RAUK - Archived Forum - keeping newts?

on a recent visit to our local pet shop I was shocked to see that they had newts for sale??

I can clearly remember a chap coming into our school in the early 80's and explaining that we were no longer to pick them up!

I was soooo sad as my father had only just promised me a 3ft tank to keep some in! (do you think he knew that the law was changing so he wouldnt have to?) haha :)

so I was wondering are there any breeders in this country that I could but some from?? as I now have a 5ft fishtank standing empty but all ready to go, it has an undergravel air filter. and only part of the tank needs to be wet as it is so large.

we will be moving at the end of the year and plan to have pasture land next to the house in which I would like to re create the very large ponds of my youth filled with wild flowers and dragonflies so if they grew too big I could release them there.

do you think I am wearing rose coloured specs or could I achive my dream. (no shopping trolleys in my ponds)

AHHH! so I wouldn't be able to release them into a pond if they got too big !!

I'ts just that when I read that they can go th 12 cm's I thought that they would be happier outside.

Incidently when I was about 7years old my brother and I would go down to the local pond and watch the newts, the council had cleaned up the water and had even built a wooden platform right into the middle so that we could sit and watch quietly... the next thing my brother set off across the bank, he had caught a large lizard, I told him it was a newt and he called me stupid and pushed me over, we released it and went home fighting, you know the way kids shout... LIZARD... no newt...no LIZARD no newt...  WELL AT LONG LAST I CAN SAY "TOLD YOU IT WAS A NEWT!" HAHA:)

Firstly, certainly don't release any foreign newt species into the wild, as its strictly against the law & you wouldn't be doing any of our precious native species of newts any favours by doing so. There's now problems in one, or two places, for instance with irresponsibly wild released Italian Great Creasted newts (maybe sold from pet shops) which might potentially be able to breed with our native Great Crested newts therefore knackering species purity & producing unatural hybrids here. Not wise!

If keeping newts, or rather newt larvae together in a restricted space without many places to hide (such as a tank), be aware that many newt species larvae can, & often will, eat eachother! I learnt that one many moons ago! Even larvae about the same size as eachother can engulf oneanother! I've seen the grisly sight of what at first appears to be a two-headed newt larvae, but isn't! Even with plenty of room, or out in a pond, newt larvae will frequently at least nip at eachothers tails. As much as i love 'em, newts are born voracious!  

Of course the best way would be to attract newts into your garden etc by creating ponds and other habitats for them to live within.

Keeping newts wouldnt be necessary - get out and join a local group and get surveying for them in the wild its the way to go rather than having them in a tank

Jon

Wether 'it's the way to go' for some amongst us, or not, not everyone who cares enough about herptiles to enquire to this site will want to, as you so demandingly put it, "get out" & join any group, or "get surveying". Not everyone is exactly THAT into herptiles to want to join any group, or has quite enough deep interest, or indeed time to 'get' surveying out in the wild. Maybe some should instead 'consider ' partaking in those personal choice things which many on this site would recommend. I mean, for those that maybe aren't that fussed, or for certain, possibly hectic lifestyle, reasons don't wish to get doing the things you want them to get doing, there's always the variety of great herptile sites that can assist, such as this excellent one, always there to friendly advise.   And sometimes no matter how much you might furnish your garden to try & tempt something into it, if there's none of an otherwise relatively local certain species close enough by (such was Mindy's case with newts & the advice offered), a desired species just still might not ever end up materialising in your garden. And wether it's exactly necessary, or not to keep - maybe temporarily - a few newts in a tank (a roomy one, of course), have you never ever acheived at least a part of your amphibian studies in that way, even as a kid?, because if not then i'd say you're one of very few indeed of us that haven't. As you're most likely well aware, if fed well (bloodworms, earthworms, daphnia, hog-louse, etc), water changed every week, or two (prey net filtered & saved), provided with a mossy land platform & then the tank situated in a cool place (not a heat radiating window sill), many newt species (especially of course largely, or wholly aquatic ones) can do really well in a roomy tank & carry on acting very naturally indeed. In fact, how many people have witnessed that sometimes no sooner have a few frisky Smooth newts been temporarily put in a tank for closer study than they're displaying their courtship behaviours with eachother?! But yes, obviously a garden pond's a more ideal place for our native newt species -  for those fortunate to have ponds. However, if well looked after in a tank, a few newts of many species can do absolutely fine. One main thing i'm normally concerned for with aquarium housed newts is that owners fully understand about wether they've got a wholly aquatic species, or a semi-aquatic species, so that they therefore of course look after their newts in proper accordance with their species water/terrestrial requirements. I'd personally consider it cruel to force a semi-aquatic newt to try & live wholly aquatic. Anyway, with respect to ironbolt, if his pair of young newts were kept in a tank & were maybe something like a pair of Spannish/Sharp-Ribbed newts, then i do hope he hasn't already gone & turfed them out up a garden pond!

I love newts and sometimes keep a couple of smooth newts(male and female) to watch their interesting courtship behaviour.  however it is getting increasingly hard to find any wild newt and with people using every patch of land for building developement i recomend not endangering our already decreased population of native newts but buying fire bellied newts/toads or spanish ribbed newts.  BUT PLEASE DO NOT ESTABLISH THEM TO THE WILD.  the amphibians i have mentioned are relatively hardy, easy to keep and easy to find in aquatic stores and pet shops which have reptiles for sale.

       kind regards Ambrose

So in order to protect our newts you intend to endanger newts from other countries - the majority of newts for sale in certain pet shops may originate from the wild -

I would recommend not buying from pet shops and maybe contacting private breeders who could supply captive newts. Though keeping a few smooth newts through the breeding season would be preferable - as you can release these animals when you get bored with them unlike the pet shop bought animals - you would be stuck with them and those sharp ribbed salamanders can get to over a foot long

 This little thing was pulled out of a urban park in Southend Essex during a pond dipping event - the kids went mental! they hadnt seen anything this big before!

There was a local pet store who supplied these animals to anyone - thus the owners of this large newt (the largest in Europe) helpfully dropped this off at the park pond -

JC

sorry that was an urban park pond

Morpheus - it would be best to allow newts to find your pond on their own accord - try looking in the pond after dark with a torch - you may find some - I would also suggest letting the larva go into the pond he will be able to feed on the invertebrates within the pond as this would be best for the animal. You can keep an eye on its progress by looking out for it after dark

Jon