taricha torosa feeding

[piscaphile]

My son has two large taricha sp. I think torosa. They use to eat pellets regularly. Now the pellets just sit there. I have put in blood worms and live earthworms. They didn't eat them. The spend most of their time on a stone decoration that breaks the surface. They have no signs of illness, and they are not skinny. Do these newts take time off from eating for weeks at a time? Are they indicating maybe they would like a more terrestrial habitat? Any thoughts would be welcome. I think they are both the same sex. I don't know which, but they are identical in appearence. They are the only two occupants of a ten gallon tank. Temp. is about 70 degrees. Water is changed 100% weekly, and there is a fairly week in tank filter. Probably about 4" of water in the tank.

Mark

 

[michael]

Hi Mark,
Read the section in caudata culture about Taricha torosa. I think they will only like the aquatic tank in breeding season. I have mine set up in a tank with pea gravel on the bottom, coconut fiber, garden soil, commercial forest mix, some dried leaves, cork bark stacked, a nice sized water dish, and a feeeding dish. They are on land most of the time. They are eating earthworms and crickets. I also put some isopods in the tank and suppose they are eating the isopods.
I think you should give some serious thought to switching to a terrestrial tank with a big water dish or small water feature. Dr. Pin Pin is the export on Taricha and maybe she will weigh in with her advice.

 

[apples]

I've sadly been doing more rat work than newt work as of late, Mike. Still remember your kindness at IAD though.

Mark, as for the behavior of your newts, how many months/years have you kept them (aka, how long were they eating pellets regularly and fully aquatic?) Although Tarichas spend a portion of the year on land in the wild, the behavior for your animals may be some recent change...water quality and temperature come to mind.

You can purchase a water testing kit at most pet shops in the aquarium aisle. If all still seems well, you could extend the land portion (or set up a semi-terrestrial tank) and offer a place to hide.

A photo of your set-up and your animals would be very helpful if the newts continue not to eat.

Hope this helps!

 

[Jennewt]

What makes you think they are T. torosa versus granulosa? If you know the locality where they were caught, this would tell you. If they came from a pet shop, it would be very rare to get torosa.

In case you haven't found these yet...
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Taricha/T_torosa.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Taricha/T_granulosa.shtml

 

[piscaphile]

taricha

My guess is they are granulosa if it would be rare to get torosa from a pet store. My son's came from a pet store. They were fully aquatic and eating pellets for two years. They have molted more times than I can count, and always look plump compared to my daghter's fire belly newts...which only eat live or frozen foods. I will try a more terrestrial set up. Our house may be warmer in the summer than in the winter. What is the ideal temp for these newts? Does ph and hardness matter significantly? I am typically a fish person. I raise and breed multiple species in our water, but my children like newts, so I am learning about them.

Thanks again,

Mark S.

 

[michael]

I'm still on a learning curve on Taricha. I tentatively identified my w.c. ones as T. torosa. I read the info on them on caudata culture. I looked down at them from the top and it looked like the eyes bulged out a little. From that I guessed they were T. torosa. The pet shops and wholesalers ar rarely any help in identifying what they have. I've seen other people identifying them as T. torosa but get the idea torosa and granulosa look similar.

 

[apples]

They were fully aquatic and eating pellets for two years. They have molted more times than I can count, and always look plump compared to my daghter's fire belly newts...which only eat live or frozen foods.

It is indeed very rare to find a T. torosa at a pet shop.

If you have been keeping them aquatic for the past two years and their behavior all of a sudden changed, I still feel that there must be something different in your tank that they are reaction to. Have you checked the water quality with a kit? Has there been a spike in temperature (air conditioning broke, very hot day, etc.) right before your newts started to hang out on the island? Have you introduced any aggressive fish into the tank?

There are ways to identify a T. torosa from T. granulosa, but you are right in that they are very similar. In fact, they are able to cross-breed with each other. I think however, that 1) since you've kept it successfully aquatic for 2 years (kudos!) 2) you obtained tha animal from a pet shop, that it is most likely to be a T. granulosa. Again photos would be useful here.

The ways to identify T. torosa and T. granulosa are listed in the species sheet that Jen linked. I find most methods to be difficult or not completely unbiased except when you see eggs. In addition, if you have larvae, T. torosa larvae tend to have 2 broken stripes, while T. granulosa have one.

 

[piscaphile]

Taricha sp.

I put some frozen blood worms in the tank last night, I think they ate them. I don't house any fish with the newts, they don't seem to like fish in their tank. I read on another page were a person was asking about housing four firebelly newts with four goldfish in a ten gallan tank. Most replies dealt with the bio-load of the newts, but a ten gallon tank isn't even large enough for one gold fish to be housed properly. White clouds could be put in with newts because of their fondness of lower temps, but they are very active. Thanks again for the help.

Mark S.

 

[uwe]

>99% of Petshop Tarichas are T.granulosa.

For the discussion of differences read: http://www.ag-urodela.de/molchregister_taricha/taricha.htm and/or Petranka.
This discussion was done in the recent years quite often.

To summarize:
The adults are close to impossible to distinguish. Best is the coiling of the tail when treated roughly.
The eggs are laid singularily (T.g) or in egg masses (T.t).
The larvae have lines on the back or scattered small blotches.

Hope that hepls.

Uwe