Newt aphrodisiacs

[dawn]

I was thinking about Elektra and her new-found love of slugs, and about what Chip said about his newts laying eggs after eating slugs. I was wondering if there is such a thing as a dietary cue for breeding (in addition to temperature and light and current, that seem to be issues). Maybe when certain foods become available in the environment that might also induce breeding? Especially from the female's standpoint, that somehow it might tell her there would be things for her larvae to eat. Maybe when people say their newts have laid eggs and everybody else asks how they did it, they should also say what they feed their newts that laid?
Or have I been drinking too much diet soda and thinking weird thoughts again?

 

[foster]

That is an interesting line of thought Dawn. As you stated I think that temperature fluctuations associated with normal seasonal changes are what cue wild amphibians (and probably most other wild animals for that matter) in on it being time to breed. Perhaps the availability of a greater food supply adds to this. I would be curious to know if anyone has ever researched this topic. I may be wrong but I doubt that females are giving any "thought" to having a food supply for the larvae. Also, as I stated in the post that you are referring to I doubt that the slug diet was a trigger for the kweichows breeding. I have fed them slugs as part of a varied diet over the years anyway.
Chip

 

[dawn]

Well, I didn't mean that they consciously think about the food supply, or any of the other cues; just that something motivates their instinct. Also Kaysie mentioned in the thread "Captivity Poll" going on now that her males are interested and not the females. I'm just trying to think of anything that might make them want to breed, it's worth a try, eh? I've read posts that people's newts finally breed after having waited for years, or they've only bred a few times over the years; what can it be, that secret ingredient that finally encourages them?

 

[foster]

"I've read posts that people's newts finally breed after having waited for years, or they've only bred a few times over the years; what can it be"

Last year at IAD Ed K. and I were having a conversation in which I was mentioning my frustration over not having any of my Tylototriton groups show any signs of breeding activity. He said that often times it may take at least three years for WC animals to become conditioned in captivity. Who knows what the secret ingredient is but I suspect that it is combination of factors, with that combination being different for different species. It certainly would be nice if there was a natural "spanish fly" type of food that would encourage difficult species to breed. Also, sorry if I came across sounding sarcastic with the "thought" comment. I did not read your post clearly enough before responding and lately on this list there has been a lot of anthropomorphic references to newts.
Chip

 

[jennifer]

It's an interesting idea that feeding might trigger reproduction. There is certainly a correlation between newts being well-fed and reproduction. The magic foods that seem to have induced breeding for quite a few people are earthworms and blackworms, which both have plenty of fat content. I wonder if maybe richer food promotes breeding? I doubt it it's a trigger for breeding all by itself, but it may be one contributing factor.

 

[foster]

Another example would be waxworms, which are well known to be a favored food by insect eating herps in general (caudates included from my experience). Also, I cannot remember the specifics off the top of my head but I remember reading an article about how Plethodon cinereus (I hope that is spelled correctly, no time to check) will prefer termites over ants and actually stake out and defend termite "territories". Dawn, if you are a college student majoring in biology I think that you may have a good research project here.
Chip

 

[kaysie]

If you guys do find a food that gets girls in the mood, I will pay money for your secrets!!

 

[dawn]

HI Chip,
I'm in the same profession you are! Except before that I was a professional student and I hope I never see the inside of a classroom again. But when some of my newts get bigger I can try my theory out.

 

[dawn]

HI Kaysie, I was thinking of your post too when I was thinking about the triggers, as you mentioned your males were ready and your females weren't. Especially since I hope to get a few Tarichas someday and try really hard to breed them too. Do your Tarichas like slugs? That's going to be my first experiment but you're welcome to try it first.

 

[brian]

Try a couple of beers and an Ennio Morricone CD?

(just kidding of course...had some tackier ideas, but it's a family forum) How about doubling the food offerings for a while, in either volume or frequency, to mimic the increase of food supply available in spring?

 

[brian]

Oh, and Dawn, Tarichas do like slugs. I had some rivularis many years ago, and when they went off eating earthworms, slugs would always get them eating...

 

[mark]

It’s an interesting theory. There have been a number of studies on the seasonal variation of caudate feeding. The season determines the type of prey available and the weather determines where some caudates choose to look for prey. Some plethodontids have been shown to have a preference for larger prey items with increased precipitation – they tackle larger prey the more it rains

. Damp conditions also encourage some salamanders to climb vegetation where they can feed on prey they can't find on the ground. Because prey items are seasonal there probably is a food some salamanders can identify with the breeding season. I doubt if it could be used as a trigger but someone should get experimenting…

 

[foster]

Sorry Dawn but for some reason I was thinking that you were just starting college. My mistake.
Chip

 

[dawn]

Nothing to apologize for! It shows you're not as nosy as I am, checking people's profiles when I'm curious.