That Reptile Blog – Reptile, Amphibian and Exotic Pet Care and Information

I’ve recently finished writing a revision of my 1997 book Newts and Salamanders and would like to introduce it here and to thank everyone for their past support and kind comments.

Care and Natural History

Although technically a captive care manual, I’ve included a great deal of natural history information garnered from a lifetime of working with amphibians as well as research updates from technical and popular journals.  Captive breeding is stressed, with specific advice given for each species covered.  Read More »

In Part I of this article I wrote about the huge numbers of Spotted Salamanders, Spring Peepers, Tiger Salamanders, Wood Frogs and other amphibians that are right now (March/April, 2010) approaching and entering their breeding ponds.  Today I’ll highlight some important programs that you can become involved in if you wish to observe and help protect this wonderful yearly phenomenon. Read More »

Other amphibian enthusiasts and I have long trudged about on cold, rainy spring nights in pursuit of one of North America’s most amazing amphibian events – the annual migrations of Tiger Salamanders, Spotted Salamanders, Wood Frogs, Spring Peepers and other early spring breeders.  Laughed at even by other nature enthusiasts for our odd passions (birders, for example, get to watch Yellow Warblers nesting in blossom-laden trees on warm May mornings!), we are now having our day – plummeting amphibian populations worldwide are causing folks to take notice…and action. Read More »

Please see The Natural History and Captive Care of Newts, Part I for general information.  Today we’ll take a look at newt that has long been popular with amphibian enthusiasts, the Japanese Fire-Bellied Newt (Cynops pyrrhogaster).  This species is often confused with the Chinese Fire-Bellied Newt, C. orientalis.  Chinese Fire Bellied Newts are smaller, with less-distinct paratoid glands and smoother skin (shown here in the photo of 2 submerged animals).  They can be cared for in much the same manner as their Japanese cousin. Read More »

Newts have long been among the most popular of all amphibian pets, and with good reason.  Unlike most others, they are bold, active by day and readily accept prepared foods.  Many are easy to breed in captivity and quite long-lived…a California Newt (Taricha torosa) in my collection reached 20 years of age.  Today we’ll look at natural history and husbandry, and in part 2 I’ll cover individual species such as Eastern Red-Spotted, Fire-Bellied and California Newts. Read More »