H. Orientalis Efts: Pictures and Questions

[Kribby]

It has been a bit since I updated the photos on my little brats and I was just wondering if anyone can comment on the growth rate of these guys. I know it is about 2 years until they are aquatic, but I am always concerned about providing sufficient food for them. To me they look nice and plump, but I wouldn't mind second opinions.

The gang during feeding

I'm walkin' yes indeed

Working on that belly colour

Lemme go!

 

[Azhael]

They look perfectly healthy. There can be huge differences in growth rate among siblings. I´ve had some juveniles reach subadulthood/adulthood in a year, while others do take 3. Even with the same diet and the same environment, some grow fast and others don´t seem to grow at all for months.
Keep up the good work, and be patient, they all eventually reach a point where growth is faster (for me that point is when they are around 5cm long). You may want to consider keeping them more aquatic, perhaps even fully aquatic. Some people (myself included) have had great results that way and growth seems to be faster. I was terrified of that method in the past, but it does work nicely (from now on i´m raising them all aquatic).

 

[Kribby]

Thank you for the suggestion Rodrigo, I am going to talk it over with Andrea and see if we can set up an aquatic setup in the appartment. We are a little short on space right now so they may be kept terrestrial for a bit longer.

In the mean time.... begging newts!

 

[AngieD]

Great pictures! I can't wait for taddy to crawl out of the water, but I'm nervous about it too.