you this year

 

[uwe]

i just got two torosa from pollywog ! made up !

As pollywog is here in the forum - as i learned yesterday - he may clarify the species. Wouldn´t that not be the best way spoons? Just ask him.

Uwe

 

[pollywog]

Here's a photograph of the animals in question: http://www.pollywog.co.uk/images/gallery/taricha_torosa.JPG
I took them to be torosa but I may be wrong (wouldn't be the first time).

I haven't frequented these forums for a few years now - only logged in the other day as someone notified me about a particular thread. So sorry if my replies in this topic are quite slow.

 

[spoons]

thanks Andrew! that is a much better photo than i have managed so far ! they are doing very well by the way ! beautiful creatures

 

[uwe]

Nice picture.

As there is no place of origin stated, I assume it is T.granulosa.

As said before just provoke the Unken-reflex by tapping on the dorsum to end speculations.

Uwe