I found a redback too!

[dawn]

I was cleaning up in the yard a little and this cup that got blown in had water, and a redback in it! So I took a few pix and then put it back.
A lot of pix, I know, but hey, it's my day off.
I've never seen such a large redback though! it is FAT! I'm just assuming maybe it's a female with eggs in it? Look at the pictures I took from underneath, all the colors on the belly! Do you think that's the skin, or are we seeing internal stuff? Cameron and Ryan will probably know these things so I'll count on you guys to post the answers (or anyone else, of course!)

 

[ryan]

It could be eggs. Its breeding season right now for this species.

 

[emmanouela]

I know very little about newts, but in the third pic it seems like it's full of eggs! It would very nice to be so!

 

[john]

Definitely a gravid female. Good pics to show the eggs.

 

[cameron]

I found a female yesterday under a huge rock too. I guess this is their favorite time of year.
I think it is definately gravid. Awesome find Dawn!

 

[dawn]

Two days later and she's still in that little cup. Maybe I'll put a couple blackworms in there for her to eat!

 

[dawn]

In fact, here she is in her little cup back where I found her.
Other signs of spring: my yearling cat, Twinkie, brought home
his first garter snake of the season, and also had his first garter snake of
the season taken away, along with getting a little lecture for his trouble.

See her little head peeping out of the cup?
But I wonder why she's staying in that cup, full of water. Is she going to lay her eggs in there?

 

[ryan]

I'm surprised that she is staying in the water like that, you don't usually find this species in water, usually just in moist places.

She won't lay her eggs in the cup because they don't lay their eggs in water, they lay them in moist places.

 

[cameron]

Maybe the area around her is to dry.

 

[dawn]

Under that rock in the foreground of the picture, I have found redbacks in the past: right outside my backdoor there! I loosened it a bit so she can go under and lay her eggs when she's ready. It seems pretty moist underneath and there were some bugs and earthworms. I took some teensy earthworms from nearby and fed it to my Tylos today, they were out of worms at the petstore. Spring is here!

 

[cameron]

She'll probably move under the rock soon. I wonder how it's doing in that cup. As for Spring...the pollen is killing me!

 

[dawn]

Well, she's out of the cup. I'm not going to move the rock to check on her because I don't want to disturb her. Do you think she'll be laying them very soon? How long after she lays eggs do they hatch, do you know? And, she ate the little blackworms I left her in the cup!

 

[cameron]

I'm not sure when she'll lay or how long until the eggs hatch but she may burrow into the ground to lay them.

 

[cameron]

After doing a little research I have concluded that the females of Plethodon cinerus will go underground or a rotten log and make a chamber. They can lay up to 14 eggs which stick to the top of the chamber and hang down like a clutch of grapes and she gaurds them. Eggs usually laid in late spring to early summer.

 

[cameron]

After a little more research I have concluded that the eggs hatch about six weeks after being laid.

 

[dawn]

wow, you couldn't resist! Thanks!