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Found a ... thing

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bpdlr

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My daughter found some sort of lizard in our garden, under a flower basket. I've attached two photos taken with my mobile, the 2nd shows a 5p piece for scale.

First of all, I guess we'd like to know what it is. My daughter is keen to keep it, so if it's endangered or toxic or whatever, I'd like to know what care we need to take or whether we should simply release it, or get in touch with a conservation organisation.

She's kept a fire salamander before and her mum has kept Australian tree frogs so they aren't complete strangers to this sort of pet.

Any help much appreciated.
 

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Azhael

Azhael

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That´s a newt. Probably Lissotriton vulgaris. Nice little animal :) You can find information about them and how to take care of them in caudata culture.
 
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bpdlr

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It doesn't seem to have the flat tail, is that because it's a juvenile? (in the second pic you can see it has its tail wrapped around the small twig).
 
Mark

Mark

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Yes, that is almost certainly a juvenile smooth newt, Lissotriton vulgaris. It’s legal for you to keep but not sell. You probably have a pond nearby where newts breed.

At that age and size it needs to be kept terrestrially. They have aquatic phases when they reach breeding size/age. The soil substrate you have in the photo is fine. Make sure you give it a choice of places to hide. It doesn’t need a large aquatic area, a small shallow lid of water will be sufficient for the occasional dip.

The biggest challenge will be finding a good supply of tiny invertebrates for it to feed on – or rather the time to collect tiny invertebrates. Newts feed on worms, woodlice, spingtails, grubs, flies, spiders etc. It won’t want to tackle anything larger than the width of it’s head and collecting tiny prey is not easy (maybe build a pooter). The alternative is to culture you own flies, springtails and grubs but that’s quite an investment.

Lastly, which I’m sure you know, amphibians are not pets you can handle so your daughter will have to be content with looking but not touching.

Have a read of the FAQ here: http://www.caudata.org/cc/faq/faq.shtml

Mark
 
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