Land areas for CFB

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I want to, but there was an ad a month or so ago with someone looking for H. orientalis, and nobody replied at all.

He may be doomed to live the life of a bachelor.

 

[Chinadog]

Newts aren't really social creatures, he won't mind being on his own one bit.
It's true that H. orientalis can be kept in groups, unlike some species that are territorial and aggressive to one another, but it makes no difference to their well being at all.
If you put up a wanted add and bump it to the top every month or so you'll find more newts available in the end, it might just take a while.

 

[Asevernnnn]

Theres a chance that I might put some for sale once they morph, since the adult tank is crawling with larvae and they're still laying and I have no idea what I'm going to do with them later lol

 

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I definitely be interested if you decided to. I have a ten gallon tank, so I'd only be able to take one more for them to be comfortable. Maybe one day in the future I can expand into a larger tank, but for now I think 10 gallons is my limit. I don't know if selling just one would be worth it for you.

I'd like to have a male and a female (I'm pretty sure I've got a male now), mostly so that I could have an example of each. The only downside is if they bred, but I know that there have to be pretty specific conditions, and while I'm doing my best, I doubt I'll ever be that good of a newt keeper.

 

[Azhael]

The thing is, unless Aaron is a masochist, he'll be selling his CB offspring as small juveniles, which means they are unsexable and also means that they will probably be mostly terrestrial and require tiny live foods until they learn to eat from tweezers. They are not the easiest newts to raise given their tiny size at metamorphosis and their tendency to be terrestrial until they reach a certain size. If you have no previous experience with tiny juveniles, it can be a challenge. They can take from 1 to 3 years to reach maturity, but usually in captivity you can get them to grow enough to become fully aquatic and competent at swimming within the first 1-2 years.

As for breeding, they don't really require any special conditions....this species will breed readily as long as their basic requirements are met. Essentially, as long as you are keeping them in adequate conditions, which is easy and which obviously you should do anyway, they are very likely to breed, and breed a lot...

 

[Chinadog]

Don't be daft! The way to become a good keeper of any animal that's new to you is listen to advice from the seasoned members on here and read everything you can find on the species you have.
You obviously care about your newt and from what I can see, you've taken on board the advice are doing your best to provide it with the correct environment.
Being a competent keeper will come as you gain experience pick up more knowledge over time. You can't run before you can walk, but I think you're doing fine at the moment!

 

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I totally knew they would be terrestrial after morphing. I just had a mild brain fart.

I think trying to raise juveniles would be an interesting challenge, but if they are better off going to someone who knows what they are doing then that is what should probably happen. I certainly wouldn't want to have them suffer just because I'm learning. (Although, I suppose that everyone is learning as some point.)

Maybe someone will come along that is looking to rehome some of their adults.


I've also considered simply getting another species of salamander in the near future. Something terrestrial so water quality isn't such a huge factor. Possibly a tiger. But the issue there, again, is locating an animal.

 

[Chinadog]

I would say don't give up on the fire bellies. After a point your water will look after its self when the tank stabilises and the plants get hold. I keep Japanese fire bellies in a well planted tank and I never have to worry about water quality, I test it from time to time, but even the nitrate level never registers on the chart and it's all down to the plants constantly sucking it up as they grow.
These kinds of aquatic newts are about the easiest to look after. Get them on a mostly earthworm or high quality pellet diet, give them clean, plant choked water, keep them cool and they will live long happy lives.
The good thing about aquatic newts is there always seems to be something entertaining happening in their tank, whereas terrestrial species can often stay out of sight for days or even weeks on end.