Ask Bethnewt

2003-06-23T20:09:00.000-04:00

Q. Hello, upon purchasing the fire-bellied California newt, I asked the pet store people if they were dangerous for my child. They said no. Tonight, I went on the web to look up what he wants to eat because he hasn't eaten in weeks since we brought him home and I have discovered he could be paralyzingly dangerous. Addmittedly, I have not been that strict with washing hands although that will change promptly. Is it really safe to handle him? Is there any evidence to prove that it is safe?

A. Newts are not "paralyzingly dangerous", but read on. With proper handling, newts are a very safe pet. There are two things you may have read about:

One is salmonella, also known as food poisoning. This is a disease that can be transmitted by reptiles and amphibians, but is far more common in raw eggs and meat. Ordinary soap kills salmonella, so make sure to wash your hands after handling the newt, cleaning his enclosure, etc. Remember that it's very rare for people to catch salmonella from pets (it's far, far more common from raw eggs), so follow these precautions for both amphibian pets and raw eggs. Also, very young children (under age 5), the elderly, and anybody who is pregnant or otherwise immunosuppressed should stay away from reptiles, amphibians, and raw eggs and meat. In any case, salmonella is very rare, and is usually not dangerous even to people who contract it.

The other thing you may have read about is that newts have a toxin in their skin which they secrete to keep other animals from eating them. It is highly unlikely to cause any problems, but make sure to tell your child to wash his/her hands, and of course not to try to eat or lick the newt.

The reasons newts have these toxins in the first place is to keep from being eaten. The toxins in the newt's skin cause a stinging burning sensation in the mouth, so that the predator (a dog, a snake, a child...) will spit it out. If the predator swallows, the toxins will make the predator throw up, so that if the newt is still alive it can walk away. So that even though a newt has enough toxin to kill the predator, the predator will actually be fine after it vomits up the newt. You may want to look up this article at your local library:

King BR, Hamilton RJ, Kassutto Z. "Tail of newt": an unusual ingestion. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2000 Aug;16(4):268-9.

In this case, a two-year-old bit off a piece of her pet newt's tail. Newt's skin contains a toxin that causes an extreme burning sensation, so the child began screaming and crying, and spit the piece out. Her mother took her to the emergency room, but she was fine.

There is another case in which a man (after drinking, and on a dare) swallowed a couple of newts. He vomited them up, and came out OK. The only recorded case of a newt's toxin killing a person occurred in a person who was (for some reason) medically unable to vomit.

Newts are, in actuality, a very safe pet. You didn't mention how old your child is, but my advice is as follows: Tell your child how important hand-washing is, and you may want to supervise whenever he/she is playing with the newt. In my opinion, kids under 5 should "look but don't touch". Also remember that it's not good for the newt to be handled too often (more than a few days a week) and that it's important to be very gentle when holding the newt.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to find out. I've written a little more on this same topic (complete with references) here:

Are Newts Dangerous?

PS. I am not a doctor. If anything were to happen, you should call the poison control center and/or talk to a doctor.

2003-01-01T20:53:00.000-05:00

Q. what is a "young newt" called? This is a clue in the 1/1/03 NYT crossword puzzle. Thanks!

A. A "young newt" is an eft. The first name of "architect Saarinen" is Eero. The French word for summer is Ete. With these three words you will go far.

As for what an eft actually is, look on my site under Redspotted newts. Redspotted newts are the only newt in North America that has an eft stage, but there are several species in Europe that do as well (I believe the word is fairly old in the english language, and as such probably originated with T. vulgaris, the european common newt, and its close relatives).

Good luck with the rest of the crossword.

2002-12-09T23:44:00.000-05:00

Q. I have 3 Chinese fire-belly newts in a 20 gallon terrarium. Just tonight Inoticed hundreds of tiny (about 1mm) white worm-like things moving on the glass of my tank. The newts are not stressed, the water is clear, I have live water plants, an underwater filter, 1/3 land with live plants and sorgham moss river rocks for the substrate. The only thing I have done new is feed them Tetra Nature's Delica Whole Waterfleas in a nutrient-rich gel. These things don't looklike water fleas, unless they are larvae of some sort. I am confused and worriedaobut my newt babies. I don't see any of the worms on the newts themselves, justmainly on the glass and occasionally swimming or floating in the water. Do I need to worry? Since they are viturally invisible because of their size, I have not noticed them there before tonight. I just fed the new water fleas food tonight for the first time, but I don't know if the worms have been there prior to tonight. Please help me know what this is and what to do.

A. Tiny while worms come from overfeeding. If there's a lot of extra food that the newts don't eat, the little worms have a party. They reproduce and stick to the walls and eat tthe delicious rotting newt food. They are not harmful in themselves, but how would you like to live in a tank full of rotting food and worms? Clean the tank - do a water change and suck out as much of the rotting-food goo as you can, and feed more sparingly in the future.

2002-12-02T03:45:00.000-05:00

Q. We live in Ventura, CA and just found a shit-load of newts running wild all over our property. This is cool, and we like it. Questions: how do we keep them alive in the yard,(don't want to put them in a tank - we like animals in their own enviornment), and will they poison the cats and dogs who go after them?

A. If there are a shitload of them naturally, they are doing just fine on their own and don't need help - just don't do anything detrimental like draining their pond, if there is one.

Yes, newts are poisonous. Part of the beauty of it, though, is that they actually have three lines of defense, not one: First, they taste bad. The smart animal will spit them out upon tasting them. Second, they induce vomiting; any healthy animal will vomit the newt up if it gets that far. So, the dog or cat gets two chances, before number three (poison) kicks in. If your dog or cat can differentiate nasty stinging chemicals from food, and/or throw up when it gets nauseous, you have nothing to worry about. Incidentally, the only human death (that I know of) from a newt was a guy who swallowed a newt on a dare while drunk - purposely ignoring the nasty stinging taste - and then was unable, due to some bizarre health problem (it wasn't too clear from the writeup) failed to throw up when he should of. Other accounts of human newt poisonings involve one defense or the other kicking in, and both newt and human turning out OK.

2002-11-11T15:56:00.000-05:00

Q. How long does an average Newt live? Mine are 4 years old, they seem healthy enough, but I just wonder how much longer they will be around. Thanks! Deborah

A. It's hard to say, but ten-year-old newts are not uncommon. The record, IIRC, is 21 years for a crested newt. You will have your newts for a long time yet.

2002-11-11T15:51:00.000-05:00

Q. My fire-bellied newt never comes out of the water to use his nice big rock we got him for his tank-at the pet store. Will he use it more when he gets older? He seems to be happy swimming. When I put him on the rock he sits there for a while and then jumps back in the water. Also, He is going to live in my 4th grade classroom at school. The pet store sold me a reflector lamp with a 15 watt red bulb so he won't get too cold if they turn the heat down over the weekend. Do you think that will work? I live in North Carolina so it's not THAT cold.

A. If he doesn't feel like using his rock, that's ok - it doesn't mean you have a defective newt or anything - but don't remove the rock. He probably uses it all the time when you're not looking. Even if he doesn't usually use it, he will someday. Some newts like the land better and some like the water better, but they should always have both options. I've found that a newt will often completely change its behavior when shedding, for instance.

As for your other question, you really should find out how cold it gets at night. You can get a thermometer that records the lowest and highest temperatures it's exposed to. Leave this overnight in the place where the newt will be, and find out how cold it gets. You're right that a 15-watt bulb will likely do the trick, but it's important to double-check. Try the same experiment as before, but with the bulb set up. The temperatures should be in the 60-70 degree range - a drop at night is OK, but you don't want to shock the little guy. Remember to put the lamp on a timer so that you can't forget to turn it on or off. If it's on in the daytime he will get too hot, and if it's off at might he might get too cold.

2002-11-11T15:42:00.000-05:00

Q. hi Beth, well this iz gonna be my first time getting a newt and i was wondering wut kind of material should i have at the bottom? like little rocks, sand, or.........

A. At the bottom of the water area, you'll want gravel, especially if you're using an undergravel filter. Otherwise, anything that won't dissolve in or muddy up your water: popular choices are (1) sand and (2) nothing.

As for the land area, some people like to use dirt. This will make its way into the water and get really messy. I recommend gravel here as well. Depending on your setup, you may be able to make most of your land area out of large rocks, which gives the newt a nice smooth surface. Also, you can use any of a variety of plastic gadgets made for furnishing animal enclosures, or in fact anything else you feel like that works in your setup. The newt doesn't care very much.

That said, if you're keeping salamanders that spend a lot of time on land, like tiger salamanders or the "red eft" stage of redspotted newts, the setup will be different. Water should be in a large bowl (large enough to soak in), NOT a separate water area. These salamanders will want to burrow in leaf litter, dirt, or moss. You can find suitable substrates at a pet store or garden supply store. Whatever you use, be sure there are no sharp parts (astroturf is right out!) to tear the little guy's delicate skin.

2002-11-06T22:36:00.000-05:00

Q. I teach at a school and one of the custodians brought me a red spotted newt he found outside. I have a tank set up with 2 red ear slider turtles - canthey live together? The turtles are very small and have both a water area and adry area with a sun lamp.

A. No! Newts are cool temperate animals. They like temperatures around 70F - conveniently, this is room temperature. Turtles, on the other hand, like it warm and need heat lamps. If the setup is suitable for a slider, it is way too hot for a newt!

Plus the turtles might try to eat the newt. Turtles are mean like that.

2002-11-04T04:28:00.000-05:00

Q. Dear Beth, My nephew found a blotched tiger salamander in our sandbox a week ago and it lives in a bucket in my room, but it's way out of its area(I live in Boise, Idaho)which is northwest of us, it's not eating(I've tried pellets, bugs, and an earthworm)and I was wondering if Ineed to release it or just get an aquarium and set up a suitable environment for it so my nephew can keep it as a pet?

A. a BUCKET??? Put it back! Put it back!

First of all, it needs a "suitable environment". You cannot humanely keep a tiger salamander in a bucket, any more than you would keep, say, your nephew in a bucket.

It's a good idea, in general, not to keep a wild animal that won't eat for you in captivity. Sometimes they simply won't adapt to the stresses of captivity, and it is better for them to return to the life they were used to. Captive-bred tiger salamanders are readily available in pet stores and bait shops, usually labeled as "waterdogs" - if you want one for a pet, please get a captive-bred one, and before you get it, take some time to learn about its captive care (like here maybe?) and set up an aquaterrarium with plenty of land (think 2-3 square feet) and enough water to soak in.

2002-11-04T04:24:00.000-05:00

Q. At a local pet store there was a fire belly newt totally covered in water with no dry land. Are they able to survive like this or do they need some kind of rock, land ect... Please write back soon thank-you for your help

A. No! They need an area of solid land. Newts spend half their time on the water and half on land. A fishtank is not acceptable.

2002-11-04T04:22:00.000-05:00

Q. Hi I have just been reading your article on metamorphosis and I was wondering could you please tell me how much Iodine should be added to the water. As us guys here in Australia have trouble trying to buy Salamanders and if we can get hold of them they are around the $100.00 mark so I would like to try to change them my self

A. I no longer recommend deliberately metamorphosing your axolotls. This is extremely unheathy for the animals - very stressful and quite often deadly. It is also not as simple as putting iodine in the water; if it is done at all, injection of thyroxine is the proper way to do it, and for this you need to work with a veterinaian who specializes in amphibians.

2002-11-04T04:03:00.000-05:00

Q.Beth, sorry I asked a question I just found an answer for in the FAQ section.
Thanks for the info!
Torey

A.It's the moments like this that keep me from hunting down my questioners and actually beating them with a metaphorical clue stick.