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There have been a few threads over the years about Ommatotriton care, some of which have had less than happy endings. There were a good number of captive bred Ommatotriton available in the UK last year and I was wondering how people were getting on with them?
Mine came from fellow forum member Billy and were probably a couple of centimetres in length when they arrived in July 2010. They were raised in a small plastic tub with a clip lid drilled with ventilation holes. A piece of muslin sat between the lid and the container to prevent prey items escaping through the ventilation holes. A thin layer of topsoil lined the base of the container and some small bark pieces placed on top. The container was then filled almost to the top with moss collected locally and sprayed with water once a week. They were fed springtails, woodlice, fruit flies and white worms. When they reached around 4cm they were transferred to a larger container but otherwise the setup was identical to the original tub.
When the worst of the frosts were over I decided to put them outdoors in a large plastic container. The base was drilled for drainage and a thick layer of clay beads covered with top soil used as substrate. Using the garden hose I tested the drainage very thoroughly. The British weather has a habit of water logging containers and I was concious this was an upland species from well drained and perhaps in some cases arid habitats. Much has been said about moisture being an issue for these guys when young. Again bark pieces were stacked up and moss placed on top, some grass has also grown in there. The centre of the lid was cut out and replaced with a plastic mesh, large enough for insects to crawl in but small enough to keep the newts from escaping. The whole set-up was then placed in a shady spot.
They are approx 11cm in length now and have really bulked up since being outdoors. They are most active on cool nights. It's worth mentioning that these are about as wild as a captive newts can be. They have never been hand fed and disturbance is kept to a minimum. With the exception of cultured white worms they have only ever eaten prey collected from the garden. This mainly consists of woodlice, slugs, spiders and large black springtails. They have never eaten earthworms. I plan to overwinter them in a frost free garage and see if they take to the water next spring. I'll try to get some shots of their setup.
Despite the horror stories of raising Ommatotriton my experience so far has been one of a robust, hardy newt but not necessarily a good pet species. I made the decision early on that I was going to be very hands off with them and although I have nothing to compare this experience with I think they have benefited from this "wild" lifestyle. I think they make good subjects for an outdoor enclosure. Their flight response is quite remarkable - they flip themselves into the air, landing like a cat at full sprint. Quite difficult to photograph!
I'd be interested in hearing how others have got on.
Ommatotriton ophryticus - Northern Banded Newt
Mine came from fellow forum member Billy and were probably a couple of centimetres in length when they arrived in July 2010. They were raised in a small plastic tub with a clip lid drilled with ventilation holes. A piece of muslin sat between the lid and the container to prevent prey items escaping through the ventilation holes. A thin layer of topsoil lined the base of the container and some small bark pieces placed on top. The container was then filled almost to the top with moss collected locally and sprayed with water once a week. They were fed springtails, woodlice, fruit flies and white worms. When they reached around 4cm they were transferred to a larger container but otherwise the setup was identical to the original tub.
When the worst of the frosts were over I decided to put them outdoors in a large plastic container. The base was drilled for drainage and a thick layer of clay beads covered with top soil used as substrate. Using the garden hose I tested the drainage very thoroughly. The British weather has a habit of water logging containers and I was concious this was an upland species from well drained and perhaps in some cases arid habitats. Much has been said about moisture being an issue for these guys when young. Again bark pieces were stacked up and moss placed on top, some grass has also grown in there. The centre of the lid was cut out and replaced with a plastic mesh, large enough for insects to crawl in but small enough to keep the newts from escaping. The whole set-up was then placed in a shady spot.
They are approx 11cm in length now and have really bulked up since being outdoors. They are most active on cool nights. It's worth mentioning that these are about as wild as a captive newts can be. They have never been hand fed and disturbance is kept to a minimum. With the exception of cultured white worms they have only ever eaten prey collected from the garden. This mainly consists of woodlice, slugs, spiders and large black springtails. They have never eaten earthworms. I plan to overwinter them in a frost free garage and see if they take to the water next spring. I'll try to get some shots of their setup.
Despite the horror stories of raising Ommatotriton my experience so far has been one of a robust, hardy newt but not necessarily a good pet species. I made the decision early on that I was going to be very hands off with them and although I have nothing to compare this experience with I think they have benefited from this "wild" lifestyle. I think they make good subjects for an outdoor enclosure. Their flight response is quite remarkable - they flip themselves into the air, landing like a cat at full sprint. Quite difficult to photograph!
I'd be interested in hearing how others have got on.
Ommatotriton ophryticus - Northern Banded Newt
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How envious am I 
