Need some advice on a Newt

[ScimitarX]

Hi guys,

Need a bit of help here, here is the situation.

A a former customer who used to come to our shop found a newt, we told them they sholdn't really keep it as it may be protected by law, we said they should release it.

They obviously didn't release it though, and they have now moved house. The neighbour found it dumped in a little plastic tank with the rubbish and brought it to us.

We have tried to find out what it is, think its a common newt, only a youngster as it is no more than 3-4 inches long. We contacted the RSPCA and they said keep it with a view to releasing it, as it is supposed to be hibernating now, and to try and contact people who deal with wildlife.

What I wanna know is, should we wait and see what the wildlife people say, will it be ok if we go ahead and release it now. We wanna do what is best for it.

The pic isnt that good but hopefully it gives some idea what we are dealing with. its colours are tan brown with black spots.

[adamanteus]

Claire, I certainly wouldn't release it just now, not if it's cold where you are as it is up here. Best to wait until we get a wamer spell.
The photo is a little fuzzy, so I wouldn't want to confirm for sure that it's a Smooth Newt, although it does appear to be.

[ScimitarX]

Yeah, its been really cold here, though not had any snow at all. Think we will keep it whilst it is still cold. What kind of insects are safe to feed it? we have crickets, locusts and mealworms, will it be safe to feed it these?

[adamanteus]

Better off with softer bodied prey maybe, small worms, spiders etc.

[Stefan-A]

What about mosquito larvae?

[adamanteus]

What about mosquito larvae?

In January?

[Stefan-A]

In January?

Some pet stores sell them frozen as fish food. Not dried, but frozen "wet" as sheets about 10 * 20 * 0.5 cm in size. When I kept newts (also fish and dwarf clawed frogs), they would eat the stuff.

Edit: Blood worms. "The larva of a non-biting midge (Family Chironomidae) containing hemoglobin".

[adamanteus]

My guess is that at this time of year Claire would need to maintain this newt as terrestrial, rather than aquatic, making such foods problematic and inpractical... it won't be easy.