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AmphibianTerrestrialIntermediate
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Himalayan Crocodile Newt
Tylototriton verrucosus
The Himalayan Crocodile Newt features a prehistoric appearance with a dark brown, heavily warted body highlighted by double rows of bright orange glandular ridges.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Caudata
Family:Salamandridae
Genus:Tylototriton
Species:Tylototriton verrucosus
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
70 - 90 %
Day temperature
18 - 24 °C
Night temperature
14 - 18 °C
Ambient temperature
20 °C
Minimum enclosure
>= 80 L
UVB
Low
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Native to the Himalayan region and Southeast Asia (including northern India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, western China, and northern Thailand). They inhabit damp montane forests, valleys, and river banks.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Belonging to the family Salamandridae. Commonly known as the Crocodile Newt or Shanjing. They are terrestrial for most of the year, returning to ponds only to breed.
Behavior and Habits: Strictly terrestrial and slow-moving outside the breeding season. If threatened, they secrete irritating toxins from their orange lateral warts and perform defensive displays (Unken reflex), curving their body to show orange tones.
Morphology: Reaches 15–20 cm in length. Females are significantly larger, wider, and heavier than males. Breeding males are distinguished by a swollen cloaca and a slightly taller tail fin.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: A damp horizontal terrarium or paludarium (minimum 80x40x40 cm) is required. Provide a deep, soft substrate layer of organic soil, leaf litter, and live sphagnum moss. Furnish with cork bark hides and smooth rocks. Provide a shallow, wide water dish.
Lighting and Heating: Montane species. Keep temperatures cool between 16 and 23°C. Temperatures constantly exceeding 25°C are hazardous. Avoid heat lamps or heaters. Provide low, ambient lighting and low-output (2–5%) UVB.
Humidity and Hydration: Maintain high humidity levels of 70–90%. Mist regularly with clean dechlorinated water to keep the moss damp, but avoid waterlogged soil which causes root and skin issues.
Feeding and Supplementation: Slow-moving carnivores. Feed on chopped or whole earthworms, small slugs, crickets, and soft beetle larvae. Feed adults 2–3 times a week. Dust food with calcium and multivitamin supplements twice a week.
Compatibility: Peaceful. Can be housed in small groups of similarly sized adults if multiple hides are provided. Do not mix with other species.
Health and Common Diseases: Heat stress is highly lethal. Dirty substrates lead to fatal fungal and bacterial skin infections. Avoid handling with bare hands; wear wet, powder-free nitrile gloves.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Native to the Himalayan region and Southeast Asia (including northern India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, western China, and northern Thailand). They inhabit damp montane forests, valleys, and river banks.
Origin
South and Southeast AsiaEast Asia
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 16.5 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Toxicity
- No verified data available
- Life stage
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 16.5 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 16.5 cm for this species, recorded as total length (TL). These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
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Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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