P Watl in the US

[mark]

I am wondering if this species is at all common to find in the pet trade in the US. I have never seen them before, and from what I have read about them, I think I would be very interested in starting a tank with them in the (distant) future.
Also, I am curious, does this species really get up to 12 inches? Can anyone tell me average adult sizes of ones that they have? Thanks.

 

[isaiah]

I have never seen them in a pet shop, but I know of people who have. At the moment I have 5 and the largest(Mamma)is 10 1/2 inches.

 

[joeri]

Mine are only 7-8 inches
I have no idea if you can buy them in USA, this part of forum is not that popular so maybe not.

 

[paris]

you can get them in the US -best is from other breeders then dealers (whom the breeders unload on) they did sell them for a short while at pet co -for 25$ each! (juveniles) they do pop up at some specialty herp stores sometimes too-but those come from the same dealers the breeders sell to -best bet is to put a wanted ad -that way you get a healthier animal at a better price.

 

[edward]

Check with Mike Shrom. He should be breeding his again this year.

Ed

 

[michael]

My biggest are about 9" from nose to tail. I think 12" would be an extremely large one. The females are pretty fat. I have a few babies but think they are all promised. I expect eggs soon and should have babies available in the fall.
P. waltl are great animals to keep. They can take more variation in water temp and quality than most newts. I've handled hundreds and never been nailed. I know a guy that squeezed to hard and found out why they are called ribbed newts.

 

[al]

I have 3 females loaded with eggs and will be ready in the fall as well. My largest female is 10 inches, but I have a "muscular" male at 9 inches as well. I will only breed depending on what the market bears. If Michael has a good go of this season, I will probably only breed about 50-60. He helped me out last season to move a large batch of them. Last season I reared over 150 of them. I usually account for loss, but did not have a problem and had to cull many from the 200+ eggs. I have been keeping this colony for over 5 years and bred them 5 times.
They are a great species to keep and are more forgiving for the new hobbiest. I think this would be a good species for the pet trade (I say this lightly

) as a captive bred alternative. I always dread the thought of anything in the "pet trade", but it may take some of the demand for imported WC which would be a lesser evil of the two. You can rear them to a good size in a matter of months, where as with other species it may take more than a year.
Al

 

[mark]

thanks for all the responses!
ill keep my eyes open for now, and if i decide to get some in the future, i will put up an ad.