Tylototriton verrucosus

[Chinadog]

After a complete breakdown in will power earlier today I accepted the offer of two baby T. verrucosus. Under normal circumstances I'm sure I could have resisted, but I'd just been watching their parents beaming out of their plants at me so was powerless to resist.
I have been planing to get some of these for a while now, but later, rather than sooner!
Their eventual home will be the 75 gallon corner tank in my living room, but for the time being they are in a 20 gallon that I use for growing water lettuce in the tortoise house. The air temp in there is a steady 65F, so hopefully they should be fine until their full time home is ready.
I'll get some better pics once they're settled in, but here are some poor (even by my standards) snaps from when I put them in.

 

[Stupot1610]

They look really good. Do you plan to get more of them? They'll definitely enjoy 75 gallons to themselves! I really like your way of designing your tanks so I can't wait to see how the 75 gallon will look when you've finished.

Stuart

 

[Azhael]

This is how it begins...

 

[Chinadog]

I know, that's the worst thing, but I still said yes!

 

[jAfFa CaKe]

Congrats! This is a species I hope to get in the future.

 

[xxianxx]

I have a bunch morphing now They are a great species, really friendly, by that I mean greedy and like to beg for food. Make sure you familiarise your self with morphing tanks, these guys try to drown themselves.

 

[velasco13000]

I have 5 of these guys that are like 2 years almost. How do you breed them?

 

[Chinadog]

Cheers for the heads up Ian, I haven't read up properly on them yet, I honestly didn't know how much I needed any until I saw them! At the moment their tank is a kind of swamp set up that I use to overwinter water hyacinths for the pond, so there's the roots to hang on to and a carpet of leaves if they want to emerge, although they're still a way of morphing yet.

Stuart, If they turn out to be a pair, I won't bother looking for any more, I like to keep stocking levels low purely because it's easier to keep nitrate levels from rising. If I'm lucky enough to have them breed in the distant future, I won't be able to part with all of the babies though...

 

[Chinadog]

Well, the baby verrucosus have grown huge. To me at least, being used to dealing with tiny Cynops larvae. Even though their siblings have all morphed the two I have don't seem in any rush, although I thought one of them started weeks ago. His gills shrunk slightly and his head shape seemed to change slightly, but that was it. They can certainly Eat! although they don't go in to any kind of frenzy, they can keep chomping all day long!

 

[Asevernnnn]

Wow, jealous though. Have you gotten a tank setup for it yet?

 

[Chinadog]

No, not yet, I'm going to start this weekend. Although they can stay in their nursery tank until they're past any danger of drowning. Their siblings stayed aquatic after morphing without any problems, so hopefully these will as well.

 

[Chinadog]

I think one of the baby Tylos is beginning to morph so I've brought them inside where I can keep an eye on them. I'm a bit paranoid about drowning, so I've set them up a nursery tank with shallow water and plenty of weeds/driftwood to rest in just below the surface. I think they will be staying where they are until they've grown a bit bigger and all risk of drowning has passed, it will also give the plants time to root properly and start growing in their permanent home.

 

[mr cyclone]

If you want any tips for morphing let me know
If you keep the water temp at 22c the juves will stay aquatic after they've been morphed

 

[Chinadog]

Three of the four tylos have been growing really well and generally thriving, but the fourth one has struggled. For whatever reason, he morphed months before the others at a very small size and although he was happy and healthy when I collected him, he became very shy would only eat every now and then.
Anyway, in the end I moved him to a terrestrial tub with a water dish medicated with bactyfec and some live bloodworm in a jar lid. It was only a day or two before the bloodworms were almost gone and he seemed much brighter, so i tried him with a piece of earthworm which he eventually ate.
He's now back with his siblings and demolishing earthworms like there,s no tomorrow. I can't believe how much such a small creature can swallow! I got a few snaps of him fighting with his tea today so I thought I'd post them. The lighting is pretty poor in their weedy tank so they're not great, but I will update with some better pics of the others soon. 8)

 

[Asevernnnn]

Currently trying to not be jealous

 

[Chinadog]

I took a few snaps of the baby Tylos and their tank today, the biggest three are happy in the big tank, but I have kept the small one on his own where I can make sure he eats properly.
The pics aren't brilliant, the bow front on the tank does weird things to the camera focus, but I thought I'd post them anyway.

 

[tyzoone]

Love this thread! Keep the pics coming Chinadog!

 

[Chinadog]

I thought I'd post a few recent snaps of the tylos now they are properly settled in their tank. Since I started hand feeding them they have mostly stopped biting each other and are really becoming quite spoiled. The smallest one is still on his own for now though, I still don't trust the other three not to try and swallow him.
I'm starting to see differences in their shape as they grow, two of them seem to have really wide triangular heads and seem really bulky, while the other two have a much more slender profile. I wonder if the bulky ones are the females? The last photo shows the two profiles side by side.

 

[Chinadog]

A few more snaps. They couldn't be more different to the other species I have and feeding time is always manic, but they are hilarious to watch sometimes.

 

[tammyaxie]

A few more snaps. They couldn't be more different to the other species I have and feeding time is always manic, but they are hilarious to watch sometimes.

Haha cute!!!