Reptile & Amphibian Forums

is it possible to keep frogs & newts in the same tank or would the frogs eat the newts??? wanted to put tree frogs with some fire belly newts.

thanks Tammy

you can mix some species together with success, although mixing firebellies, with other species, besides other firebellies is generally asking for trouble. whites do like to soak in water and could come into contact with the newts and the toxins they can excrete, which would most likely be deadly to your whites, and most other amphibians and small reptiles. you could try whites with oregon newts, though adult whites may be capable of eating the newts, depending on the size of both species. i would have to recommend against the mix you suggested. i have three adult whites mixed with two adult crested geckos in a 70 gal. ez access tank. they get along great and have not had any complications in the two years they have been together.

Species mixing is a horrible idea when it comes to reptiles and amphibians!!!!!!!!!!!!
In the other reply the individual said you could house tree-frogs with california newts. This is asking for problems. California newts and related species (Taricha sp.) are the most toxic amphbians in North America. There are documented cases of people eating them on a dare and getting very ill, then die. So if the toxins could kill a human think what it could do to a tree-frog.

As in the previous post most people will justify species mixing by saying, "well they have been fine from what I can tell". Until one day you come home and see one of your captives killing and eating the other!!

you are correct about the toxicity of oregon newts and the others, but what you must remember is that these species, along with most others don't constantly release toxins, but do it when they feel threatned or are being attacked. i currently have a pair of oregons with a juvie. savages thin toed frog. the frog is way to small to cause any grief to the newts and the newts could care less about frog, many times i find them sleeping on top of one another. you are right that most people shouldn't attempt mixed species tanks unless they have years of experience with individual species and have spent much time researching the needs of the species and setting up proper vivariums to house such species. i am in my 15th year of doing this and have had my share of successes and failures. i have seen the effects of stressed amphibs that are toxic to tank mates and it is not pretty. but i have learned over the years and found methods thta have worked for mixing different genus and species together. while you thoughts are not wrong, they are one sided and not very broad. for as many horror stories, there are many success stories as well, most just chose to ignore them and preach what is common thought. and ask yourself, where would we be if no one thought outside the box?

A little one-sided?
Go to the following link: http://www.livingunderworld.org/amphibianArticles/article0007.shtml

This site was a colaberation of multiple herpoculterists with much knowledge and experince in the field of herptiles. More so than you or I. Just because you have been doing somthing for 15+ years does not mean you are doing it correctly.(I do not mean to sound rude at all by this.)

What I cannot understand with people that mix species, is why take the chance of killing a group of God`s creature in one fail swoop instead of just housing them seperatly.

Oh, one more thing, you where concerned about the toxins of the fire-bellied newts. You also need to read this article on the same website. http://www.livingunderworld.org/amphibianArticles/article0011.shtml.
The article goes into great detail about the toxins of your oreagan newts. I wanted to know if you knew this is a fictional name made up by the pet-trade. I just thought you would have known that in your ample experince with amphibians and reptiles.

>>Species mixing is a horrible idea when it comes to reptiles and amphibians!!!!!!!!!!!!
>>In the other reply the individual said you could house tree-frogs with california newts. This is asking for problems. California newts and related species (Taricha sp.) are the most toxic amphbians in North America. There are documented cases of people eating them on a dare and getting very ill, then die. So if the toxins could kill a human think what it could do to a tree-frog.>>

Taricha species only release their toxin (tarichatoxin) when handled roughly or when they are stressed. Their toxin will not leach into the water from their skin, so housing a treefrog with a California newt is not a problem. However, housing a big frog (such as a bullfrog or a horned frog) that can feed on the newt is a bad idea. The frog can die after eating the newt, and the newt can die from being ingested and partially digested.

In general I do agree that it is a bad idea to mix species because of disease and parasites. A species from one part of the world would probably not have any immunity to the diseases that may be harmless to another species from another part of the world. The same is true of parasites.

I forgot to add in my other post to go to caudata.org/cc/ and read the article on Species Mixing diasters. They are all horror stories about some ill advised people ended up with dead frogs and salamanders.

If this was not enough to keep someone from mixing, think about the pathogens transmitted from one species to another.

You are taking species from different parts of the world and putting them togather. Each creature has an imunity to certain germs and parasites, so when you put them with another creature that is not from that part of the world you end up with a sick animal and then possibly a dead one.

So in short please do not mix species togather to save you heart ache and for the sake of the animals.

FBT are toxic, you should never put them in with anything else. period, adn some people will tell you it's OK, but why risk it?