Hi, new here.

[joan]

It depends on the species. I've got salamanders that get daily maintainance, salamanders that get monthly maintainance (aside from food), newts who get no maintainance (aside from food), and newts who get weekly maintainance.

It's hard to lump the general term "newts" or "salamanders" into an easy-to-care-for or not-easy-to-care-for catagory. All species are different. Remember, they're all caudates.

 

[al]

Firebelly's are a good first newt, but I'm partial to the Spanish Ribbed newts. What they lack in color, they make up for it in size and personality. They are very hearty and grow pretty large. They tend to less frightened then my "Fire belly" species. The problem with firebelly captive bred (babies), is they can be tough to get them through the first year or two until they get some size on them. Pleurodels (Spanish Ribbed) newts are a larger body newt and the babies are big enough and can handle larger food choices. I say this, because I have know kids your age keep them and have success with them. There will probably be some Spanish Ribbed newts available this spring (captive bred). This will give you time to set up a tank and cycle it. If the excitement does not where off by the Spring, then you are hooked and will probably be keeping herps as an adult.
Like most pets, the newness can where off. Newts are not that interactive and you should not handle them frequently. The setups can be decorative and add a sense of "coolness" to your room. My son (eleven) has a turtle and he gets into some of the tank art sculptures (dragons/skulls). I would use fake plants and keep your set up nice looking, but easily manageable. Live plants are great, but a lot of work and can spoil your tank easily. You live in an area that has better temperatures. You said you have a basement...that is a perfect place (if it is unheated) for any caudate. BTW, ghost shrimp are very cool and almost as interesting as the newts! Sorry to sound like a parent...I guess I am

Hope your enthusiasm sticks and we continue to see you around.

 

[diego]

Al, were will these Spanish Ribbed newts become available? I don't think the newness will wear off...but I never like to get a pet as soon as I see it and think is cool because I did that one and I got bored of it and had to give it away

well the SPs seem really cool...I kind of like the more natural type setups so colorfull ness isn't a huge deal. I really want plants though I mean,why are the plants so hard to take care of?

 

[jeff]

The pleuros are not going to be easy for you to locate unfortunetly, you will just have to wait and see what is posted in the wanted section.

 

[al]

Live plants sometimes require a lot of care and you have to get the right ones. There are some natural looking fake ones that will make your setup look just as good.
I don't know of other breeders of Pleurodeles, I usually have eggs every year, but did not this past year. I'm hoping for some this spring.
With every species, availability will vary.
If you are patient, you will come across one of your top 3 choices.

 

[diego]

oh, so you're breeding them...that's cool...so Al I'm a bit scared with the ribs puncturing the skin as a defence mechanism has this ever happened to you?

 

[ali]

Hi again Diego. I can say from experience that newts in general are not "easy" to care for (like a cat or dog) and live plants can be pretty tedious too. I only been keeping newts for several months now and I've run into many problems.
1. Although cynops orientalis are by far the most common, I haven't found them the easiest to care for. I spent a very long time preparing to bring my newts home. When the day came for me to go pick them out, I picked out one nice plump one, and two babies (because they were so cute). Well, they were cute. However, I spent many, many hours trying to save their lives. Unfortunately, disease had already sunk in and I didn't even know it. I did my best, and still had to watch them suffer and die.
2. Even with live food, getting your newts to understand your method of feeding will probably not be an easy tank.
3. Live plants are better, in my opinion, but I had entirely too much time on my hands, which is the only reason my poor plants are still alive. I'd recommend seeing if Mom has any houseplants that she thinks will grow in water and trying those. My petsmart plants are long gone, except for one. They require lots of pruning until you finally get them growing good.

Sorry for the long post, but you seem pretty interested so I thought I'd share a few more things with you. Good luck!

 

[al]

Ali makes some good points, but like I said in my previous posts, I would not start out with live plants, and focus on the newts. I would have to agree that Cynops (Firbelly) newts are not the easiest initially. Once they get to be established adults, they are okay.

The ribs of the Pleurodele newts will not poke out unless you grab it very roughly. They are very docile, love to eat, and hang around in the tank. Ali, I think you missed the earlier comments about buying captive bred and avoiding the pet shop. There should be less of a chance the newt getting sick and dying with CB species. Firebellys do better with fresh/live foods. Spanish ribbed newts eat anything. I feed mine soft sinking salmon pellets (for Axolotls). I supplement this with live black worms, and occasional beef heart or earth worms.
When the babies first loose their gills, and are juvenile newts, they are 3-4 inchs long and eating pellet food and black worms. They will have less issues and not be as stressed out if in a pet store. I truly think the Spanish ribbed newt bred in captivity is one of the best species for any new keeper.

 

[diego]

nice! thanks guys it's good to know might get one of the best newt species you've been a lot of help!

Thanks
-Diego

 

[paris]

i am up to my nose in p waltl larvae right now -they wont be ready for about 6 months though. if you are willing to wait till late spring i should be able to get you some.

 

[joseph]

I'll go against the general flow and say I've found live plants pretty easy to keep. The only problem is getting the right ones. Most I've bought from petstores have keeled over on me. With a newt tank your choices are pretty limited esp. if you want to keep it easy. Java moss and java fern are pretty much foolproof plants. I have java moss in all my tanks and containers....great stuff. Elodea is pretty hardy for me but all the Elodea I bought from the petstores died. I eventually got some from a friend who owned a pond and these came to me fresh and healthy and did very well in my tanks/pond. They prefer more light though.

Never kept waltl but I think based on my exp. w Cynops orientalis versus Triturus karelinii that raising Cynops can be hard, for one years effort so far only one morph has survived till this time. Triturus karelinii on the other hand from 10 larvae I grew 10 morphs and over the course of the months only lost 2...by escape

.

Good luck and hopefully you'll have some of your own before long.

(Message edited by fishkeeper on December 15, 2005)

 

[diego]

cool so I guess I just hve to get the right plants!

 

[ali]

Diego, agreeing with Al, maybe you should go with some fake plants. I know they don't look so great at first, but the silk ones look really nice under water. If you REALLY want live plants, like I said, I'd see if Mom has any houseplants that she thinks will do well in water. Look for something with a nice big leaf so that if it starts dying you'll be able to pull it out. All of those that you buy in pet shops have tiny little leaves and such so you won't know it's dying until it's a real mess. My anacharis did that. yuck.