courtship in marmoratus

[phil]

being new to breeding newts, iam unsure as to whether or not my marmoratus are in breeding condition or not. the female has become very swollen in the lower abdomen. the male is developing his crest(although very slowly) and tends to follow the female about. i have seen both sexes tail wagging but the males is much more vigorous and he arches his back and jerks about. the female watches this display for afew seconds and then seems uninterested and wanders off. the male follows for a short while and then they go their seperate ways. i have also seen the female doing what i can only describe as phantom egg-laying. she grabs a leaf with her hind feet and "pretends" to wrap an egg in it clasping her feet on it and rubbing it while her toes are overlapped but no eggs are deposited. will this pre-empt true breeding or is there something wrong. this all started yesterday

[adamanuran]

Sounds fine to me, look forward to many eggs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[phil]

how soon does egg-laying begin after the first signs of courtship, and does the male need to fully develop the crest beforehand

[Adam]

My newts are doing this now, but i won't expect any eegs until the end of february at the earliest, however i do live up north where spring takes a long time in the coming.