Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just purchased 6 T. Natans from a LFS. They are all between 6inchs and a foot. They seem to be doing well. I am keeping them at 80 degrees F with a PH of 6.5. They really seem to enjoy chopped small pan fish worms. Anyone have any tips? I have been lurking on this board and various others for years.

I also have a terrestrial caecilian roughly 6 inches long, black with dark blue highlights. When I purchased it the order form called it a camaroon Caecilian. I am curious as to its exact species. Any ideas? I can post pics

~Cory

It's been so long since I had T. natans, but I remember they liked earthworms (I cut the earthworms into pieces before dropping them in the water). I would freeze rosy reds, then thaw them and drop them in, too. Pieces of plain cooked shrimp were treats. Insect pupae were taken (soft mealworm pupae), and crickets (I'd crush the heads of the crickets first). Of course, any aquarium fish that died or were too weak to escape.

Katrina
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1.2 Eastern Muds - Fred, Ethel, Edith
0.1 Iguana - Tiffel
0.1 Bearded Dragon - Foster
Foster turtles: More than I'd like the husband to know about.

i've got a group of 3 i bought from a store about 4 months ago. i keep mine in a bare bottom 10 gallon with about 6 gallons of water. i have 2 pvc pipe tubes and an upside down plastic plant pot tray(it is about 3/4 deep) in the tank. i keep them with a brown knife fish(not african brown) and a queen arabesque pleco. they go crazy for worms..i usually get red wigglers because of the size...frozen bloodworms work really well too. i also feed them hikari carnivore pellets...which they go crazy for as well..

as far as water quality i dont pay close attention to ph or temperature..for a long time i was using tap water left out over night to dechlorinate..which probably started with a ph around 6.5-7.5..my water changes consist of dumping 95% of the water out and refilling with roughly 5-6 gallons of water. right now im using R.O. water in the same way. my filter is a whisper in tank either 20i or 40i...i have not changed the pad since i bought it(probably 1.5 years ago)but i do rinse the pad out every time i do a water change. my top for the tank is a custom made wood/screen top the fits very tight. that way they cant get out..

incase you did not know, T. natans exportaion was halted from the original country they were found in( i cant remember which one this was right now)...the reason was because 99% sold to americans ended up dying becuase nobody knew how to care for them, put them in a fish tank and had them crawl out and dry up...i learned recently that other countries occasionaly export them..good luck with keeping them.

Well first off I suggest you pay closer attention to the water quality. A strain of fungus seems to be one of the leading causes in captive deaths of these guys (hence keeping them at a lower ph as this seems to deter fungal growths). Secondly 6 gallons is awfully small for 3 of these and doing 95% water changes will hurt you in the long run. Also make sure you are washing that whisper sponge out with water from the tank. Washing it with clean water kills all the beneficial bacteria on it. Please rethink the use of R.O. water as they seem to be able to "feel" the mineral content of water. The constant use of R.O. water would simulate a constant rainy season for them and hence breeding season. This could be possibly stressful.
Also keeping that knife in there isnt doing it any favors. It is most likely very stressed from the tiny living conditions and competing with caecilians for hiding spaces. Not to mention all species of knifes produce electrical fields to navigate the water and this could be detrimental to the caecilians. Plus they will eat it. Just give them time. These buggers eat everything.
Good luck with them. They are amazing animals to watch and one of my favorite pets.

As a final note, while many in early years most likely did die due to poor husbandry this was not the reason for the close of exportation. The country of origin simply stopped all exportation of non-fish wildlife. This is why some caecilians still make it into the market place as they are often misidentified as eels or worms by importers (this is how I fnally got mine after years of waiting and watching and at the price I bought them for these are not "blackmarket animals". T. Natans seem to be doing quite well in the wild due to fishermen gutting and cleaning their catch on docks and tossing the remnants in the water.
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