Newts??? I've not seen one, since I got back into aquariums... are they still in the hobby??? anyone have one???

[Magnum Man]

In my looking them up again recently, one article actually thought handling them once a day was a good thing…

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.
Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

This is Shakespeare's recipe for making a Lord greedy ambitious enough to murder a Scottish KIng, but if there aren't any kings around and you're a peasant like the rest of us, it apparently helps make you resist second hand aquarium sales, online ordering (blind ordering, like the newt when you've stolen its eye) and getting into staredowns with pet newts. It also makes a wicked herbal Ich remedy.

I always wondered where the heck they got a baboon's blood in medieval Scotland. Amazon? Ebay?

 

[WhistlingBadger]

In my looking them up again recently, one article actually thought handling them once a day was a good thing…

Hm, I haven't heard that before. I can't imagine why handling an amphibian would ever be a good thing, their skin being so fragile and prone to infection. But hey, it's a mysterious world...

 

[otterblue]

I've kept newts with fish before, but two concerns are water temp (most newts need cooler water than many aquarium fish) & fin nipping. Newts will attempt to bite anything moving that comes near it, which the fish inevitably do.

It's possible to do it, but not ideal if you're trying to provide the best habitat.

 

[otterblue]

In my looking them up again recently, one article actually thought handling them once a day was a good thing…

That's an interesting and bad idea.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

@otterblue You certainly wouldn't want to keep them with anything slow-moving or long-finned, that's for sure.

Oh, man, I want an emperor/crocodile/Himalayan newt so badly now. They live in the Himalayas AND Yunnan, so they'd fit my Paludarium perfectly. And they're almost entirely terrestrial! I doubt they'd get along with my Firebelly toads; they'd most likely try to eat them. But if the frogs keep disappearing? I might try one sometime.

 

[otterblue]

@otterblue You certainly wouldn't want to keep them with anything slow-moving or long-finned, that's for sure.

Oh, man, I want an emperor/crocodile/Himalayan newt so badly now. They live in the Himalayas AND Yunnan, so they'd fit my Paludarium perfectly. And they're almost entirely terrestrial! I doubt they'd get along with my Firebelly toads; they'd most likely try to eat them. But if the frogs keep disappearing? I might try one sometime.

Here's a site that currently has them: https://reptileheaven.com/product/emporer-newt-for-sale/

But it's a little concerning that they misspelled "emperor". Man, newts have gotten expensive.

I can't remember the last time I've seen them in a pet store. I only see them now at reptile/amphibian expos.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Here's a site that currently has them: https://reptileheaven.com/product/emporer-newt-for-sale/

But it's a little concerning that they misspelled "emperor". Man, newts have gotten expensive.

I can't remember the last time I've seen them in a pet store. I only see them now at reptile/amphibian expos.

Yeah, phibs in general have gotten really hard to find the past few years. With fire belly toads, it's because there's been a ban on wild-caught ones, and I suspect that applies to salamanders too. Captive bred animals are preferred of course, but there aren't really any commercial breeders in the states, so it's down to private breeders mostly. That means high quality animals that cost a whole bunch of $$.

But wow. Those are so cool.

 

[Magnum Man]

@otterblue … I posted that same link in post 6… although it has a different title, same link… which makes me question, in my earlier search, did I accidentally find the best source, or are there very few sources for this type of critter???

 

[otterblue]

@otterblue … I posted that same link in post 6… although it has a different title, same link… which makes me question, in my earlier search, did I accidentally find the best source, or are there very few sources for this type of critter???

That's a good question. I don't know. I found a few sites that had a very good selection of newts, but emperors were all sold out. This was the first site where I found them available.

 

[otterblue]

LOL! Fire belly newts are now $50! You used to be able to buy those for under $10. I had a group of them for 7+ years until they escaped from a temporary container when I moved.

I had been considering setting up a new enclosure for newts again. They are a lot of fun.

 

[OldFishKeeper]

The toxicity issue is often overstated, in my opinion. They say that about Firebelly toads, too. It's one of those things that has been stated and restated so many times it has become an accepted "fact." But the consensus among people who have actually tried it is that it isn't a problem. Toxins are biologically expensive; newts and frogs don't just swim around oozing poison into the water. They only put out poison if they're convinced something is trying to kill them. As long as they're in a safe environment with peaceful neighbors, there aren't going to be any toxins getting into the water.

I never had any desire to eat one! I remember searching for them in my childhood. Some 60 years ago, I found some in a pond called Frog Hollow in Vancouver, BC. It was covered over and turned into a bus terminal. I believe it is now under a strip mall.

That is an indication of why they are no longer available...same goes for tadpoles. I don't know what youngsters do nowadays to explore nature. Maybe they go to an amphibian museum...sad .