Order Caudata Higher classification Ommatotriton | Scientific name Ommatotriton vittatus Rank Species | |
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Similar Ommatotriton, Northern banded newt, Caucasian salamander, Southern crested newt, Caucasian parsley frog | ||
The southern banded newt (Ommatotriton vittatus) is a species of salamander in the Salamandridae family found in Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey.
Contents
Habitat
Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate grassland, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, caves, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, urban areas, ponds, aquaculture ponds, open excavations, and canals and ditches. It is threatened by habitat loss.
As Pets
Rarely, these newts are available in the pet trade. Banded newts should be kept in a quite dry terrarium with only a small water dish during summer and autumn. During november/december the newts will enter the water to breed and should get a bigger water section. A 20-gallon fish tank can hold six to eight newts, but only one male, as males are highly territorial. The water section should have a bare bottom or sand substrate to avoid impaction, with abundant aquatic plants. Banded newts do best at room temperature in summer and around 10-15°C during the winter. A varied diet of earthworms, bloodworms, pinhead crickets, white worms, and waxworms is perfect for banded newts.
This species should not be confused with the northern banded newt (Ommatotriton ophryticus), which was previously considered a subspecies of O. vittatus.