What Are Red Efts?

September: The month of the Red Efts! It seems these little critters are everywhere in the forests of the northeastern US this time of year. They are the immature form of the Eastern newt which you may remember from an earlier post. I just recently took a hike in my campus nature preserve and saw so many I stopped counting after 30. You see, this time of year they are making there way down to bodies of water too live as semi-aquatic adult newts (as efts they are terrestrial). these guys range in color from brownish to bright red (their color marks them as toxic to predators). They can be kept as pets as you would any other salamander for 2 to 3 yrs and then must be cared for like newts. Go out and explore your local woods and see if you find any.

How to Care for Newt Larvae

One summer I had 3 eastern newts in a ten gallon tank. I came in one morning to make my usual observation. To my surprise I see the leaves of a plant curled up and in them little newt eggs. Caring for the eggs and larvae that summer was a fun and interesting experience. Here is some info on how to care for newt larvae.

Housing: use clean, dechlorinated water. With larvae keep the tank as bare as possible. A few plants wont hurt. No heat or filters are necessary. As with anything, don't crowd them.

Feeding: They wont eat as soon as they hatch. They will feed off their yolk sacks for a little while. Feed them daphnia and/or brine shrimp after this for a few weeks. Then when they are larger move on to blood worms and black worms.

Metamorphosis: When they are larger and their gills begin to shrink lower the water level and add rocks or sticks for them to crawl out on

How to Care for Eastern Newts

Eastern Newts make wonderful and interesting pets. Many people are probably familiar with their juvenile form, the red eft, but don't realize that they are the same animal. They are native to the Eastern US, and I often see them and their efts on my summer hikes. They like water and so the tank should have 2 or more inches for them. A filter is also necassary unless you wan't to do frequent water changes. They are docile and agree in groups so 3 or 4 individuals can live in a 10 gal tank. For mine I used gravel as a substrate, with drift wood, and live aquatic plants for decoration. They eat worms (chop them if big) and other invertebrates. Some individuals will accept pelletized food but I'm not a fan of it for more than supplementation. They do not require external heating. As they do breed in captivity, I will be discussing how to raise newt larvae in a later post, maybe closer to Spring.