ID please

Hi, can anyone help identify what this is.
My daughter found it in the alley last night, she thought it was a lizard but i'm fairly certain it's a newt.... any ideas

I'm thinking some type of Lissotriton.

Thank you, although I must say it doesn't seem very keen on water!

Hi there,

You have what would appear to be an adult female Lissotriton - either L. vulgaris (Smooth Newt) or L. helveticus (Palmate Newt). If you look at it's throat - female Smooth Newts usually have a spotted throat, while female Palmate Newts usually lack spots. Another good thing to look for is the background colour of the throat. In Smooth Newts it is the same colour as the rest of the ventrum. In Palmate Newts the throat area tends to be somewhat pinkish when compared to the rest of the ventrum. Those are just a couple of things, but they should hopefully garner you a quick identification.

As far as water goes, in the wild both of the aforementioned species will have left the water by this time of the year (they only become aquatic for the breeding season, living a terrestrial lifestyle otherwise). In captivity they can sometimes be persuaded to stay mainly aquatic year round, but if this individual is not keen on being in water I would recommend moving it to a terrestrial setup. Alternatively, you could place it back in the alley.

Cheers!

Liam.

Judging by the texture of the skin, this newt is in its terrestrial phase and shouldn't want to be in water at all.