mudboots

Not sure where exactly this fits, and maybe this is the wrong site to begin with since these are not plants, but here goes:

I have HUNDREDS of newt larvae and am willing to give them away to a good home, but am not willing to ship such tender little fellas. For now they are free for local pick-up in Nacogdoches, Texas. They make great science projects for kids, especially those of us who homeschool. Plus they are relatively simple to care for and house, and just plain cool as they go from aquatic larvae, to terrestrial efts, to aquatic adults. They are the species Notophthalmus viridiscens var. louisianensis, commonly known as Eastern, and more correctly, Central, newts.

Here is one pic of the larvae (they have grown since this pic) and one of what they look like as adults:

IMG_0242.JPG

IMG_0234.JPG

I am willing to ship them as efts and adults though, so however many of them reach that stage I will post for sale at that time.

Anyway, just throwing this out there to see if anyone's interested.

LVKSPlantlady

OH I deff. want to gets some of thses off you when they get to to be Red Eft's! I'll keep in touch!

mudboots

Good deal - I'll try to keep them happy for the next couple of months. The kids are really digging their development; still no legs, but they are plumping up.

I have read elsewhere that the larvae can be shipped in half air, half water and can survive. I remain unconvinced, but if you (or anyone else for that matter) are willing to take a gamble I'll send 5 larvae (probably a couple extra) for $6.00 just to cover shipping. I'd send more, but I'd hate to take a gamble on too many of them, plus the fewer per volume of "bag" the more likely they'll not run out of oxygen or poison themselves with waste.

But there'd be no gaurantee on survival.

vancat

hey mudboots,
true story: I met someone once (back in the 80s) who had 2 newts.
Their names were................... (what? no smilie for a drum roll?)

Olivia Newt and John.

AzFishKid

Any care/setup info on these guys?

jbrekken1

I can answer that. Yes, there is a bunch of care info available for them for the price of a google search. They seem like a good salamander to grow if you have live food available. Is that about right mudboots? What do you feed?

mudboots

My two adults are EXTREMEMLY finicky eaters. Live foods is a must; they really dig frozen bloodworms (though one food type is not going to get them the nutrition they need), and will pick at frozen mysis shrimp if they're hungry enough. They really won't take too much else. Other than that they are relatively easy to care for.

But just a heads up; these are not like certain species that need a specific insect or whatever in their diet to secrete toxins from their skin. They secrete toxins for their own protection (from predators and disease alike) and are therefore NOT good tankmates with much else. Also, I'm finding that the larvae are a PAIN IN THE REAR to raise. Not enough filtration and they poison themselves (waste in the water more than actual toxins); too much filtration and they get blown around constantly (or get sucked through the intake and become newt soup). Ahhhhhhhh!

bratyboy2

well u can count me out now lol i like them easy lol

mudboots

It appears as though I have made a grievous error. I guess I can blame it on all the swamp-gas I breath in the wetlands, but I have completely mis-identified the larvae; see excerpt from "Wetland-n-a-Box" thread below:

[Well, that's not good, as it means I have mis-informed lots of people by posting erroneous info. Ouch. Oh well, back to the pool they go; not a swimming pool, just a shallow-water wetland habitat where ned and nattie (among other newts and herps) live. I guess I made the mistake due to the time of year and the fact that newts were all over the place, including among the eggs. Maybe they were feasting and not fending...but you are the second person to bring this to my attention.

Corrections are on the way...[/quote]

Sorry about that everyone. BTW - further investigation this morning reveals that these tadpoles are from Leopard frogs. Cool, but definitely NOT for a home terrarium (need too much jumping space to be confined in a glass cage).

Knotty Bitz

What types of newts are those and are they aquatic.