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Triturus carnifex
Italian Crested Newt
Description:
Triturus carnifex is a larger species of newt, attaining 6"-7" in length. They are a dark brown color, sometimes with darker spots on the body. Juveniles and females have a yellow or orange vertebral stripe. They have orange bellies, mottled with black blotches and spots. Males develop a high crest along the top of their body its full length during breeding season, and their tails develop a blue-ish white sheen. A flavistic color morph of this species is present in the hobby, where the brown coloration is replaced by a yellow-orange cream body color.
Natural Range and Habitat:
Triturus carnifex range across most of Europe, excluding Spain, including introduced populations in the U.K. They inhabit medium to large bodies of water with dense aquatic vegetation which are surrounded by suitable terrestrial habitat such as forest and meadow. In the wild, adults newts live terrestrially for most of the year, spending 2 or 3 months aquatically during the breeding season. Efts leave the water after metamorphosis and live terrestrially until sexually mature.
Housing:
Triturus carnifex can be maintained in captivity terrestrially, aquatically, or in a semi-aquatic vivarium that lets them choose their habitat naturally. I, and many others, opt to maintain these newts aquatic year round for ease of feeding and housing.
A 30" or larger aquarium makes a good aquatic environment for a group of up to 6 newts. Maintain a water depth of 8" - 14". A tight fitting lid is necessary as they can climb glass, although do so rarely. A small floating island is necessary for the newts to occasionally rest on. Filtration should be provided with a low flow option such as a mini submersible or air driven sponge filter. Partial water changes are recommended to maintain a healthy aquatic environment. Live or artificial plants, driftwood, and aquarium hides/decor are necessary for the newts to retreat to and feel secure. Pleco tubes, cichlid hides, or small terra cotta pots are useful options. Substrate is not necessary. A bare bottom tank is easier to keep clean, but the newts do seem to appreciate some texture to grip as they slowly walk along the bottom hunting for food. If substrate is used, sand is recommended. Standard aquarium gravel will quickly become congested with uneaten food and lead to water quality issues and create difficulty for the newts to feed. Small particle size aquarium substrates could cause impaction issues as newts feed off the bottom. Sand is not an impaction danger and does not hold onto as much uneaten food. One option is to silicone a substrate barrier onto the bottom of the aquarium such that 2/3rds of the tank has substrate, and 1/3rd is bare bottom. When you feed, place the food in the bare bottom part of the tank.
A wide variety of water parameters are tolerated with a pH of 7 being ideal. As a pond dwelling species, tannins in the water are a natural part of the newts habitat and can be provided by adding Indian almond or oak leaves to the tank.
A terrestrial setup would involve the same amount of space and tight fitting lid. I strongly recommend a front opening terrarium as maintenance and feeding in such an enclosure makes really increases the enjoyment of the keeping experience. A drainage layer such as filter foam or leca can be used, on top of which a thick layer of natural substrate as you would find in the forest such as a blend of topsoil, moss, and bark. The primary concern when choosing a terrestrial substrate is that the tiny particles do not stick to the newts skin, causing them to be constantly irritated. This is the reason to avoid peat moss and coco coir. Give terrestrial newts lots of hides such as cork bark pieces and other terrarium decor. Terrestrial newts will become fossorial and nocturnal. This means they will hide all day and be active at night.
Temperature:
It is natural for these newts to experience seasonal temperature change, and is even necessary to induce breeding and other natural behaviors. Winter temperatures down to 50f and summer temperatures up to 75f are comfortably tolerated. A good maintenance temperature for juveniles and adults is 68f. These temperatures are likely easily maintained in the home by keeping the aquarium at room temperature without the need for an aquarium heater. As mentioned, seasonal fluctuation is recommended.
Feeding:
Triturus carnifex accept a wide variety of foods. Prepared foods such as frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, small axolotl pellets, and Hikari vibra bites. Live foods such as small chopped earthworms, blackworms, daphnia, and scuds. Feed daily to every other day observing that all the food offered is eaten within a few hours. If uneaten food is left over it will quickly foul the water. If you notice uneaten food, remove it by the end of the day and cut back on the amount and frequency of food being offered. If you want to maintain the newts on pelleted food such as salmon/axolotl pellets be aware that their belly color will fade to light orange/yellow. Also be aware that if you feed their more preferred foods such as live earthworms and frozen bloodworms, they may begin to ignore pellets when they are offered.
When kept terrestrial, newts will need live insects such as got-loaded and vitamin-dusted crickets and earth worms. be sure to use a calcium supplement with vitamin D3. Terrestrial newts may be accustomed to eat frozen-thawed bloodworms presented on a damp paper towel. Terrestrial newts can be trained to be tong fed. Start by offering pieces of chopped earthworm from the tip of forceps or a similar tool. You can try this during the day, the process requires time and patience. But once your newts are accustomed to tong feeding, there is the possibility of offering prepared foods such as moistened turtle pellets. When feeding earthworms, the live worms will likely evade the newts by borrowing dep into the substrate and drainage layer. for this reason, tong feeding earthworms is best.
Breeding:
Triturus carnifex are a fairly easy species of newt to breed and raise. Males develop a tall crest along the entire length of the top of their body, as well as a blueish-white sheen on their tails. To get into breeding condition, the newts will need to be cycled, which means they experience seasonal changes of light and temperature. During the winter months the water temperature should drop down at least 15f degrees and the light cycle should be reduced to just 8 hours. In late winter, temperature and light will gradually increase and adult newts will begin courtship and egg laying in an aquatic environment. Female Triturus like to lay eggs on plant leaves where they glue the eggs individually and fold the leaf around then. To be successful you should check for and remove eggs at least once per week. This task will be easier if you remove all live and artificial plants and replace them with thinly cut strips of plastic (sandwich bag or disposable plastic grocery bag material) tied to small rocks. Eggs and larvae can be maintained at room temperature.
Raising Larvae and Efts:
Eggs can be prone to mold and fungus. This can be prevented with the use of tannin rich water or methylene blue. Freshly hatched larvae will require tiny live food such as freshly hatched brine shrimp. The larvae will only accept live food for several weeks until they are large enough to try frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, and hikari vibra bites. Live foods for the larvae include daphnia, white worms, chopped blackworms, scud, and fruit fly larvae. Maintain good water quality for the larvae with a sponge filter, live plants, removal of detritus, and partial water changes. Triturus larvae can be cannibalistic. Every few weeks, sort the larvae by size and only house similarly sized larvae together, Also be sure to feed daily, as hungry newt larvae will bite at each others tails and legs, often successfully ripping one another apart. A lot of tank decor and thick vegetation in the larvae rearing tanks helps give the larvae space from one another to prevent this. Not housing too many larvae per tank and spreading out the food throughout the tank also helps prevent the limb biting habit. After a few months the larvae will undergo metamorphosis. They will loose their gills, start breathing with lungs, and their tail will become more streamlined. At this stage, to avoid the risk of drowning, they must be provided the opportunity to rest terrestrially on emergent or floating vegetation, floating cork bark, small floating turtle 'docks', or something similar. A post-metamorph newt is called an eft. Many efts are strongly terrestrial and live terrestrially until sexual maturity. Triturus carnifex can be maintained aquatically during the eft stage so long as it is easy for them to climb out of the water and rest. They will continue to spend most of their time in the water and will eat in the water as well. Reminder to have a tight fitting lid, as tiny juvenile efts can climb glass and fit through small gaps.
Italian Crested Newt
Description:
Triturus carnifex is a larger species of newt, attaining 6"-7" in length. They are a dark brown color, sometimes with darker spots on the body. Juveniles and females have a yellow or orange vertebral stripe. They have orange bellies, mottled with black blotches and spots. Males develop a high crest along the top of their body its full length during breeding season, and their tails develop a blue-ish white sheen. A flavistic color morph of this species is present in the hobby, where the brown coloration is replaced by a yellow-orange cream body color.
Natural Range and Habitat:
Triturus carnifex range across most of Europe, excluding Spain, including introduced populations in the U.K. They inhabit medium to large bodies of water with dense aquatic vegetation which are surrounded by suitable terrestrial habitat such as forest and meadow. In the wild, adults newts live terrestrially for most of the year, spending 2 or 3 months aquatically during the breeding season. Efts leave the water after metamorphosis and live terrestrially until sexually mature.
Housing:
Triturus carnifex can be maintained in captivity terrestrially, aquatically, or in a semi-aquatic vivarium that lets them choose their habitat naturally. I, and many others, opt to maintain these newts aquatic year round for ease of feeding and housing.
A 30" or larger aquarium makes a good aquatic environment for a group of up to 6 newts. Maintain a water depth of 8" - 14". A tight fitting lid is necessary as they can climb glass, although do so rarely. A small floating island is necessary for the newts to occasionally rest on. Filtration should be provided with a low flow option such as a mini submersible or air driven sponge filter. Partial water changes are recommended to maintain a healthy aquatic environment. Live or artificial plants, driftwood, and aquarium hides/decor are necessary for the newts to retreat to and feel secure. Pleco tubes, cichlid hides, or small terra cotta pots are useful options. Substrate is not necessary. A bare bottom tank is easier to keep clean, but the newts do seem to appreciate some texture to grip as they slowly walk along the bottom hunting for food. If substrate is used, sand is recommended. Standard aquarium gravel will quickly become congested with uneaten food and lead to water quality issues and create difficulty for the newts to feed. Small particle size aquarium substrates could cause impaction issues as newts feed off the bottom. Sand is not an impaction danger and does not hold onto as much uneaten food. One option is to silicone a substrate barrier onto the bottom of the aquarium such that 2/3rds of the tank has substrate, and 1/3rd is bare bottom. When you feed, place the food in the bare bottom part of the tank.
A wide variety of water parameters are tolerated with a pH of 7 being ideal. As a pond dwelling species, tannins in the water are a natural part of the newts habitat and can be provided by adding Indian almond or oak leaves to the tank.
A terrestrial setup would involve the same amount of space and tight fitting lid. I strongly recommend a front opening terrarium as maintenance and feeding in such an enclosure makes really increases the enjoyment of the keeping experience. A drainage layer such as filter foam or leca can be used, on top of which a thick layer of natural substrate as you would find in the forest such as a blend of topsoil, moss, and bark. The primary concern when choosing a terrestrial substrate is that the tiny particles do not stick to the newts skin, causing them to be constantly irritated. This is the reason to avoid peat moss and coco coir. Give terrestrial newts lots of hides such as cork bark pieces and other terrarium decor. Terrestrial newts will become fossorial and nocturnal. This means they will hide all day and be active at night.
Temperature:
It is natural for these newts to experience seasonal temperature change, and is even necessary to induce breeding and other natural behaviors. Winter temperatures down to 50f and summer temperatures up to 75f are comfortably tolerated. A good maintenance temperature for juveniles and adults is 68f. These temperatures are likely easily maintained in the home by keeping the aquarium at room temperature without the need for an aquarium heater. As mentioned, seasonal fluctuation is recommended.
Feeding:
Triturus carnifex accept a wide variety of foods. Prepared foods such as frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, small axolotl pellets, and Hikari vibra bites. Live foods such as small chopped earthworms, blackworms, daphnia, and scuds. Feed daily to every other day observing that all the food offered is eaten within a few hours. If uneaten food is left over it will quickly foul the water. If you notice uneaten food, remove it by the end of the day and cut back on the amount and frequency of food being offered. If you want to maintain the newts on pelleted food such as salmon/axolotl pellets be aware that their belly color will fade to light orange/yellow. Also be aware that if you feed their more preferred foods such as live earthworms and frozen bloodworms, they may begin to ignore pellets when they are offered.
When kept terrestrial, newts will need live insects such as got-loaded and vitamin-dusted crickets and earth worms. be sure to use a calcium supplement with vitamin D3. Terrestrial newts may be accustomed to eat frozen-thawed bloodworms presented on a damp paper towel. Terrestrial newts can be trained to be tong fed. Start by offering pieces of chopped earthworm from the tip of forceps or a similar tool. You can try this during the day, the process requires time and patience. But once your newts are accustomed to tong feeding, there is the possibility of offering prepared foods such as moistened turtle pellets. When feeding earthworms, the live worms will likely evade the newts by borrowing dep into the substrate and drainage layer. for this reason, tong feeding earthworms is best.
Breeding:
Triturus carnifex are a fairly easy species of newt to breed and raise. Males develop a tall crest along the entire length of the top of their body, as well as a blueish-white sheen on their tails. To get into breeding condition, the newts will need to be cycled, which means they experience seasonal changes of light and temperature. During the winter months the water temperature should drop down at least 15f degrees and the light cycle should be reduced to just 8 hours. In late winter, temperature and light will gradually increase and adult newts will begin courtship and egg laying in an aquatic environment. Female Triturus like to lay eggs on plant leaves where they glue the eggs individually and fold the leaf around then. To be successful you should check for and remove eggs at least once per week. This task will be easier if you remove all live and artificial plants and replace them with thinly cut strips of plastic (sandwich bag or disposable plastic grocery bag material) tied to small rocks. Eggs and larvae can be maintained at room temperature.
Raising Larvae and Efts:
Eggs can be prone to mold and fungus. This can be prevented with the use of tannin rich water or methylene blue. Freshly hatched larvae will require tiny live food such as freshly hatched brine shrimp. The larvae will only accept live food for several weeks until they are large enough to try frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, and hikari vibra bites. Live foods for the larvae include daphnia, white worms, chopped blackworms, scud, and fruit fly larvae. Maintain good water quality for the larvae with a sponge filter, live plants, removal of detritus, and partial water changes. Triturus larvae can be cannibalistic. Every few weeks, sort the larvae by size and only house similarly sized larvae together, Also be sure to feed daily, as hungry newt larvae will bite at each others tails and legs, often successfully ripping one another apart. A lot of tank decor and thick vegetation in the larvae rearing tanks helps give the larvae space from one another to prevent this. Not housing too many larvae per tank and spreading out the food throughout the tank also helps prevent the limb biting habit. After a few months the larvae will undergo metamorphosis. They will loose their gills, start breathing with lungs, and their tail will become more streamlined. At this stage, to avoid the risk of drowning, they must be provided the opportunity to rest terrestrially on emergent or floating vegetation, floating cork bark, small floating turtle 'docks', or something similar. A post-metamorph newt is called an eft. Many efts are strongly terrestrial and live terrestrially until sexual maturity. Triturus carnifex can be maintained aquatically during the eft stage so long as it is easy for them to climb out of the water and rest. They will continue to spend most of their time in the water and will eat in the water as well. Reminder to have a tight fitting lid, as tiny juvenile efts can climb glass and fit through small gaps.
