Is this little fella an alpine newt?

deedee71 said:
auli and china dog, lol I told him both your replies and he said, "what's wrong with digging them up in the garden?". hmm..... don't think I am going to win this argument.

well, the worms have arrived and they are in the garden in the bag they came in until I can find an innocent container that wont attract my husbands curiosity... auli, in the critter keeper do they get too moist without drainage?


anyway, the good news is, my newt ate the half a worm I offered him/her. cool xx
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Unless your garden is completely pest-free, parasite-free, fertilizer-free AND pesticide-free, it's probably not a good idea to dig up random worms in the garden...
 
And yet that's what many people do, including me, seemingly without issues. I do know that my garden is fertiliser and pesticide free, but as for parasites or pests I don't know. The Daphnia, Mosqueto larvae and sweepings of insects from the garden carry the same risks. I also buy live Dendrobaena worms for the newts I have that will eat them (some won't, hence the need to dig nightcrawlers), again with no guarantee they are 100% safe in every way.
I try to give my newts the most varied and complete diet possible which can only be a good thing, especially for growing juveniles and although pellets should be 100% safe, not all newts will recognise them as food no matter how hungry they are. Irradiated frozen foods should also be safe but there are risks with those as well. The way newts relish frozen bloodworms over almost anything else along with the convenience factor means there is the temptation to feed them as a staple, when really they are best used sparingly because their low calcium content can lead to nutritional problems like metabolic bone disease. To make matters worse it can be very difficult to wean them off the bloodworms and onto other, healthier diets. I'm not disagreeing with you at all, just saying that for me, the benefits out weigh the risks.
 
"in the critter keeper do they get too moist without drainage?"

I don't know yet if there'll be problems, I've kept them only for about two weeks now. I read the instructions about culturing worms here on caudata and other sites + a book, and there are these systems where you put the drainage bucket under the worm bucket, which has small holes to let the "worm juice" come out. But I had this box empty so I chose it. I put some egg carton pieces as a bottom and then the other stuff. I moist it only when it seems a bit dry.

I, too, dig most worms from garden and bought some Hikari pellets to feed as staple for winter time, when I hope we get such weather ground isn't digable ;) But the pellets weren't accepted as well as I hoped so I started the culture in hope to get something reasonable to feed. I've also put some slugs in the freezer...
 
He, he, buckets of "worm juice" and slugs in the freezer, it sounds a lot like our house!
I bet frozen slugs look a lot like frozen mushrooms, be careful if you make a pizza! 8)
 
Well, I've sometimes joked with kids "maybe we can eat these" - got a strong No! as an answer :) My husband doesn't eat pizza or mushrooms, now I understand why :D
 
lol that has put me right off frozen mushrooms lol, resembling slugs yuk!
 
Chinadog said:
And yet that's what many people do, including me, seemingly without issues. I do know that my garden is fertiliser and pesticide free, but as for parasites or pests I don't know.
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In some areas where people live, that's hard to come by :p
Pests and parasites can be quarantined, but if a farm near your house is routinely dusted, or is in an semi-urban area where the local authority runs pesticide spraying vans.... which is why I would never collect anything near my home.

In fact, failing to close the windows during the spray routine causes whole dead tanks in many homes during summer in my city...
 
I don't doubt that at all, I was forgetting that a garden means different things to different people depending on whereabouts in the world they are. If that kind of thing happened around here I certainly wouldn't use anything from outside as food for my pets, or me for that matter. I still say that collecting stuff from outside is a great way to feed amphibians, sure, its always a gamble, but if the odds are stacked in your favour its definitely worth thinking about.
 
Well pet shop rang me today. Got another newt. Great, got company for my alpine. Goes to the pet shop which must be 20 mile round trip. Gets little darling home. Put new guy/gal on cork bark with the existing newt.

WRONG!!!! New one is half the size of my alpine. The alpine had her snout dangerously close to the new newts torso. The little one had its hand on top of her snout so I immediately took new one out.

On closer inspection, new one has black on the orangey red tummy. So the new one is either orientalis or jap fire belly.

Rang pet shop. They said same species as fire belly ... Grrrrrr

Anyway now I have to make a decision on which species to return. I am devastated. I adore my critters and can't bear to part with any of them. I always wanted the orientalis and was sold an alpine. The alpine is healthy and such a pig, er, I mean good eater and her belly is nice and fat.

I will try and feed this little one tonight. Which would you guys return? D
I am sure I heard a loud shrill sound earlier when they were seperated, but since I have been listening they haven't done it again. Is it normal for newts to make a call for help?
 
Yep, that's the pet trade for you.
If I were you I would keep the alpine and keep an eye out on here for some captive bred buddies for it. Alpines are a really good species to learn the ropes with, they are easy to keep and fun to breed and raise. My friend has been keeping newts for a long time and has kept the rarest and most exotic species, but he told me Alpines are his Favourite newts of all!
 
Thanks china dog. I will keep my eyes peeled on here. Can it be any alpine or the same as mine? Mine has hardly any spots, just in her dorsal really so it must be the species l. Alpine x
 
I don't see a reason why you can't keep both, just put them in different enclosures
 
deedee71 said:
Thanks china dog. I will keep my eyes peeled on here. Can it be any alpine or the same as mine? Mine has hardly any spots, just in her dorsal really so it must be the species l. Alpine x
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Ideally you should get more of the same subspecies, but it can be hard to tell them apart without knowing where they originated from. Does she have any spots or speckles under her chin?
 
I'd keep the alpine, they are so beautiful (seen them only in pic). Well, fire bellies are great, too �� but maybe it could be a good lesson to the store that they have to know which species they are selling and if not, clients will not accept everything as "it's all the same".
 
You are that alpine newts mama now, and you should do whats best for it. It is a beautiful looking newt, and IMO much more entertaining to watch then H. orientalis. If you want to keep the firebelly, set up a new home for it.

Personally I think, based on everything I've read in this thread, that pet shop is run by monkeys or idiots. You live in a country with a very large population of newt/salamander keepers and breeders. When properly packaged, newts are very safe to ship in the post. Find out the subspecies, and find him a friend. Good luck!
 
Once again, I see no reason why you have to return one. Can't you set-up two different tanks?
 
AuSu said:
I'd keep the alpine, they are so beautiful (seen them only in pic). Well, fire bellies are great, too �� but maybe it could be a good lesson to the store that they have to know which species they are selling and if not, clients will not accept everything as "it's all the same".
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It changed the smiley into two questionmarks!!! Firebellies are great without question ;) Still, I'd keep the first come newt.
 
Hi Sith, I really have no room for another species. I wanted to concentrate on one type of newt and looked forward to the possibility of raising their young. I haven't room for two tanks plus small aquariums for the newtlets. I live in a one bedroom mobile home and already have a zoo in here. I would love lots of different newts and believe me I am constantly thinking how I could make room for another tank lol :)

Methos5k, aww I like the way that sounds, I'm a mummy :) :)

China dog, she has hardly any dots, just along where the black on her sides meets the orange tummy. And on tail. None on throat or chin. Speckles on her back on the charcoal grey x pictures on page one as I am on my ipad and can't remember how to post pics. Doh x
 
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