T. granulosa questions

[cjack926]

Hi everyone, so I recently (last May) got 2 T. granulosa females. I have a few questions:
1. Is it normal for them to shed their skin? and then is eating it another normal activity?
2. What should I feed them to get them into breeding condition? currently they are eating bloodworm cubes and pellets made for large carnivorous fish, they also enjoyed live crickets when I offered them.
3. How low should I get their water temp. to induce the breeding behavior?
4. When I get a male, should I keep the 3 of them together or should I keep the male separate?

I'm sure I will think of more questions, but for now I'll take a break. THANKS!!!!

 

[fabian]

Hi,
1.Yes it is.
2. It is important to give them various foods, I don't think the food plays an important role for breeding behaviour.
3. My temperatures go down to about 12°C in Winter, in this picture (red line) you can see water temperatures in my granulosa tank in 2009. They breed every year with temperatures like this.
4. It' no problem keeping males and females together, but you must quarantine a new obtained male (at least 6 weeks, I prefere 2 months) before you put them together. At the beginning of breeding time you should give the females a chance to get away from the males (e.g. by leaving the water) who always want to grasp the females for amplexus.

Greetings
Fabian

 

[huug]

Fabian,

In my exprience they start laying at a temp of 16 degrees, most of the time they laid in febr. What is your experience?

Greetz,
Hugo

 

[fabian]

Hi Hugo,
my animals always start laying around Christmastime (they start mating at late October, beginning of November). Temperatures are about 12-13°C than. They lay for a long time, sometimes I find eggs in March. My experience is that the larvae after hatching develop very bad and often die at Temperatures below 16°C. So it would be wiser for them to lay their eggs later, but they don't.
Greetz
Fabian

 

[cjack926]

Wow, 12 C thats alot lower than I expected, but I guess that does make sense given where they come from. Where do you keep you tanks (upstairs, downstairs, protected outside)? Do you think that a 10 gal. (20"x10"x12" LxWxH) would be large enough for a group of 3? Also what do you provide for them to get out of the water? I have a sloping gravel bed (but I also have no experience with any newts so if they prefer a rock pile that is no problem).

Thank you all for the great information, it is amazing to actually get some advice on how to take care of them. Everyone that lives around me that I have talked with are just interested in keeping them alive, not happy

 

[fabian]

Hi,

Where do you keep you tanks (upstairs, downstairs, protected outside)?

My newts are in the unheated basement of my house. The temperature changes with the seasons.

Do you think that a 10 gal. (20"x10"x12" LxWxH) would be large enough for a group of 3?

I'm not sure about american measurements (sorry) is this about 50cmx25cmx30cm? If this is correct, it is much too small even for two granulosa. Some of my males are near to 20cm in length this is almost the width of your tank. I recommend 60cmx30cmx30cm at least for a pair.

Also what do you provide for them to get out of the water? I have a sloping gravel bed (but I also have no experience with any newts so if they prefer a rock pile that is no problem).

On my homepage you can see some pictures here. I prefer stones who give them a chance to rest on.

I've seen your add, please make sure you have a tank to quarantine a male if you get one, and that your conatiner is big enough for three of them. I know it is sometimes (or should i write always?) hard to wait but otherwise you're in great danger for another newt care desaster.

Greetz
Fabian

 

[cjack926]

Sorry Fabian, I spaced on this being a worldwide forum. Ummm....if the internet isn't lying to me my tank should be about 50x20 cm LxW. Wow, seriously?! My newts aren't even close to that, they have plenty of swimming room front to back and side to side; but getting a larger tank should be no problem.

Yes, I will definitely be using a quarantine tank, probably the tank they are currently in once I upgrade. I've learned my lesson about quarantine tanks from fish