Young newts pay off

[paris]

i have posted this comment a few months ago-but now i have the results! i have 7 broken striped newts that were eggs this time last year, a few months ago they started getting nuptual pads and engaging in figure '4' headlocks-despite the fact that some still had gills/gill remnants(2 still do). they have finally lost their nuptual pads-and i doubt that i will find more eggs-but i have those that were laid, and i found the first larva today. the tank they were in was a mess of green water, duckweed and larger aquatic plants so it will take a long time to find out how may young i have-but i have isolated 10 eggs in a clear tank to monitor them.

does anyone know if warmer room temp (about 78) will be bad for larva- untill they get to grow their front feet at least?-last year i raised them i had a/c running here, but now i keep it at 78 for the frogs.

on a side note-one of the larva lost its gills fully and faster than the rest-then proceeded to leave the water and lost its broad tail. it stayed terrestrial for about 2 months till i returned it to an aquatic set up with its siblings (after i was reminded that they didnt have an eft stage)-it was not one of the breeders-it is smaller than its aquatic siblings and wasnt beefed up enough for the act of breeding.

 

[nate]

Hi paris, congrats on the breeding. Who told you they don't have an eft stage? I wonder what those dorsalis efts I was keeping a couple years ago REALLY were then

They do usually have an eft stage, but like louisianensis, some populations abbreviate or skip the eft. N. v. piaropicola is the one where the eft stage is usually skipped.

 

[al]

Hey, I frequent N.v. dorsalis breeding ponds and have raised some larva myself. They will have an eft stage, but will not have the typical red coloration. The length of the eft stage seems to be directly correlated with environment conditions (weather/food availability). If you keep the juviniles well fed (offer food daily) they will progress sooner. The breeding ponds are nestled in pine forrest and are stagnant with lots of plants in the spring/summer. Some ponds turn into a bog if the water tables drop due to drought. This species does very well with non-filtered, plant choked setups. If filtration is opted, they like very quiet/gradual filtration. They can get stressed easily and do not like to be overcrowded. A temp of 78F is on the higher scale. Their envrionments do get very warm in the summer(Easter NC climat), but they remain in a shaded, moist environment that is under much moss and undergrowth. I, like Jennewt, have found that black worms are a better staple diet for the new morphes. Fruit flies did not stustain them enough, but were readily taken. When they got larger, I added some beef heart. I kept them in a terrarium setup for 6-9 months and then a water set up with 4 inches of large stones/ 4-5 inches of water with plants. They did very well. When they matured enough, I switched them to a filterless setup with plants and cork bark. The tank was near a window with indirect light so the plants could take over.
Good luck. I'm trying to get a trip to their breeding ponds soon. I may have some adults to share.
Al

 

[david]

Send some of those adults my way

i have a lone male and want a female or two for him
Dave