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breeding groups of palmate newts

The palmate newt (Lissotriton helveticus) is one of 3 native species of newts, the other 2 being the smooth/common newt and the great crested newt. Palmate newts are the smallest of the 3 reaching a max size of around 9.5 cm. Breeding males develop a distinct filament on the end of their tail, strongly webbed hind feet, and a low, smooth crest on their back. They spend most of their time in the water during the breeding season and throughout the summer, but come back to land in late autumn to hibernate through the winter under rocks and log piles. Palmate newts while in water, feed on aquatic insects, worms, midge larvae and tadpoles. On land they mostly feed on earth worms and small insects. At Wildlife Pond and Aquarium we have captive bred palmate newts over many generations to ensure they are disease free and legal to sell and will be excellent breeding stock.

CAPTIVE CARE :

Palmate newts are easy to care for in captivity ,a paludarium set up is best however palmates being the most aquatic of the native newts can be kept in an aquarium set up for large parts of the year, a natural set up is best with a substrate of soil or coconut coir , lots of plants and moss ,some rocks or wood is also beneficial and of course a large water container , we keep our amphibians in bioactive setups with lots of worms ,springtails ,woodlice and other insects living the soil ,these as well as helping keep the enclosures clean also provide a natural food source for the newts ,life span of palmate newts is 10 to 15 years but they can live up to 20 in the right conditions ,ensure the lid of the enclosure is secure as they are good climbers and can can squeeze through narrow gaps.

FEEDING 🐛

Palmate newts will eat a wide range of foods

most standard insect foods are suitable ,make sure the food is the right size for the newts and not to big ,foods Including:

Crickets

Mealworm

Waxworm

Earth worm

Calci worm

White worm

Isopods ( woodlice )

Beetles

And flies

While commonly stated newts will eat snails and slugs these don't tend to be preferred ,

When the newts are living in water they can be fed most Live /frozen foods

Bloodworm

Daphnia

Krill

Gammarus

Tubifex

Blackworm

Water Louse

Midge/ mosquito larvae

As with all amphibians and reptiles in captivity palmate newts require a calcium supplement in there diet ( dusted over there food ) to avoid getting metabolic bone disease ( MBD ) ,a supplement with both calcium and additional nutrients is best ,we use arkvits but there's many different suitable brands ,foods like calci worm and isopods are also an excellent source of calcium for newts.

TEMPERATURE 🌡️

Between 13°C and 22 °C

HIBERNATION TEMPERATURE ❄️🌡️

between 3 °C and 5 °C

Alpine newts don't require hibernation unless you want to breed them.

HUMIDITY 🌧️

85 - 100%

BREEDING:

palmate newts are easy to breed and will do so readily after hibernation this can be done naturally by keeping them in an outdoor enclosure over winter or artificially by keeping them in a fridge for 2 to 3 months at 2 °C to 5 °C ,the fridge must have accurate temperature control with a decent amount of space inside to ensure enough air flow, a faunarium or storage container with air holes is a perfect hibernation enclosure doesn't need to be too large as there not very active during hibernation but depends on how many newts you have ,a substrate of soil and lots of damp sphagnum moss to keep the newts moist but not soaking ,a small water bowl is also important ,check them atleast once a week and give them a spray if it seems dry ,always feed them up well in the weeks before hibernation so there in good condition and have enough fat reserves.

Palmate newts reach sexual maturity from 2 to 3 years old ,when ready to breed the males will take on brighter colours and develop a very small crest down his back and a long filament at the end of the tail ,tail fanning from the male is a clear sign the newts are in full breeding mode , After mating the female will begin to lay eggs usually on the leaves of aquatic plants where she will carefully fold the leaf around the egg with her back feet and can keep laying between 30 and 300 eggs in a 3 to 4 month period ,they can take anywhere from 2 weeks to a month to hatch depending on temperature.

LIGHTING 💡

While it's disputed by amphibian keepers if newts and salamanders need UVB lighting as they are mostly nocturnal and wouldn't have much exposure to sunlight naturally ,we use UVB lights for all our amphibians , even though the newts wouldn't have much sun exposure in the wild they would still experience brief periods of sunlight as they squiggle through the undergrowth ,a 5% UVB is sufficient for them but UVB certainly isn't essential for this species.

TANK MATE'S 🦎

Palmate newts can be kept with other similar species including smooth newts and alpine newts , provided the enclosure is decent enough size for each animal to have there own space , these species are all found in close proximity in the wild and share the same habitat and will even hibernate together, many of the crested newts triturus.sp also share the same habitat and have similar care needs and could be kept in the same enclosure when small ( only in a large enclosure ) although these newts grow much larger than smooths , palmates or alpines and once they start to outgrow there smaller tank mates would need moved to there own enclosure.

There are many different methods of keeping amphibians in captivity and different keepers and breeders have there own methods ,our advice is based on our own experience and what we've had the most success with in our own animals.

Breeding pairs of palmate newts (Lissotriton helveticus)

£35.00Price
Out of Stock
  • Section 9(5) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

    This section prohibits sale, barter, exchange, advertising for sale.

    This only applies to 'wild animals'; these are defined as those that are living wild or were living wild before being captured or killed. It does not apply to captive bred animals being held in captivity. However, animals in gardens (e.g. newts in garden ponds) and captive bred animals that have been released to the wild are likely to be included in this definition.

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