Newts eggs

[adrian]

my female fire belly, yesterday laid 2 sacs of eggs. i read an artile on how to care for the eggs, but im still a bit worried about caring for them. is there anything anyone can sugggest. newts are new for me and now they are laying eggs! i really dont have the means to care for 200 new newts, would anyone be intrested in them. adrian

 

[jennifer]

What do you mean by "sacs of eggs"? That does not sound like newt eggs. Do you know which kind of firebelly they are, Cynops orientalis or Cynops pyrrhogaster? It's not likely that you will get 200.

 

[TJ]

It is fun guessing, but do post a pic of the newt in question and its eggs, if you can!

Since no species of Cynops (commonly called firebelly newts) lay eggs in sacs like some salamanders do, maybe by "firebelly" you're referring to...hmmm....Taricha torosa (California newts, which are not typically considered to be firebellies)? I heard that Taricha torasa, unlike its cousin T.granulosa, lays eggs in sacs rather than individually like Cynops. Can anybody confirm this? I'm not aware that any other newts sometimes considered to be "firebellies", including Paramesotriton (warty newts) or Pachytriton (paddletail newts), lay eggs in sacs (though I'm not sure about paddletails). Do you mean 2 individual eggs? Or 2 egg sacs, each containing multiple eggs?

Whatever they are, I'm sure you could find somebody to take them off you hands -- that is if the fungus doesn't get them first! So do keep the water they're in cool, clean and gently aerated!

 

[adrian]

ok i feel so dumb! i made the post from out of town, my roommate actually called me to let me know that the newt had laid a "sack" of eggs. upon returning i discoved that there is no "sack" more like giant "poop ball" looking eggs. there are only about 6 though about 1/4 inch big.

as far as what kind of newts mine are, i was told that they are "fire bellys". a friend no longer wanted them so i took them off of their hands. they are dirt colored with orange underside with some black spots.

so do i even have eggs, or just poop balls that im taking such good care of?

 

[TJ]

Well, in that case, they could either be Paramesotriton poopensis or Taricha pooposa

But if they are indeed eggs, I'd wouldn't think they'd be mistaken for...poop balls.
Anyway, a picture is worth a thousand words so here are some Cynops eggs for comparison:

In summary, if they're eggs, they're probably attached to something (plants, plastic strips), but if they're poop balls, they're probably free-floating (on the floor of the tank actually) and you need't "poop" yourself out caring for them ;P

 

[ralf]

Hi Adrian,
I enclosed a picture of egg-clusters of Taricha torosa (marked by arrows). Do your egg-sacs look like this?

I apologize for the quality of the pic, which was hastily taken several years ago.
Another guess would be Paramesotriton, which also doesn't deposit "sacs" but occasionally lays eggs in "close rows". I am not aware of any Hynobiid species with an orange underside.
Are you sure it is a newt at all and not a so-called fire-bellied toad (Bombina)?

Ralf

 

[adrian]

ok the supposed eggs in my tank, definatley look like the pictutes. black little balls attached to the plants in the tank.

i looked around for what kind of newt i have and all i can come up with is a fire belly. but if i look at pictues on this site, its not what i have. so me and my mystery newts, will contiue doing what we are doing. and currently they are eatting and laying eggs pretty good.

 

[jennewt]

Adrian, go read the "Articles" section at:
www.caudata.org/caudatecentral
You will find an article about how to identify different kinds of "firebelly" newts (there are several kinds that get called this). Also, there are articles on raising the babies if you want to try.