Hello everyone!
There is a lack of information concerning the captive care of new metamorphosed larvae of Lissotriton vulgaris ampelensis here in the United States. (I have just started keeping European Newts for that matter!)
(http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/vv130/SludgeMunkey/LvaNewMorphs.jpg)
I traded for some eggs a while back. The first of the larvae climbed up onto land on Saturday. I am very excited about this, but am unsure what is the best way to keep the little ones. I have heard that people have had success keeping them both semi-aquatic and terrestrially.
I am curious if anyone here on Salamanders.nl has experience with this species and would be willing to share any information.
(Message repeats in poorly translated Dutch) :D
Hallo iedereen!
Er is een gebrek aan informatie over de in gevangenschap levende zorg voor nieuwe gemetamorfoseerde larven van Lissotriton vulgaris ampelensis hier in de Verenigde Staten. (Ik ben net begonnen met het houden Europese Salamanders voor die kwestie!)
Ik heb ingeruild voor een paar eieren een tijdje terug. De eerste van de larven klom op het land op zaterdag. Ik ben erg enthousiast over deze, maar ik ben niet zeker wat de beste manier om de kleintjes te houden. Ik heb gehoord dat mensen die succes hebben ze te houden, zowel semi-aquatische en terrestrisch had.
Ik ben benieuwd of iemand hier op Salamanders.nl heeft ervaring met deze soort en zou bereid zijn om informatie te delen.
It is illegal to keep native species in The Netherlands (including other subspecies). It is therefore unlikely that anyone has been breeding these.
However I expect them to be similar to L. boscai and L. italicus. You can find info on Caudata.org but you'll probably know that site.
The Belgian keepers here cán have this species, so it's not the wrong place to ask.
As far as I know, raising these guys is pretty similar/the same as a Triturus..
you've got a pm
As a kid I kept Lissotriton vulgaris, before I knew this was illegal here. I took some animals out of my garden pond and bred them inside. I raised them terrestrially with soil and leaves as a substrate. I did not find it hard to raise them those days...
Indeed it is legal to have them in Belgium (with paperwork). However this is a very recent hange in the law and therefore I do not think there are many breeders with experience yet.
I also kept then as a child, not knowing is was Illegal. I breed them a lot. I raised them up mostly in terrestrial setup but also a aquatic setup. Terrestrial was more successful, but in both ways it was not very hard to breed them.
Thank you all for the replies and PMs!
I hope I did not upset anyone. I was unaware of the legality of this species over there, but figured the odds of finding people with experience with them would be better on your side of the Atlantic. ;)
Sadly, here in the US (even on Caudata.org) quite a few of the European species are lacking in data for captive care. I found a small amount of conflicting information on L.v. ampelensis.
I am looking forward to continuing to work with these and the other European species I have here. I greatly enjoy keeping caudates not commonly kept in the United States.
It is legal in the US so you're not doing anything wrong.
For many species you find different opinions. This often means it is not so critical.
I think this http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Triturus/T_boscai.shtml will work quite well, they are pretty similar.