What species should I get

[Jazak]

Hey guys, I'm looking to get a couple newts for my paludarium build and I was looking for suggestions. I built a 50/50 water to land paludarium with a light current (filter pulls water from one side and empties it into the other). I was looking for a suggestion on which newt species would thrive the best in this type of environment.

Thanks!

 

[MnGuy]

I think most commonly available newts are either mostly aquatic (with a log to haul out on) or mostly terrestrial with a water dish. Some start out as terrestrial when juveniles and transition to mostly aquatic as adults.

I have alpine newts who are aquatic. I've only seen one haul out on their log once in the 5-6 years I've had them. I also have a marbled newt that is completely terrestrial. It doesn't even like soaking in a shallow water dish.

I think some salamanders, like tiger salamanders, might appreciate a true paludarium more, but they need a lot of land. Maybe others will have good suggestions about newts, but I tend to think that mostly aquatic newts do best in a full water setup with some logs above the water surface, and that terrestrial newts won't make much use of your water feature.

Good luck!

 

[Jazak]

Thank you so much for the reply. I'm leaning towards the marbled newt. In your experience they never enter the water?

 

[Herpin Man]

In my experience, adult marbled newts seldom enter their water, unless it’s breeding season, or their enclosure is too dry.
I sometimes feed juveniles in a shallow water dish, and they quickly learn to enter the water dish to hunt. Sometimes, they use their tails to hold on to the edge of the dish while doing so.

 

[MnGuy]

Thank you so much for the reply. I'm leaning towards the marbled newt. In your experience they never enter the water?

Yeah, mine is mostly always on land.