Pleurodeles waltl

[Mark]

My Pleuros are ancient. I bought my first one aged 20 and I'm now 36. They live in a 4ft tank at the bottom of a rack and sadly get ignored most of the time. They breed every year without fail and their offspring are probably living in all corners of the country.

Anyway, today after feeding I attempted some shots of these wonderful newts.

 

[NightWolf]

These are beautiful photos, they truly capture the newt's colours, (I love their skin, it looks so weathered). Thank you for uploading these!

 

[Azhael]

The one in the third picture has more biceps than i ever did xDDDDD

They look great, Mark, i used to think of this species as drab and ugly....but these days i´ve learned to apreciate them as the wonderful species they are!!! What was once an ugly, run-over looking face, is now a fascinating morphological adaptation and a cute grin xD

Thanx for sharing, i always enjoy your pictures inmensely.

 

[Mark]

They might be a bit goofy looking but they have their charm. In my opinion they're probably the finest starter newt available - tough as old boots, undemanding, fully aquatic, always ravenous and relatively active. They're also one of the few species you can pretty much guarantee is captive bred, even when sold in pet shops. It's a winner all round .

 

[CherryBlossom]

awesome photos I love them.

 

[Mac Myers]

Great Pictures. Thanks for sharing those. :happy: Off to study up on Pleurodeles waltl...............

 

[Yahilles]

Thanks for uploading such beautiful photos!

Waltl are awesome species and i miss them very much - one day i will certainly create a big tank with colony of those. Indeed, they're nearly all-round winners... They need big tanks. That's why i can't keep them for now.

 

[beefsteak]

I love my waltl. Ive had colony going for over 14 years now and still Im in love. They actually dont need a very big tank. I kept 2 in big jar for like a year just doing water changes strait from the tap and they actualy bred in there!

 

[Yahilles]

They actually dont need a very big tank. I kept 2 in big jar for like a year just doing water changes strait from the tap and they actualy bred in there!

If you're stubborn and you don't care about the animals' comfort, you can keep them in 10 gallon aquarium... But it's not what we are keeping caudates for.

 

[Azhael]

Harsh, but i agree wholeheartedly.
Would you care to elaborate Beefsteak? I´m afraid your description has been a bit disturbing for some of us.

 

[Otterwoman]

I love the color contrast in the pictures. These newts are so beautiful, I don't know why they aren't the most popular.

 

[eljorgo]

beautiful

Beautiful?! Who said that?!

 

[Yahilles]

Would you care to elaborate Beefsteak? I´m afraid your description has been a bit disturbing for some of us.

I suppose it's language difference... i meant, we don't keep caudates to just have them, we have to make them live happy in our tanks. Someone here wrote once the very wise sentence: "There's big difference between surviving and thriving".

 

[Azhael]

Oh, no, no, Janusz, i meant Beefsteak. I was hoping he could elaborate, not you hehe.
I understood you and as i said, i couldn´t agree more.

 

[beefsteak]

At the time I had raised up over 150 of these guys, thinking there might be a market for em up here. I was wrong! I hit every reptile show around as well as every pet store I could find. I sold maybe 50 - 60 in 2 -3 years. I had setups all over the house as well as an outdoor setup with a heater. The 2 in the jar were happy enough in there, like I said they actually bred in there.The tap water I mentioned is from a ground water source and contains very little chlorine! A place called exotics ( some reptile broker) took 6 and told me that they were actually sent to iceland. Wow! Rest assured I did my best and always do. I still get eggs all the time! I have freshly laid eggs right now! I might add they were reasonably priced 25$ each or 6 for 100$

 

[Jennewt]

Great photos, and interesting discussion. I just noticed today that several of the major Internet reptile dealers are selling CB waltl. It looks like this species is being produced in wholesale quantities in the US.