The keeping of any animal in captivity requires a responsive attitude. Unless you are certain that you will have the time, the devotion, and the ongoing enthusiasm for the hobby, then you should not start in the first place. Having decided to keep salamanders or newts in the home, the first step is to ensure that the correct type of housing is available. This should be done before any animals are acquired. The type of housing required will differ from species to species, depending on whether they are totally aquatic, semi aquatic, or terrestrial. A container in which living animals are kept is usually called an aquarium for aquatic creatures or a vivarium or terrarium for terrestrial creatures. For convenience, a container for semiaquatic animals is usually called an aqua-terrarium. Being amphibians, one may imagine that all newts and salamanders should be kept in an aquarium or aqua-terrarium, but this is not necessarily the case. Before deciding on a species to keep, make sure that you have a knowledge of its habits and native habitat so that conditions as natural as possible can be provided. Where it is impossible or extremely difficult to produce conditions that are totally natural, some acceptable compromise conditions can usually be found.
The Aquarium
We are here referring to the aquarium as a container of water in which we want to reproduce a totally aquatic environment with no land areas. Aquarium tanks may also be used for other types of housing. There are many kinds of tanks available on the market today, including molded clear plastic or plexiglass tanks that are usually small and ideal for rearing larvae and young newts. One disadvantage of plastic tanks, however, particularly if you want to use them as main display tanks, is that after continued use and cleaning a fine film of scratches will develop and eventually spoil the view into the vessel.
Another type of aquarium is the traditional iron- or steel-framed type into which panes of glass are fixed with putty. The disadvantage of these tanks is that, unless the frames are rust-proofed and painted at regular intervals with non-toxic paint, they will rust away. In addition, traditional putty tends to shrink and crack if the tank is stored without water, causing the tank to leak the next time it is filled.
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