New newt owner

I found a newt in my backyard and i am now completely happy because i dont know anyone that has a newt and i also like the word newt, alot, I mean come on, neeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwttt say it real slow and long its fun, well anyways I have no clue on how to take care of it.I was thinking of just letting go into the wild and then I thought horrible thoughts about it trying to survive and you dont find newts here in my town everyday.So my moms like keep it for a week and if you like it we'll keep and my dads shuddering in the corner saying no no no no... (he hates anything that is like or looks like a snake I dont have a clue why) so you get the point.

Im going to keep my newt who i named mr.newty or mr.wayne nwton who goes by newty and i need help on how to take care of him.

Well, first ?, what would i put in the bottom of my umm... umm.. aquarium or something like that im not very good with words umm... what would i put on the bottom of my cage thingy for mr.newty some sort of wood or just plain dirt thats a tad moist with stuff for it to climb on and ect...

2nd ?, what would i feed him bugs, insects wormies peepshuls if you please give me an idea or something to help save this poor newt that i am raising who is adorably cute from being badly raised and yes im ready for the 20 year commitment.

thankyou peepshuls for helping mr.newty (mr.wayne newton) and me.thanxs

Well Barbara, your first course of action is to tell us WHAT KIND of newt you have. You can take a picture and post it, or describe it to us in detail, or visit http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/species.shtml and look at the pictures there and tell us what you have. It would also help knowing WHERE you are (what region/state/country/etc).

This will help us to tell you how to set up a tank for your new little friend.

Depending on what size the animal is, depends on what you feed it. Most people here feed chopped earthworms as well as various 'bugs'.

So once you give us a little more information, we'd be glad to see your little friend is taken care of for a long time!

my newt is about 5"-7" a california newt im for sure almost it looks almost like an adult newt i saw i think its just a baby rusty colored skin big eyes little tiny feet four toes and has a very loooonnnng tail.does this help.Thanxs for ur help

Hi Barbara, in your other thread you were asking for advice on setups. But I'm not entirely convinced that we have ID'ed the animal. If it is 5-7 inches, then it cannot be a baby. Also, most Cali newts do not have a loooooong tail.
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Taricha/T_granulosa.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Taricha/T_torosa.shtml
Does the body shape and long tail look more like these:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Plethodon/P_cinereus.shtml

If it really is a California newt (Taricha torosa or Taricha granulosa) then maybe you should think about a semi-aquatic setup. See:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/setups.shtml

Regarding foods, what have you tried? Earthworms are the best, in my opinion. You asked about "pincher beetles"... can you link to a photo of what you mean? Those don't sound like good newt food to me, but I could be wrong about what you mean.

I think you shoudl return the newt to the wild for sure. If you fear they it can't survive in the wild. Dont worry about it, since wild animals belong to the wild so they have their own way. If you dont see newt around you area often, you should definately not to remove it from the wild. Since you might be removing the last breeding match of the newt in the area. Just my two cents.

depends on what kind you have. if it is a T. granulosa than i would suggest a mostly aquatic set up. Release the newt if you feel that you probably will not take care of it, or don't care to have it.