T. torosa advice

[KingSloth]

Hello!

I have one California Newt and I was wondering if I was doing everything correctly in terms of care.

I feed him pinhead crickets a couple times a week, and I might start feeding him small earthworms that I found. I don't want to feed black worms, because they are so high maintenence.

I have him in a ten gallon currently, with fake sphagnum moss as a substrate. I might change that. Let me know what substrate(s) work(s) best.

He also has a pool and a couple logs that he can go under. In addition, there is a food dish that I will use for worms. He also has a couple small river rocks. I found him under one of them once.

I dust his crickets in calcium and take off their jumping legs. SHould I dust the earthworms in calcium?


That's all I do for him currently!

Please, ANY advice, critique, and tips are more than welcome.

Also, when will he get bigger? He doesn't seem to be growing that much.

Thanks!
For pics, please visit : https://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=111030

 

[AdvythAF]

Welcome to the world of Taricha!

For feeding, I recommend chopped European nightcrawlers (earthworms). Crickets are fine as well, but worms are ideal. A good mix of both works fine.

My suggestion is to buy some nightcrawlers and culture them yourself, it's pretty easy! You can get a steady supply this way.

Now I'm biased because I love live moss and hate fake moss, but I suggest switching the substrate.

I keep Taricha and they actually prefer it quite dry compared to other terrestrial caudates. Too much of soil moisture could give them skin problems in the future. I suggest using a mix of clay soil, forest soil, and (oak) leaf litter. It should be somewhat moist but not wet.

Since you live in California, I bet you could find oak leaf litter fairly easily.

As for moss, real sphagnum won't do well in a dry tank. I suggest using native CA mosses that go through dry and wet cycles. This way, you can spray the tank to mimic rain for both the mosses and the newts.

As for getting bigger....it will take a LONG time. Like...a lonnnggggggg time.

Taricha have great personality, so I hope you enjoy yours for years to come!

 

[supergrappler]

Great job on your care methods so far! I think when you implement chopped night crawlers they will grow quickly. At least that's the case from my experience with this species.