[Michael Shrom]

Are any of you breeding Laotriton laoensis? Mine are laying eggs like crazy. It seems like the less adults I have in a tank the more eggs I get. I'm not sure if this is because of the interruption of mating ritual, egg eating, conditioning, coincidence, or some other reason.

They way they fold their eggs in I don' know if their would be much egg eating or not. I'm moving from collecting eggs every couple days to once a week in my 3 Laotriton breeder tanks.

 

[JRoe]

What temperature do you have them under? I have a courting pair as well. Very curious so I can further help them along with eggs...

Thanks.

 

[Michael Shrom]

I have them at 62F to 70F. My understanding is that they will slow down egg laying if they get much colder or warmer than that. They don't seem to need a cool down period to trigger breeding. I have about 30 larvae so far.

 

[FrogFever]

The color pattern on those remind me of larval lady bugs if you've ever seen them.

 

[Michael Shrom]

Yea. Lady bugs and gila monsters.

 

[Woodsman]

Congratulations Mike for getting them breeding! It's nice to know that someone is having breeding success with such a rare newt. Please put me on your waiting list for a group of the babies.

Take care, Richard.

 

[JRoe]

Once they were at that temperature how long did it take for eggs to show up?

 

[Michael Shrom]

I put you on the waiting list Richard.

Right now is the breeding season. If they are conditioned they should start laying quickly. If you see the cloacal bulge on the female and the males tail has a white stripe it is an indication they are in condition.

 

[JeremyHuff]

Great news Michael! I too, will take some when they are ready.

 

[mantisdragon91]

Congratulations Mike for getting them breeding! It's nice to know that someone is having breeding success with such a rare newt. Please put me on your waiting list for a group of the babies.

Take care, Richard.

Say it ain't so Richard buying "wild stolen" newt offspring On the other hand Mike please put me on the list as well since I would definetely like to expand my exotic newt collection.

 

[JRoe]

I know what breeding condition looks like, the male has tail sheen, the female is fat. I've seen tail fanning. I was just wondering when eggs might be expected.

I want some of your juvies! How much $300 each? lol jk

 

[Woodsman]

Hi Roman,

It may seem a semantical question to some, but I do make a distinction between wc and cb animals in my collection. Supporting the captive breeding efforts of our friend Michael here actually helps support my assertion that further decimation of wild populations of endangered species is unnecessary.

Take care, Richard.

Say it ain't so Richard buying "wild stolen" newt offspring On the other hand Mike please put me on the list as well since I would definetely like to expand my exotic newt collection.

 

[Michael Shrom]

They usually practice for a couple weeks and then breed. The female will fold her eggs in the leaves. Take your plants out of the tank and look closely. Maybe their are eggs hid between the leaves.

The price of juveniles depends on how many I have available. It will be much less than the imported adults cost.

 

[mantisdragon91]

Hi Roman,

It may seem a semantical question to some, but I do make a distinction between wc and cb animals in my collection. Supporting the captive breeding efforts of our friend Michael here actually helps support my assertion that further decimation of wild populations of endangered species is unnecessary.

Take care, Richard.

Thats one way to look at it. Another would be that by buying up all the available CB animals you are generating a demand for more animals to be taken from the wild. See hypocrisy comes in many forms

 

[Michael Shrom]

Balancing our interest in conservation and our interest in keeping amphibians is a tricky thing. We all draw different lines.

Following is what Bryan Stuart told me in 2006

Dear Michael,

Thanks for your message. The decision on whether or not to keep wild-caught amphibians in captivity is personal decision. The issue with Paramesotriton laoensis is that it appears to be a very restricted-range species, and no information is available on how locally abundant it is, and ultimately, whether it can be harvested sustainably. I suspect that demands for the pet trade could drive this species toward extinction in the wild, and consequently I am very concerned about what has happened.

I have been informed in the past couple of days that the species is now in trade in Germany. I was not aware that they are in Britain. Can you provide me more information on its occurrence in trade in Britain?

Thanks,
Bryan

 

[JRoe]

Micheal show us some pics of the eggs/larvae!

 

[Michael Shrom]

Micheal show us some pics of the eggs/larvae!

Taking egg and larvae pictures is on my to do list. My to do list is backed up.

 

[JRoe]

Yesterday I changed out 2 bowl fulls of tank water with cold water...and today I have crazy courtship going on. I even saw a spermatophore on the bottom of the aquarium! Won't be long...

 

[Woodsman]

Hi Roman,

So, Michael and all the other people who are breeding this newt now should cull the eggs or kill the fry, all in the name of saving the species from extinction? Seems like a pretty absurd position to take, but to each their own.

I haven't heard of any cases of successful captive breeding specifically resulting in the extinction of an endangered species in the wild, so please pass along such info if you have it (I know your herp collecting is much broader than mine, so I would defer to your experience to help find the example).

I, for one, fully support efforts to raise as many animals in captivity, which I believe reduces the need for continued wild-collecting.

Take care, Richard.

Thats one way to look at it. Another would be that by buying up all the available CB animals you are generating a demand for more animals to be taken from the wild. See hypocrisy comes in many forms

 

[mantisdragon91]

Hi Roman,

So, Michael and all the other people who are breeding this newt now should cull the eggs or kill the fry, all in the name of saving the species from extinction? Seems like a pretty absurd position to take, but to each their own.

I haven't heard of any cases of successful captive breeding specifically resulting in the extinction of an endangered species in the wild, so please pass along such info if you have it (I know your herp collecting is much broader than mine, so I would defer to your experience to help find the example).

I, for one, fully support efforts to raise as many animals in captivity, which I believe reduces the need for continued wild-collecting.

Take care, Richard.

And now you are in full hypocrisy mode. On a previous thread about this species you screamed bloody murder about people taking these animals from the wild but now you want the offspring from these very same wild collected animals Just pick a side an stick to it

And yes unfortunately now that these animals are breeding in captivity it does make it easier for people to bring in WC animals and claim they are CB as a cover for smuggling them from the wild. Not saying it will happen but it does open the door just a crack.