Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK, I am wanting to get a couple of newts to live in a viquarium I am currently building. It's gonna be made of a ten gallon tank, so it'll be pretty small. I wanted to get two newts.

Which would be my best bets for species. I have been talking to pet stores, and they have red bellied, but they do not know if they are chinese or japanese. I understand that chinese are generally smaller...? Is there any reliable way to tell them apart?

Also, I am wondering about a reliable way to differentiate sex. As stated, I want to get two, but I don't want any baby newts. Would it be ok to put two males or two females together? And how do I tell them apart from male to female?

Lastly, I will probably get thrown out for this next question, but, I'll ask it anyway. I want a species that is generally really easy to care for. I will have a filter and air line in the tank, but I do not want to have to buy heaters or lamps for the little fellas. I also would like soemthing that has pretty reasonable dietary needs - ie, pellets are fine. That being said, I currently have a turtle, and I don't mind peeling grapes for treats from time to time, and I also understand the need for a vet now and then, even for reptiles!

Thanks,

Catherine

the red belly you said was really a fire belly. chinese firebellies are smaller species and you can tell them apart because chinese firebellies are orangie red on the bottom and black on the rest of their body. but japanese firebellies are more greenish than black. they are also fairly to take care of.but you should consider feeding them bloodworms because both of mine don't eat the pellets that i give them. i don't know how to tell them apart though. i have two chinese firebellies and two eastern redspotted newts but i can't tell which is a female and male. i have them in a case smaller than a ten gallon. it's a fairly large replite ranch. i mean the large but they are doing ok.hope i could help.

Derick

The only methods that I know of is a very thick back tail fin much larger then females and thick stocky back legs, I'v been trying to use this method to sex my 2 easter red spots but to no evail.

Hi,
I am new to newts as well, but hopefully I can answer a few of your questions.
As far as telling japanese or chinese fire bellies apart: Chinese have smoother skin and rounded tail ends. Japanese are larger, have rougher skin and tapered tail ends. Google a few pictures of each and you'll be able to tell them apart easily.

For sexing them, mature males have a "bulge" at the base of the tail, females don't. Check out this web site for pictures
http://www.caudata.org/caudatecentral/articles/sexing.html, but it's pretty tough to tell when they're young.

Both species of fire bellies do best in cool water (ie no heaters) and too much heat can be a problem. If you have air conditioning in your house, keeping the tank cool probably won't be a problem. From what I've read, newts usually won't eat pellets (and they're not particularly nutritional) but bloodworms and tubifex worms are sold frozen and make good newt chow. The tank must also be cleaned regularly, as with any aquarium.

Hope that helps, and the pros can feel free to correct anything I am wrong about

Klyk

First Catherine, i want to say, thanks for being so honest with yourself about your ability to care of newts. i think a lot of people get pets they're not ready for and the pets suffer for it. raising newts can be tough, but mostly because it's hard to find people who know what they're talking about. (i for one had two newts die after a pet store clerk told me it was ok to use ick medicine in my newt tank.) you've already gotten over that first hump. over the years this forum has been invaluable to me.

as i understand it, it's actually fairly difficult to get newts to mate in captivity. they're not like hamsters were if you have one of each sex you will have babies. they require specific changes in temperatures and hours of light/day that simulate the coming of spring before they'll breed. i've never been able to really tell the difference between males and females but i've had one for four years and he's (i do know that he's a he) had several tank mates over the years. i'm sure that there have been females in my tank, but i've never had any eggs laid.

this website is mentioned all the time, but it really is a good site for more information: http://www.caudata.org/caudatecentral/

http://www.caudata.org/caudatecentral/caresheets/C_pyrrhogaster.html - this page has a lot of information about Japanese Firebellies and also a good section on telling Japanese and Chinese (aka Oriental) apart. http://www.caudata.org/caudatecentral/caresheets/C_orientalis.html - this page talks about Chinese FB newts.

good luck

OK... this all sounds great.

However, I was in town today, pricing equipment, and newts, and I noticed something odd. In one store, the newts were about $15 each. In another store, they were 3. Same type of newts, fire bellies, and they seemed to be fine. I just called a thrid store, and their fire bellies are 9. I am confused. I'll probably end up going with the $9 ones, cause that seems like a happy medium. But, how can there be SUCH A HUGE difference in the prices? Oh well... I knnow there's no answer for that one .

Anyway, no babies, eh? Sounds good to me. Also, what you said, sassie, about my abailities? I have no doubt that I will be able to take good care of them. I totally agree that people buy small pets like this on impulse, and don't realize what they have gotten themselves into - and quite frankly, most don't care. Oh well. I am determined not to be the person who's newt escapes because the owner never knew they could climb glass. lol

Thanks, everyone for your encouragement and hints,

Catherine