Types of Newts and Salamanders

Submitted by Admin on 03/04/2009

It's rather difficult to to tell the difference between Newts and Salamaders as they are very similar, one slight difference is of the two types, Newts tend to more dependent on water, especially when it comes to breeding. Both Newts and Salamaders are commonly found in cooler parts of the world.

Different types of Newts include:

Marbled Newts

Found in the south western areas of Europe, the type of Newt is very colorful. The Marbled Newt like it's vivarium to be lined with moss, with a shallow dish of water, it also likes to have plenty of space to retreat into privacy. During the winter period the Marbled Newt tends to be dormant, return after this time to breed. During breeding they will need an aquarium, after spawning they like to return to dry land! They can grow to around 15-18cm in length.

Alpine Newt

Found in the colder mountain regions of Europe this species tend to be fairly hardy and as such take well to being kept in outdoor enclosures year round. They grow to around 13cm and are very colorful with males being quite a vibrant blue and females tending to have a brown color on their upper bodies.

Japanese fire bellied Newts

This Newt gets it's name from it's bright red coloring. It's a very popular pet as it requires not much more than an unheated aquarium year round. To encourage breeding you allow the water temperature to drop in late winter, it's also important to ensure there are plenty of aquatic plants as the Newts will want to carefully attach their eggs to the leaves. Young fire bellied Newts should be kept in a more land based tank and introduced to the aquarium once their gills have gone. These Newts will grow to 11-12cm in length.

Red Spotted Newts

Found mostly on the eastern side of north America the red spotted newt obviously takes it's name from its striking coloring. Individuals can differ in appearance, but all have black highlighted red spots on their sides. The red spotted newt like many of the other types, prefers dry land, but returns to water for breeding purposes. Females will lay up to 200 eggs during a breeding period lasting around 3 weeks.