Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, i have a few different simple, broad questions. I have a tegu and some turtles but im very new to salamanders and newts and have no experience with them. Can you put them together? Are there certain species of salamander than can and cannot live with eachother? If so how do you know? What would be the setup for a 20 gallon tank for a salamander? Links with answers would be great too. thanks a lot for your time; im sure these questions may seem dumb but they will help me out a lot.
Thanks again, Sean

Newts and salamanders are a fun hobby. As far as housing, don't house any different species together. It is best you house them singly, they have very bad eyesight and sometimes think the other one is food. This results in loss of tails and toes. A 20 gallon will house pretty much any newt or salamander. If you want to have anything else in the tank with it put fish (as long as the newt/salamander is non-toxic). The best set up is half land/half water or close to that. Rocks comming up out of the water are good too. Just have an area where they can swim (2-6 in. , 3-4 is good) an area to get out of the water and an area to be in the waterbut not have to swim, either on floating water plants, driftwood... the water doesn't need to be filtered. the water temp. shouldn't drow below 55, but never above 75. get a lid (glass ones are better for humidity) and a lite. you don't really need a light, but it's a good idea. good luck and keep me updated!

Never mix species with newts and/or salamanders. With regards to your question on tank set up - it is very specific to the newt or salamander specie....some are aquatic, some semi-aquatic and some are strickly terrestial. To understand what type you may want and then understand the proper care for the animal you select - you would do well to go to www.caudata.org. All the information you would need on newts or salamanders can be found there.