Terrestrial newt?!

[genny]

Hi, my Tylototriton shanjing, who is supposed to be a terrestrial newt, just passes almost all its time in water. My tank is approximatly 1/3 aquatic and 2/3 terrestrial. It is because he is young? Maybe he just dislikes the Jungle Mix I put in the terrestrial part? Do you think it is good for his skin?

 

[jennifer]

Genny, where did you get the animal? It is possible that it is Tylototriton verrucosus, which looks very similar but is aquatic. Both species seem to be imported into the pet trade these days.

Jungle Mix is fine, i've used it for many sals.

If the newt turns out to be verrucosus, you will probably want to change your tank setup to provide more water.

 

[genny]

I get it in a small pet shop 3 months ago and it is really supposed to be a shanjing... but I must admit that the points on his back are not orange clear as I can see on shanjing pictures... But the tail is more thin than verrucosus one... Ohhh... I don't know...

 

[jennifer]

Most pet stores (and probably the wholesalers as well) could not tell the difference between the two species. If the animal has a consistent preference for water, you should probably provide more water area, especially if we are talking about a small tank (10 gal).

Shanjing is described by Nussbaum as: “The dorsolateral surfaces of these salamanders are marked vividly with orange, including the cranial crests, parotoid glands, middorsal crest, and lateral warts. In addition, the lower sides, limbs, tail, and venter are various hues of orange-yellow."

What color is the ridge down the back? If it is not bright orange, it is more likely verrucosus.

 

[genny]

I can say that the ridge down the back is not bright orange...In fact, it is dark orange. But lower sides, limbs, tail and venter are orange yellow... It begins to be a little bit complicated!

 

[samuel]

Genny, does it prefer water or land. If it's water, its verrocosus if land, it's shanjing. Telling the difference is hard but what's impt is that u met the needs of the individual animal u have now. If it likes water, dun force it terrestrial just cuz u think it's a shanjing. Expand the aquatic portion and be prepared to do otherwise once it's preferance changes.

 

[genny]

You are right, I just want it to be happy!
Yhanks for your advices.