NEWTS! At NARBC Tinley Park, IL October 7-8 2023

TRIGGER WARNING:
Obnoxiously long ad! If it offends you click back now. You have two weeks to read and understand all three of the following paragraphs. (most of your questions will be answered below, if you just read it, my inboxes are full on all platforms so just ask here in the comments)

I will have some newts available at NARBC Tinley Park, IL October 7-8th. They are always first come, first served at the Chicago Reptile House Booth (next to the frogs). No shipping, no holds, if you've known me 20 seconds or 20 years, you'll be treated the same. This makes it fair for everyone. I deal with people one at a time in the order they arrive at the table (not the parking lot or lobby!) Saturday morning at 7:30am when vendors and VIP are allowed into the room. If someone gets there before you, just wait patiently for them to get their newts until it's your turn, kindly control yourself. VIP passes are always available and a map of the layout will be on morph market. I do my best to keep my prices reasonable and you're not the only one who wants newts so please be aware that some less common newts tend to sell out almost immediately. If you give me a wish list before we're at the table Saturday morning I won't sell you anything, the point is for you to leave me alone. No shipping, no holds. If you have any problems with any of this at all please just get them somewhere else.

Due to the delicate nature of amphibians and the fact many people can't even keep a Pothos plant alive there are no guarantees expressed or implied whatsoever. Go get them at Petsmart. I raised these all myself locally, they've all been eating and thriving for months in my tanks and are healthy the moment I hand them to you, but everything you do with them as soon as you walk away is out of my control. I'm not responsible for you following poor advice or following good advice poorly. All sales are final. Please shop around online but do beware of scammers. If you can't make it to the show I'd be happy to refer you to some people who may have newts and may even be willing to ship! Prices are listed below so you'll know how much to ask your wife for when you ask permission to get them. I don't reserve animals for anyone ever so get permission before you get there! Again, if you have any problems with any of this, please get your newts from someone else.

Scientific names are listed here so do at least a five minute Google search to figure out if you are able to keep these. The same applies to any living thing. There will be like 20,000 other people at this show and I won't have time to walk you through everything you need to know. I'm not an expert on newts but I seem to have decent luck and I'm happy to answer specific care questions honestly to the best of my ability. Newts with a quantity listed before the price are sold as a pre-packaged/inseparable group and after the price there is an indication if the animals available have been kept aquatic or terrestrial. All will be packed in containers with damp moss and air holes so if you need to ship them directly from the show through one of the services available you can ship them yourself. I won't ship newts to you. The number in parenthesis () before the scientific name is the minimum quantity I will bring, a question mark (?) indicates an uncertain quantity, but assume very few. Most of these juvenile newts are unsexed, don't buy just a couple of an uncommon species you don't already keep because when they both turn out to be males you may have trouble finding females to pair them up with! Some species have a reasonable maximum limit of animals per person before 8:30 am to make it a little more fair. Once again, if you have any problems with any of this at all, just get them from someone else.
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(24) Triturus pygmaeus 3/$100 (some terrestrial, some aquatic)- limit of 9 per person before 8:30

(50+) Triturus marmoratus 3/$100 (plan on them being terrestrial but I may bring a group that are aquatic)- limit of 12 per person before 8:30
*A note about T.marmoratus: My newts began laying eggs several months late this year. These recently completed metamorphosis and are feeding regularly on 1/8" gut loaded crickets dusted with Repashy Calcium Plus. There are several other sources with this species available, probably even on this website and theirs are all most likely larger than mine. Look around and you will find them, they're one of the most commonly available species of crested newt.

(30) Triturus macedonicus 3/$100 (aquatic)- limit of 9 per person before 8:30
*A note about T.macedonicus: Remember how earlier in this rabbit hole I told you I'd be happy to point you to someone else who sells and maybe ships newts? This species is one of the exceptions. I'm not sure who else has them available this year but I have some so if you want them, be quick.

(12) Triturus dobrogicus 4/$60 (all aquatic, some males beginning to crest)
*A note about T.dobrogicus: if you're a beginner with newts this is probably one of the best to start with. They breed very readily in captivity, the males get a beautiful high crest and they don't require as cold of temperatures in winter to cycle them as some other species. As an added bonus, they're some of the most brutal animals on the planet when you drop food into their tanks so you'll probably get experience with cannibalism mitigation raising the larvae! Some of them are clearly males beginning to develop crests.

(12) Triturus carnifex- normal 3/$100 (aquatic)
(12) Triturus carnifex- flavistic 2/$100 (aquatic)- limit of 6 per person before 8:30 am (adult male pictured below)
*A note about flavistic carnifex: It is said that you should not pair flavistic x flavistic because the offspring will be very weak, I haven't tested it but it's worth mentioning. Very easy species for beginners, they breed very readily in an aquarium with a slight dip in temperature in the winter, I'm not sure why they're not as common as dobrogicus by now.

(1) Triturus karelinii $40 (well started, aquatic)

(30+?) Lissotriton vulgaris- my favorite 5/$60 (some aquatic, some terrestrial)- limit of 10 per person before 8:30 am.
*A note about L.vulgaris: The terrestrial juveniles are very small but if you don't have an established aquarium for them you're better off getting terrestrial animals instead of aquatic. You can throw together an acceptable terrarium in 30 seconds but aquariums take more time to balance out.

(2) Lissotriton helveticus 2/$40 (aquatic, very small, don't buy them)

(30+?) Neurergus crocatus 3/$100 (all aquatic)- limit of 9 per person before 8:30 am - adult pictured below
*A note about Neurergus: Reading through other people's accounts of this genus it seems they're susceptible to sudden, unexplained die offs. I have not experienced it myself, they seem to be no more fragile than any Triturus as long as attention is payed to aquarium hygiene. Water chemisty tests are available online and in stores but I don't believe a test exists for bacteria blooms fed by decaying waste hidden in the tank. Keep them clean.

(?) Neurergus kaiseri- well started from late last year, unsexed $80 each (aquatic)

(1!) Hypselotriton orientalis- well started grown with the parents $25 (aquatic)

(8) Cynops ensicauda popei- well started holdbacks $50 each (aquatic)

(50+) Laotriton laoensis- 2/$100 (terrestrial but I may bring a few that are aquatic) - limit of 10 per person before 8:30 am
*A warning about laoensis- Not for beginners or impatient people! They are small. They grow very slow, take years to reach sexual maturity, move slow and tend to eat painfully slow. Offering agile prey items to them is not an option. They look the food over for 5-10 minutes and then might start thinking about eating it. That being said, small crickets and fruit flies may be an acceptable size, but the chances of them actually capturing any are very low. Small, slow worms seem to be a better option. If you keep them too cold, stagnant, wet or dry they will die! I'm seriously trying to do you a favor with this warning. If they were as forgiving as sloppy Spanish ribbed newts they'd be way more commonly available. I want everyone's newts to do well but usually that's not the case especially with something brightly colored that people think they need but don't know what they're getting into!

(?) Ommatotriton ophryticus-unsexed but well started from late last year $80 each (aquatic, not bringing many, don't waste a trip for these)

(1) Pleurodeles waltl $20 (aquatic, another accident found in the adult tank)

(12) Tylotriton sp. - no one actually knows which species they are, anyone who claims they do is lying 2/$100 (terrestrial)- limit 6 per person before 8:30

(many) Axolotls- assorted 4-5" $20 each
*An important note about Axolotls:
These are by far the easiest aquatic salamanders (besides sloppy Spanish ribbed newts) to keep. Unfortunately some people find them to be very difficult and the same people tend to offer unsolicited advice but they usually run into problems because they don't know what they're doing. Those are the last people you should accept advice from. You wouldn't copy your answers on a math test from someone who does a whole bunch of extra work, says math is difficult and is still failing the class, would you? If you yourself find them difficult to keep don't bother trying to keep aquatic newts. You should also never have kids if you can't manage to keep an axolotl happy.

Can I get some Friday morning? They'd look awesome in my cichlid tank!

Originally Posted by Cyphyrys

Can I get some Friday morning? They'd look awesome in my cichlid tank!

Maybe you can do me a big favor and just take them all off my hands for free right now. I'll even cover shipping and throw in a high five and a big smile!

[REDACTED]

Originally Posted by VentureBro

I know it's been awhile since you made this post. I thought I'd ask. Are you still not offering shipping?

Jake is one of, if not the, most prolific and successful breeders of newts in the US hobby today; and has been for many years.

He does not ship. Ever. You must go to NARBC and buy in person, or find your newts from someone else who does.

Originally Posted by JaimeLannister

Jake is one of, if not the, most prolific and successful breeders of newts in the US hobby today; and has been for many years.

He does not ship. Ever. You must go to NARBC and buy in person, or find your newts from someone else who does.

Thanks for looking out Bradly! I was corresponding with you through email not too long ago about the Cynops Ensicauda. Nice to cross paths with you once again. Nice to run into another game of thrones fan.

Does anyone work with Cynops pyrrhogaster anymore. Once so common.