Ommatotriton ophryticus - juvenile male mortality

[Methos5K]

A couple of years ago, I obtained a CB group of this species from a fellow member. There were originally 7; three males and four females. I kept them purely terrestrial on soil mix, leaf litter, cork bark and mosses. One side was misted periodically with treated water; whilst the other side remained quite dry. They were primarily fed minced Canadian night crawlers; with an occasional pile of live blackworms on a moistened paper towel. They were kept between 63-69F.

After about a year under my care; all the males of the group died nearly all together. Nothing had changed up to that point; and for the next two years the females of this group have continued to thrive. They do hide a lot, but are quite bold during feeding times.

I have the opportunity to purchase a handful more of this species, in hopes of possibly getting another male. If anyone has any first hand experience with this I'd love to hear from you.

 

[mr cyclone]

P

A couple of years ago, I obtained a CB group of this species from a fellow member. There were originally 7; three males and four females. I kept them purely terrestrial on soil mix, leaf litter, cork bark and mosses. One side was misted periodically with treated water; whilst the other side remained quite dry. They were primarily fed minced Canadian night crawlers; with an occasional pile of live blackworms on a moistened paper towel. They were kept between 63-69F.

After about a year under my care; all the males of the group died nearly all together. Nothing had changed up to that point; and for the next two years the females of this group have continued to thrive. They do hide a lot, but are quite bold during feeding times.

I have the opportunity to purchase a handful more of this species, in hopes of possibly getting another male. If anyone has any first hand experience with this I'd love to hear from you.

Perhaps keep the males separate from the females . I know from experience that males tend to be prone to rickets so calcium supplement is important. I would recommend a diet rich In calcium such as woodlice and gut loaded dusted crickets etc. if your breeding them I think it’s wise to remove the males half way through the breeding season and allow them to go terrestrial. They put so much into the breeding and growing that beautiful crest it really takes it out of them and tend to not do so well if left in for the whole mating season. I’d be interested in other peoples experiences with them. Ken Haines is the master with this species,I’m not sure if he is in this forum or not .
I always tried to keep the efts dry with a water bowl and they fed well on springtails, pea aphids ,woodlice and crickets. They were quite shy and not the most interesting to raise but their beauty is truest spectacular. I had a lot of difficulty raising them initially, hope this helps
Cheers

 

[michael]

I think minced nightcrawlers are not the best food for such a tiny species. Forest floor seeded with dwarf isopods, fruit flies, white worms, and springtails worked for me. When I fed them earthworms I fed them chopped small earthworms. The worms the newts didn't eat were eaten by the isopods, springtails, and white worms. Ommatatriton efts grow slow and need lots of small food to eat. In many species of salamanders females tend to outcompete males for food. With a set up well seeded with small food they should be o.k. together. It might not be a bad idea to separate smaller individuals out. Supplementing with vitamins and calcium by dusting food occasionally is a good idea. For such a beautiful animal when in adult breeding condition they don't look like much as juveniles.

 

[David Kurn]

A couple of years ago, I obtained a CB group of this species from a fellow member. There were originally 7; three males and four females. I kept them purely terrestrial on soil mix, leaf litter, cork bark and mosses. One side was misted periodically with treated water; whilst the other side remained quite dry. They were primarily fed minced Canadian night crawlers; with an occasional pile of live blackworms on a moistened paper towel. They were kept between 63-69F.

After about a year under my care; all the males of the group died nearly all together. Nothing had changed up to that point; and for the next two years the females of this group have continued to thrive. They do hide a lot, but are quite bold during feeding times.

I have the opportunity to purchase a handful more of this species, in hopes of possibly getting another male. If anyone has any first hand experience with this I'd love to hear from you.

My efts seem to stay on the dry side. Feeding on dusted melanos, white worms,dwarf isopods and springtails