Herrrro from Japan

I'm a misplaced American who's been living in Japan for far too long. After all these years, I recently bought a home in the countryside, and finally feel "safe" to have pets. (I work in Tokyo and while I still maintain an apartment there for work/chasing the local efts, one never knows when he will need to move)

I've raised Eastern spotted, several species of fire belly, California, and European newts...and both tiger and fire salamanders in the past. (along with all kinds of frogs, toads, etc. and even a few reef tanks) Anyhow, it's been well over 10 years since my last tank and low and behold, this great website is here to show me how much I really don't know about these amazing little animals.

The price of everything from tanks to live plants here is on par with everything else in Japan, insanity...but I doubt much savings are to be had when you factor in shipping/customs/duties so I broke down and bought 50 gallon glass tank with a decent full hood to get started again. While I'm sure the newts are bound to be endless screams for most females that enter the room, I'm trying to soften the blow by making a mostly aquatic with loads of live plants setup (yay, look, there are fish, plants...and hey, what's that?! ) with a few large rocks in it to create some islands for basking. So with mostly aquatic in mind, any suggestions on species? I've always wanted alpines but I've been browsing the forums and see there are a few species native to here that aren't so available outside Japan. Yahoo! Japan auctions has quite a few species listed...not all from Japan which also makes me wonder how legal importing non-native species is.

I'll stop rambling and just say I look forward to learning more about these great creatures and making some new friends along the way.

Oh..and this is some quite recent news from the Galapagos errr Japanese islands.

Japanese giant salamander caught taking a stroll on*land | RocketNews24





Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T6zn59z6x4

Hi, welcome to the forum! I saw that giant salamander on the news here in the UK, I think it must have been the loser in a fight over territory? Imagine how big the winner was!
Cynops pyrrhogaster are my all time favorite species, I would love to go herping in japan one day, if only to see their natural habitat and what they would be eating in the wild.

Once you decide on a species you are interested in, you could create a lovely display in a tank that size. Off the top of my head, Cynops pyrrhogaster, Cynops ensicauda, Hypselotriton orientalis, Hypselotriton cyanurus, Tylototriton verucosus, Icthyosaura alpestreis apuanus and many of the European Triturus newts are all bred in captivity and can be kept in mostly aquatic set ups.

Don't worry about basking sites, newts are generally cold loving creatures and don't need to bask like reptiles.

There's a staggering amount of info and experience on here, If I were you I would Get a drink, get comfy, and have a good read!

Thanks for the reply! Yeah, there is sooo much info on here!!

Maybe basking isn't the right word but all the newts I kept always seemed to enjoy about 10% of their time on land with what I had setup. My Japanese garden (Niigata) has a few different kinds of moss growing and some nice rocks (no chemicals used there and there are a few different kinds of newts, salamanders, frogs, and toads there regularly) so I'm thinking to come up with something from there, cycle the tank, and monitor it for a few weeks before introducing anything.

Local pet shop has some firebellies, axolotls, and another local species I need to ID.

Just from browsing Yahoo online, this looks like what's available at the moment:

Some of the sellers look to be breeders, others look obvious to be WC...which I'm unsure how I feel about here as some populations here are pretty much doomed by human activity. (For a culture that likes to brag about being one with nature, they sure love to cement line their rivers..."for corrupt officials to get paid...err flood control" ) Prices range anywhere from $30USD~$90USD

Hello! It's nice to know that people like to keep salamanders in Japan! I minored in Japanese studies in undergrad, so I know a little bit of the language. I'm hoping to go over for one of my vet school externships in a few years.

Tw1st3dR0s3 said:

Hello! It's nice to know that people like to keep salamanders in Japan! I minored in Japanese studies in undergrad, so I know a little bit of the language. I'm hoping to go over for one of my vet school externships in a few years.

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They're popular enough to be in pet stores but some of the girls here fear them like the plague きゃ～～～～！気持ち悪い！！！ haha

Make sure you let me know if/when you come over, I got wheels and there are plenty of places for some weekend explorin'

http://www.caudata.org/forum/attach...ru429367-img337x317-1404727028vkpk9o31798.jpg

Is that a P. waltl? Or what is it!? I haven't ever seen a newt like that before....

http://www.caudata.org/forum/attach...ru429367-img600x437-1405294176iilhe422837.jpg

And this one as well? I have never seen newts like these, they are very beautiful xD

matsuki said:

Make sure you let me know if/when you come over, I got wheels and there are plenty of places for some weekend explorin'

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Put the kettle on around May.

Seth, they are, erm...

1. P. waltl.
2. T. kweychowensis.
3. T. marmoratus.
4. I. a alpestris
5. C. ensicauda.
6. C. pyrrhogaster with a colour mutation.
7. Triturus, or maybe lissotriton with color mutation.

...I think?

Chinadog said:

Seth, they are, erm...

1. P. waltl.
2. T. kweychowensis.
3. T. marmoratus.
4. I. a alpestris
5. C. ensicauda.
6. C. pyrrhogaster with a colour mutation.
7. Triturus, or maybe lissotriton with color mutation.

...I think?

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Well, with much deliberation and debate with fellow caudations in chat, me and two other's came up with what we think the fourth and fifth pictures are.

We were still a bit undecided about the fourth one, I said that the body shape looks like a P. waltl, but that it must have a color mutation of some sort. Aaron on the other hand said that he thought it was a C. e. popei, and with that also being your opinion I will trust you both.

And the second ones were decided to be C. pyrrhogaster, as you said also. With some help from Jake I found some threads which shows some crazy color variation's in C. pyrrhogaster.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...japanese-pet-site-possibly-wolterstorffi.html

?????

I think your right Chinadog. -Seth

Are you sure you don't mean the 5th one? That one is C. ensicauda, C. e popei more than likely, number 4 are I.alpestris for sure.

C. pyrrhogaster do throw up some rare, crazy colour mutations, I just wish we could appreciate them for what they are rather than line breeding, or inbreeding to fix the trait and create a new 'morph' to sell for 6 times the price.

Anyhoo, what's the last one, I'm still not sure?

A Noto? Maybe...

Maybe, It's surprising how much I rely on colour to identify them. Where's FrogEyes, when he's needed!

5th one is gone from the auctions so I can't offer much help, 6th just says Nippon Imori or "Japanese Newt" and "orange type" though there are some more pics:

From Okinawa...

Chinadog said:

Are you sure you don't mean the 5th one? That one is C. ensicauda, C. e popei more than likely, number 4 are I.alpestris for sure.

C. pyrrhogaster do throw up some rare, crazy colour mutations, I just wish we could appreciate them for what they are rather than line breeding, or inbreeding to fix the trait and create a new 'morph' to sell for 6 times the price.

Anyhoo, what's the last one, I'm still not sure?

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Woops, yes I meant the fifth and sixth ones.

Is that common pattering and coloration for the C. e. popei? I have never seen them like that before, so it really surprised me....

I agree with Jake, looks like a Noto.

matsuki said:

From Okinawa...

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I love this species. I have 5 of them sitting in the basement right now.

jAfFa CaKe said:

A Noto? Maybe...

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I think so.

Hello! welcome to the forum

Thanks "AT"

I'll be back out in the countryside this weekend so I'll take pics of what's available there locally.

Hi and welcome, bit late I know. I have a friend in Fukuoka who keeps a lot of reptiles and amphibians. He keeps mostly Japanese amphibians. I hope to visit Japan, and maybe move there if the living prices go down. He has a YouTube channel, Japan Herping Channel if he doesn't mind me telling anyone.