That Reptile Blog That Pet Place Reptile Blog
Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. Although my interests are wide, newts and salamanders have always held a special fascination for me. Beginning in childhood, I sought to keep and breed as many species as possible, and I focused on their husbandry and conservation when I entered the zoo field. In time, I wrote a book summarizing my experiences (please see below). The passage of so many years has not dulled my enthusiasm for these fascinating amphibians, and I can highly recommend them to both beginning and advanced herp keepers.
The following information may be applied to the care of Japanese Fire-Bellied, Eastern, California, Ribbed and Paddle-Tailed Newts, as well as most others that appear in the pet trade. Please write in for detailed information on individual species.
Newts as Pets
An ability to thrive on commercial pellets distinguishes newts from other amphibians, and endears them to folks who prefer not to handle live insects. All are brilliantly-colored, active by day, and usually live well in groups at average room temperatures. Most become quite tame over time, and will even accept food from your hand. Several California Newts in my collection have lived to age 20, and others seem bent on exceeding that.
Natural History
The term “newt” is usually applied to small, semi-aquatic salamanders in the family Salamandridae. This family contains 80+ species that range throughout North America, Asia and Europe. During the breeding season, males usually develop bright colors, and some, such as the Banded and Crested Newts, sprout fantastic skin crests. The Ribbed Newt may reach a foot in length, but others average 4-6 inches.
Newt larvae develop in water. Upon maturity, they pass through a land dwelling phase (see photo of Eastern Newt above) and then re-enter the water, where they remain for the balance of their lives. However, certain populations depart from the typical lifestyle; Eastern Newts on Long Island, NY, for example, skip the land stage.
Newts offered in the pet trade are usually in their adult, semi-aquatic stage.
Behavior
Amphibians are not known for being especially active, but newts are always nosing about for food, exploring, and interacting with tank-mates. They see well and may swim to the aquarium’s side when you enter the room, in anticipation of a meal.
Handle newts only when necessary, and with wet hands so that the skin’s protective mucus covering is not removed.
Housing
Setting up the Habitat
Newts are well-adapted to life in the water, but do need a place to haul out and rest. The water in their aquarium can be deep, provided that egress is simple…cork bark, turtle platforms, and floating live or plastic plants all serve well as resting spots.
Newts are perfectly suited to aquariums stocked with live plants, and spectacular displays can be easily arranged (please see video below). Plants help maintain water quality, and the complex environments they create make life more interesting for both newt and newt-owner.
As newts readily climb glass, a secure screen cover is a must.
Substrate
Smooth, rounded gravel of a size that cannot be swallowed is ideal; rough stones will injure the delicate skin. Bare-bottomed tanks are easily kept clean.
Water Quality
Newts have porous skins that allow for the absorption of harmful chemicals. Careful attention to water quality is essential.
An aquarium pH test kit should always be on hand. Most newts fare well at a pH of 6.5 to 7.5, with 7.0 being ideal.
Ammonia, excreted as a waste product and produced via organic decomposition, is colorless, odorless and extremely lethal to newts; a test kit should be used to monitor its levels.
Chlorine and chloramine must be removed from water used for any amphibian. Liquid preparations are available at pet stores.
Copper may be leached by old water pipes; a test kit should be used if you suspect its presence.
Filtration
Undergravel, sponge, corner, hanging and submersible filters can all be used in newt aquariums. Even with filtration, regular partial water changes are essential in keeping ammonia levels in check.
As newts are not strong swimmers, water outflow from the filter should be mild; plants, rocks and movable outflow attachments can be used to reduce current strength.
Light and Heat
Newts seem not to require UVB light. UVA light is not essential, but may encourage natural behaviors.
Most newts thrive at normal household temperatures, but fare best when kept cool (60-68 F). Temperatures above 75 F may weaken the immune systems of some. Please write in for information on individual species. A winter cooling period of 40-50 F encourages reproduction.
Companions
Although often sold as “additions” to tropical fish aquariums, newts do poorly in warm water and feed too slowly to compete with most fishes. Guppies adjust well to cool water, and their fry will be eagerly consumed by newts; limit the number of adults so as to avoid competition for food. Weather Loaches and Corydoras Catfishes will co-exist, and usually do not interfere with feeding.
Feeding
I rely upon Reptomin Food Sticks as a mainstay for the newts in my collection, and for those under my care in zoos. Freeze-dried shrimp (included in Reptomin Select-a-Food) “gelled insects”, canned snails and frozen fish foods (i.e. mosquito larvae) should be offered regularly.
Live food, while not essential, is relished and will help ensure a balanced diet. Blackworms, bloodworms, earthworms, guppies, and small crickets will be eagerly accepted. Stocking the aquarium with live blackworms will keep your pets active and occupied.
Newt larvae and terrestrial sub-adults will usually accept only live food. Please write in for further information.
Health Considerations
Newt skin glands produce toxins such as Tarichatoxin, which can be fatal if ingested (so don’t eat your pet!). Do not handle newts when you have an open cut, and always wash well afterwards. Toxins transferred to the eyes via fingers have caused temporary blindness.
Please check out my posts on Twitter and Facebook. Each day, I highlight breaking research, conservation news and interesting stories concerning just about every type of animal imaginable. I look forward to hearing about your interests and experiences as well, and will use them in articles when possible.
Please also post your questions and comments below…I’ll be sure to respond quickly.
Thanks, until next time,
Frank Indiviglio
Further Reading
Please check out Newts and Salamanders, a book I’ve written on care and conservation.
Video: constructing an attractive, planted aqua-terrarium for newts
Video: male Banded Newts in breeding condition
Conserving the Great Crested Newt
Newt Toxins: personal observations
Eastern Newt image referenced from wikipedia and originally posted by Patrick Coin
Alpine Newt image referenced from wikipedia and originally posted by Richard Bartz
Emperor Newts feeding image referenced from wikipedia and originally posted by Ryan Somma
Newts used to be very popular here in the uk when I was a kid. However I fear that the large amounts of children that went out collecting Newts added to the decimation of their numbers. I have personally not seen any Newts for many years…. or common frogs for that matter.
I would suggest that people buy captive bred newts and frogs and not be tempted to collect their own.
Hello Joey
Thanks for your interest. Yes, Amphibian populations are in severe decline world wide and should not be collected other than in association with properly documented rescue efforts. Many species are protected by law here in the USA and in the UK. There are a number of very well-organized conservation efforts, some utilizing volunteers, in the UK at present – road-crossing tunnels for toads, road closures, wetland rehabilitation and so on.
Re snakes, this article on possible global declines might be of interest. I have posted 100 or so snake care, conservation and research-update articles here. Please let me know if any might be of use to your readers,
Good luck, enjoy and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
Hi Frank, John from caudata.org here. Great article as ever. As a long time fan of your newts and salamanders book I’m glad you are still flying the flag for these wonderful animals. I’m glad everyone is supporting captive bred. There should be little or no place for commercial collection of wild amphibians. That’s a mantra we stand by at caudata.org.
Hello John,
Nice to hear from you and thanks very much for the kind words. Interacting with caudata.org members these past years has been most interesting and rewarding, and I look forward to much more. Thank you for the fine work, please keep at it.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
I just came across your blog. What a wonderful source of helpful information! Would you be willing to help out a new newt owner? My 8-yr-old son is crazy about newts, so we just set up a tank in our house.
Here is our set-up. We have four adult Eastern red-spotted newts in a filtered ten-gallon tank with gravel, fake plants, and a large piece of rock that leaves a strip about 2 inches by 6 inches out of the water for them to climb out on. The person at the vivarium said we should keep the tank temp between 70 and 75 degrees, so I have it set at 72. He also sold us tiny tadpole pellets, but they don’t seem to to notice those. They did, however, thoroughly enjoy a nubbin of frozen bloodworms that I put in for them yesterday!
Here are my questions:
1. The rock they sold us is very rough-surfaced. Should I find them something else?
2. Also, do they need more surface than what they’ve got right now? On one site, I read that half the tank should be water and the other half land, but I’m worried about reducing their water so drastically when we have four newts in one tank.
3. Should I reduce the tank temp? Your blog said 60-68 for most species, so I’m just double-checking to make sure that’s true for the kind we have.
4. With four in one tank, I’m concerned that they might reproduce. If one does become gravid, what should I do?
5. The vivarium guy said I shouldn’t feed them bloodworms more than once a week. Would it be okay to just give them Reptomin sticks on a daily basis? Do Eastern newts need anything else?
6. The vivarium guy said we should only do a partial water change every few weeks, but I’m concerned that newts are likely to leave a lot of uneaten food in the bottom of their tank. How often would you recommend cleaning out the tank?
If you can find the time to answer these questions, we would be most grateful! There doesn’t seem to be a lot of consensus out there about the best way to care for newts, so we’re very glad to have found you and appreciate your willingness to share what you know!
Best wishes and thanks,
Jenny
Hello Jenny,
Thanks for the kind words. Good choice; Red-Spotted Newts were among my first amphibian pets; as they are bold and out by day, your son will see much of interest, especially in a group situation.
Be sure to remove chlorine/chloramines from water (drops available at pet stores).
Cork bark (floating or wedged between glass) or a turtle platform is preferable to a rough rock. Tiny skin tears usually become infected.
They need only a resting area..size you mention is fine. They do not walk about or hunt on land in the adult aquatic stage. Floating aquatic plants, live or fake, are useful as additional resting spots.
Average room temperature fine; cool in winter is beneficial, they will remain active and feeding down into the 50′s. 72 F or a bit higher is also well-tolerated, but changing temps over the year suit them well, and may spur breeding. Let me know if you have very warm temps in summer.
Males in breeding condition develop swellings about the cloaca (vent, between rear legs) and the rear legs are thicker than those of females. You’ll see them clasping females with rear legs from above. Eggs will be deposited on plants. Adults will eat them, so they should be removed when seen…let me know if you see breeding behavior and we can go over egg care.
Reptomin and dried shrimp (included in Reptomin Select-a Food) is good as a base diet. Frozen bloodworms or other insect based foods can be used 1-2x weekly. Skip 2 days or so each week, or feed every other day. Watch for un-eaten food or bloated newts. Please see article above for other useful foods. Can drop the tadpole pellets…if very small will be lost among gravel.
A small, simple filter is the best way to go..see article for links to some useful ones. Even so, a 25% water change should also be done each week, or each 2 weeks at most. Ammonia is colorless but builds up very quickly, esp if they are being fed often and with large meals (as kids like to do!). Can sometimes do w/o filter if there are many live plants and with frequent water changes, but best to have a filter. Simple internal box filter is ideal, as water currents from larger ones disturb newts. Buy a “brine shrimp net” (fine mesh and sweep over gravel on occasion. Siphon based “gravel washers” are useful when doing water changes as they take debris right from gravel bed. With care, you won’t need to break tank down and clean.
See note in article re gravel size…newts may swallow small stones, esp when hunting live blackworms (a favorite); this can cause impactions.
You might enjoy this article on Eastern Spotted Newt Natural History as well.
Please let me know if you need any further information. Good luck, enjoy and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
Hi Frank,
Unfortunately, our newts aren’t doing very well. The most active of the bunch escaped the tank a second time when the tape loosened near the filter, and we didn’t find him in time. What a terrible death! I replaced my hanging filter with a submerged one and a full-screen top, and that seems to be doing a better job of keeping them in.
Once we put the turtle float in the tank, the fat newt spent all his time at the bottom of the tank, but the other three (then two) spent all their time curled up on the float. I didn’t think too much of this since I know they’re nocturnal, but then I moved the float during a cleaning and got a good look at them. They’re in terrible shape! One is so skinny, you can see his ribs. I’ve tried everything I can think of to get him to eat, including buying live blackworms and dropping them on his nose. So far as I can tell, he’s avoiding food completely.
Is there anything to be done? Do I need to do anything to the water to encourage them to get back into it? (Their tank is 68 degrees, with an ammonia level of .5 to 1.0.) Also, I now realize that the “fat” newt is actually the only healthy newt of the bunch, and his appetite is fine. Should I segregate him from the others? They’ve been together a long time now, so he’s already had plenty of opportunity to contract whatever they’ve got if they were sick when we got them. (My sharp-eyed son says the pet store guy fished one from the water and three off a rock when we got them, so it’s possible we got unlucky there.)
Hope there is something we can do and thanks once again for all your help!
Jenny
Hi Jen,
The ammonia levels you mention can be fatal over time; best to do a 50-75% water change right away. Filters are useful, but weekly partial water changes are the best way to keep ammonia near 0. Levels that might be mentioned on the test kit, as examples, are written with fish in mind – amphibians absorb toxins over a greater body surface than do most, and so are usually more sensitive.
If the newts do not perk up, the only way to access what else is going on is via a visit to an experienced amphibian vet. The vet may do a cloacal swab (as they are not passing stool) or administer a general antibiotic; please let me know if you need help in locating an experienced vet.
Newts in the trade are often in poor shape; care in selecting both the source, and the animals themselves, is needed. We can go over some fine points in the future if you wish.
Please let me know if you need any further information. Good luck, enjoy and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
Hi Frank,
I was wondering if you could tell me if my Red Eft (named Cougar) is changing into his Eastern Newt stage. He has been off and on going into an olive green color (one time his feet and belly were very very very green! But the next day, he was orange again) and he sheds weekly, which turns him back orange. But, I am putting a before and after picture up of him on the below links. The before was from around when I got him 3 or 4 months ago, the after is a picture from today, June 17th.
[IMG]http://i50.tinypic.com/1zccsxi.jpg[/IMG] (After Picture)
[IMG]http://i46.tinypic.com/2hgzg1w.jpg[/IMG] (Before Picture)
[IMG]http://i46.tinypic.com/f3xqag.jpg[/IMG] (Another Before Picture)
Thanks! If you can’t see the pictures or click on the links for some reason, try these below.
http://i46.tinypic.com/f3xqag.jpg (Before Picture)
http://i46.tinypic.com/2hgzg1w.jpg (Before Picture)
http://i50.tinypic.com/1zccsxi.jpg (After Picture)
Hi Karah,
In the after picture he appears to be a typical eft. Captive conditions can change the process a bit, which may explain what you are seeing. Keep water available – once he begins to transform, he will seek out water and spend most of the time there. Interesting…thanks and please keep me posted, Best, Frank
Frank,
Currently “Cougar” is housed in a mostly aquatic set up (as I thought he was changing) he has an island and bark he uses for his land…which is where he spends most of his time. Should I change it back to terrestrial using his water bowl, big enough for him to bath in? Or, should I keep it the same. Also, what are the signs that he is changing when the time should come?
Thanks.
I’d change back to terrestrial, as he’s done well there; living in a more exposed situation will likely be stressful. Movement to water usually precedes any change in appearance, so you may see him spending more time there. Color may lighten in tone, become yellow-green or rust; this is not necessarily associated with shedding; the tail will broaden laterally as well. These changes are stimulated hormonally, but the timing and sequence may be affected by captive conditions. Any notes you might take on the process would be very useful, as few people keep them from eft to aquatic stage.
Best, Frank
A few new questions, Frank. Eft is doing well, just got back from vacation actually and he lasted a week on his own. But, I was going to buy him a companion because they are social creatures. #1, is it okay to house him with an eastern newt adult form? I can divide the tank into about 3/5 water, 2/5 land, because my eft does like to swim around a bit, and the adult will be mostly aquatic. If this isn’t okay, question #2 is where can i get a CHEAP red eft? I called the pet store where I would be special ordering it, and they don’t get the efts because they are poisonous when eaten, they only do the adult form of the newt. Thanks for your help!
Hi Karah,
Thanks for the update. The main problem with leaving them is heat and dryness, which may be hard to counteract during a heat wave if one is away. Otherwise, food can usually be skipped.
They aren’t really social in terms of needing company; they do have complex mating and territorial behaviors, but live solitary lives and are fine when kept alone.
It’s difficult to house both together…efts drown easily in the amount of water needed by newts, and unless the terrarium is very large neither winds up with an ideal amount of space.
Efts are only rarely sold, usually by dealers advertising on Kingsnake.com who happen to come upon some while out collecting other creatures. The adult aquatic form is also highly toxic – many people do not realize this, as they associate bright colors with toxins (not a foolproof rule – marine and other toads are extremely toxic). I have seen an adult marine toad die within seconds of consuming an eastern spotted newt, and know of the same happening to a painted turtle.
Certain other small terrestrial salamanders, such as red-backs and, perhaos, duskys, 2lined, and 4 toed, sometimes co-exist with efts, if given plenty of room.
Best, Frank
so, in terms of catching one more eft, because i would like to have 2 newts in my tank, where would it be easiest to find one? it is summer, and the temperatures here average around 90 degrees. it does rain, and sometimes we have really bad storms, and then it drops to the 60s or so. (Fahrenheit.) I do not believe red-backs, perhaos, duskys, 2lined, or 4toed are common here in Pennsylvania.
Hi Karah,
All are very hard to find in the summer, except during/after rains as you mention; but they may remain inactive/aestivate even then. Please remember to check into the legality of collecting…may be prohibited; permits sometimes available through state wildlife agency.
Best, Frank
Yesterday at the swamp I found several newts that look a lot like the red eft but the coloring is wrong. With them we found several (10 or more) baby spotted salamanders. The newt was a blackish brown on top with a yellow white belly. He had the red orange spots of the red eft however, and dry bumpy skin of the newt. Is this a different kind of red eft because it has been living in mud under rotting leaves and picked up a different coloration? We found him in the mud under a wooden board . Or is he a different newt all together, just a relative of the red eft? Thanks
Hi Karah,
Please let me know what state you were in, and what region of the state – north/south etc.
Thanks, best, Frank
Central Pennsylvania is where he was found.
Hi Frank,
while waiting for your response I had done a little research of my own. I had remembered reading somewhere that the red-spotted newt and red eft are often confused for one another. I have found the red-spotted newt and am housing them with my red eft. Here are my questions.
1. The red-spotted newts are about the same size as my red eft, are they okay to be housed together (i do believe i read that they are related to each other)
2. Do the red-spotted newts require different care? More water? (I can make about 1/4 of the tank water, 3/4 of the tank land from a 10gal.)
3. Any tips?
Anything you have to suggest will be great!
Hi Karah,
Efts are the temporary, land-dwelling phase of the Red – Spotted Newt; please see this article for more on their interesting natural history.
They need very different care; the information in this article covers the basics. In a small terrarium, it’s very difficult to meet the needs of efts and newts together; usually neither winds up with the proper environment. It is possible in a well-designed 20-30 gallon aquarium, but in general they are best housed separately.
Please let me know if you need any further info, and please keep me posted, best, Frank
Frank,
I’ve noticed my smaller of the red-spotted newts, named Nova now, was laying with Cougar, Cougar’s head over Nova’s neck. I took this as a sign they were getting along smoothly. The other newt, Champ, is burried under the moss away from them and doesn’t seem too social. Occasionally I am seeing the eft or the two newts swim in my water dish (it looks sort of like a carved out rock and is rather deep for a dish and does allow for swimming movement) but they seem to spend much more time on land. This is a picture of the newt I caught, in case you were thinking it was a different kind.
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&client=ubuntu&sa=N&channel=fs&biw=1024&bih=649&tbm=isch&tbnid=bs-Xz0i6esXKfM:&imgrefurl=http://www.giffbeaton.com/salamanders.htm&docid=T7f7w9C-RUIgiM&imgurl=http://www.giffbeaton.com/Salamanders/Red-spotted%252520Newt_2006-09-07-0051.jpg&w=576&h=306&ei=AJIBUMqyG4mK7AH3-OyKBw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=85&vpy=293&dur=792&hovh=163&hovw=308&tx=149&ty=72&sig=117863543211287874467&page=2&tbnh=105&tbnw=198&start=15&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:15,i:153
So if that is still what you were thinking of, should I provide more and deeper water? Maybe get a divider for the tank? When the tank was semi-aquatic, Cougar did swim some, and still ate healthily. So if necessary, I can change to maybe 1/2 and 1/2 or something. or 1/4 and 3/4. (the 3/4 being water, 1/4 being land)
Hi karah,
Yes, it is an eastern red-spotted newt. They are not social animals, so no need to worry about that aspect. They may get along, but in small terrariums skin problems often develop if they spend too much time in close contact – i.e. under the same shelter, etc. Seems related to skin abrasion, transfer of fungi, etc. In fact, we used the term “newt disease” in the old days, for animals that had been held in crowded pet store displays.
Filtration is important, as described in the article; ammonia builds up quickly. Also, water bowls rarely give enough swimming room. There are some very small filters available, but I don;t think all would work out well in a 10 gallon. A 5 gallon aquarium would be ok for a single, or perhaps 2 newts..half filled with water as mentioned in the article.
Best, Frank
Frank,
So since I have a 10gal (and already have a small filter for it that works wonderfully. Its actually a ground filter and it can cover either the full 10 gallons or just 5 gallons. pretty amazing) should I just make 5 gallons of it water, filled about halfway up to the top of the tank, and half of it land? How should I divide it? Using a glass divider? I don’t want the water getting into the other side and flooding it or making it too muddy. Thanks.
Hi karah,
Sorry if I wasn’t clear…it’s very difficult to do in a 10 gallon…water leaches into the soil and muddies the tank, moss etc. gets into the water and clogs the filter, raises the water’s pH etc, efts often drown, newts scratch themselves up on soil, rocks. You can use silicone to seal a glass divider into a tank, or install plastic containers within as land areas, but I do not recommend it, especially in such a small aquarium. best, Frank
Frank,
I am keeping two female adult red spotted newts in a filtered 10 gallon aquarium. I have a turtle dock as well as a pothos plant in gravel in a terra cotta pot to provide a haul out area. The tank has 8 gallons of water, which is planted, but I suspect maybe not enough, because the newts spend all of their time on the dock or in the plant. The temperature is kept between 70 and 72 degrees. I have been doing frequent water changes as I cannot seem to get the pH of the tank below 7.6. It has been as high as 8.3. I cannot figure out where this pH is coming from as I have tried filling the tank with distilled water and/or dechlorinated tap water unless it is from the gravel (polished river rock for use in ponds so that it is too large for them to swallow). They stay moist but I worry their skin will change to a more kerotinized terrestrial form over time. I am buying a nitrate test kit this weekend and a ton more plants. How do I get my girls back in the water?
Hi Chrystal
Sorry for the delay, glitch in system delayed me a bit. An elevated pH will keep them out of the water and can cause skin lesions and other problems. Do not use distilled water, as it will leach minerals and salts from the animals (through the skin). River rock and gravel sold for use with aquariums is rarely a problem, but you can experiment by putting some in a container for a time and testing pH.
Your local store should have products to lower pH (“PH Down”); or I can send you a link. Adding sphagnum moss or peat will also work, but it discolors water, can clog filter, and pH levels must be watched lest they drop too low. But best way is to use water that already in the right range. I’m assuming you tested the pH of water as it leaves the tap (well-water and certain other sources are usually of a high pH); perhaps try testing a few brands of bottled spring water?
Please let me know if you need more info, Best, Frank
Hello,
We purchased 2 Mexican Spotted Newts last year and now have about 2 dozen larvae that hatched from eggs. I have separated them from the baby-eating adults but would like suggestions on how to keep them healthy and grow into adults.
Do I need to put them in their own tank?
What do they eat, I don’t see any mouths!
Cathy
Hello Cathy,
Congrats…not common for folks to breed newts at home! It would be odd if the species you have is N. meridionalis, as they are considered d to be an endangered species (please see “related species” in this article ) but then again surprises do turn up. In any event, care is the same for most newt larvae.
They can be kept as described for Mexican Axolotls in the 2 articles linked below. They will not eat for a day or 2, after that finely chopped live blackworms (pet stores sell as fish food) are the best food. Live brine shrimp can be used if blackworms are not available, but they are not as nutritious. They may take dry food in time.
Best to move them to a bare-bottomed tank with mild filtration (see articles). Load the tank with plastic or live plants, to provide shelters/escape routes, as they are highly cannibalistic. Good luck, enjoy and pl let me know if you need further info. best, frank
http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatreptileblog/2009/02/13/breeding-mexican-axolotls-ambystoma-mexicanum/
http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatreptileblog/2009/01/26/captive-care-of-the-mexican-axolotl-ambystoma-mexicanum-part-2/
Hi, my backyard seems to encourage small slender newts to visit. We live in Northern California. We do not have a large water source for them live in. They look like earthworms. Do you know what they are called and what they perfer to eat, my son wants to keep it as a pet. I want to make a good habitat for it to be healthy and happy. I’m a snake and lizard kind of girl, never kept newts before always catch and released.
Hello,
You are likely seeing one of the Slender Salamanders (Batrachoseps spp.). You can see photos of 2 species here.. They do not make good captives…will feed only on tiny live invertebrates such as fruit flies, pinhead crickets, leaf litter invertebrates, etc….hard to provide dietary variety. Most are very sensitive to temperature…average room temps are usually too hot, stress the immune system’ etc. Please let me know if you need ideas for other species that are more suitable as pets, Best, Frank
Hey Frank, would you be able to email me directly at jm55068@gulls.salisbury.edu
I found and decided to keep 3 salamanders. ( 2 redbacks and one sledgeback ) in MD. I grabbed soil from the back yard and put it ontop of gravel. I’ve had them for about a month now on purely gravel and they have been doing fine. I was wondering if sudden influx of soil in which they were not found will be harmful due to PH. Is the wrong PH soil deadly? I do not believe the soil has any fertilizer or anything. Thanks!
Hi Jon,
Soil pH can affect them..you’d likely see escape behavior, wandering etc., but not always. I’ve not run into overly acidic or other problems, even when collecting in NYC, but there are no hard/fast rules.Letting the soil sit in some water for a time and then using a simple aquarium pH test kit or test strips may be useful, but I’m not sure how close the correlation will be.
I prefer to answer here so that others benefit, and this also helps me with time management, etc., but if there’s something you’d rather not post here you can send to findiviglio@thatpetplace.com.
best, Frank