Help & Advice Frequently Asked Questions newts FAQs Answers to some frequently asked questions about newts. Jump too... Have I seen a newt or a lizard? What species of newt have I seen? What is the newt lifecycle? I’ve found a newt in my garden. What shall I do? I have too many newts in my pond. Shall I move some? I haven't seen any newts this year. What might be wrong? How can I encourage newts into my garden? I am working on my pond. What shall I do with the newts in it? Newts are eating my tadpoles. Can anything be done to stop them? I have found an injured newt. What can I do for it? I’ve found a swollen newt. What can be done? My newts are being preyed upon. What can be done? I have found dead newts. What's going on? What legal protection do newts have? A development is damaging newt habitat. Who should I report this to? Have I seen a newt or a lizard? Many people confuse newts and lizards as they can be a similar size and colour. Lizards have dry, scaly skin, whereas newts either have smooth skin or skin with a 'warty' texture. Newt skin can look velvety when on land, or damp if found in wet weather or if they have recently been in a pond. Lizards are much more likely to scurry away quickly when disturbed, whereas newts make slow movements on land. British lizards rarely enter water, while newts frequently do. If you have a chance for a closer look you could count the number of toes on the front legs - newts have four toes, lizards have five. Our identification guide can help: Amphibian Identification Guide Back to top What species of newt have I seen? There are three native newt species in the UK. Smooth newt: Growing up to 10cm long, they have a brown, orange, cream or pale green upper body sometimes with visible black spots. They also have a pale orange belly with small black spots. Males develop a continuous wavy crest, running from the head to the end of the tail, during the breeding season. The smooth newts is the most common newt in much of Wales and England. Palmate newt: Similar to the smooth newt but smaller. Their throat is usually unspotted. Males develop webbed back feet, a ridge running along the back and a thin filament at the end of the tail during the breeding season. Female palmate newts can be difficult to distinguish from female smooth newts. Palmate newts are common in some regions of England, such as upland areas and the south-west, and more common than smooth newts in Scotland. Great crested newt: The largest of our native newts, they can grow up to around 16cm long. Much of the body is black or dark brown, with “warts” which may have white tips. Underside, their bright orange bellies are marked with irregular black blotches. During the breeding season males have a jagged crest running from the head, along the back, with a break at the base of the tail; the tail also has a conspicuous white flash. Great crested newts are found in much of lowland England, and parts of Wales and Scotland. See our Amphibian Identification Guide to clarify what you have seen and please do record your sightings. Back to top What is the newt lifecycle? Newts live both on land and in water at various points in their lives. Adults are often found in ponds during the spring breeding season and into summer. Females lay eggs in ponds from around March to June, which hatch out into larvae, sometimes called newt tadpoles. These larvae develop into juveniles (sometimes called efts) which leave the pond in the summer and early autumn. Juveniles then tend to be found in woodland, scrub, and gardens, often under logs or other debris. They reach sexual maturity at between two and four years of age. Once adult, newts may live for several more years, with the maximum recorded lifespan in the wild being seventeen years for a great crested newt. Back to top I’ve found a newt in my garden. What shall I do? Amphibians spend the majority of their life on land and are often found in gardens, sometimes hundreds of metres from ponds or other waterbodies. Smooth newts and palmate newts can be quite common in urban areas, and gardens are an important amphibian habitat in their own right. Therefore, it is normally best to leave the newt where you found it. If the animal is trapped or in danger, release it into another part of the garden that provides cover from predators and extreme weather; for example in a compost heap, underneath a garden shed or near/underneath dense foliage. It does not need to be released in a pond. Find out more about creating a newt friendly garden in our Dragons in Your Garden leaflet. Please do record your sightings. Back to top I have too many newts in my pond. Shall I move some? Although it can appear that there are too many newts, their numbers will depend on the environment and it is invariably best not to try to change this by moving newts. In addition, moving newts can have unintended consequences. For example you may transfer amphibian diseases, or put newts at risk if they try to return to the pond from which they were taken. Back to top I haven't seen any newts this year. What might be wrong? Depending on the weather, newts arrive in ponds after other amphibians have left, as they tend to breed a little later than frogs and toads. Newts also migrate but tend to arrive at the pond over a longer period of time than frogs and toads. In general, newts will start to migrate in early spring (February/March) but this could occur later in the north and east of the country and earlier in the south, or if the spring is particularly mild or cold. In some cases lack of breeding amphibians in your pond could be the result of a population decline locally. This might be an indicator of pond loss: ponds form 'stepping stones' for amphibians across a landscape. If ponds disappear, so can local populations of amphibians. Similarly, their terrestrial (land) habitats are just as important - amphibians disperse on land, to forage, hibernate and colonise new areas and if these areas or 'corridors' have been blocked (by a new road or even a fence) or destroyed (through development), the route to your garden may have been lost. You may be tempted to import some newts or eggs from elsewhere to try and help your local population but we generally advise against this. By moving animals/eggs you can accidentally introduce amphibian diseases and invasive pond plants, and it is normally better to encourage newts to colonise naturally. Back to top How can I encourage newts into my garden? Amphibians require ponds to breed, so adding a pond to your garden is the best way to encourage them. Consider size, shape and location of your pond before starting work and do not add fish as they will feed on newt eggs. See our video 'Make a wildlife-friendly garden pond' for more information. Newts are more likely to breed in ponds that contain plant species in which they can wrap up their eggs. Ponds that contain small broad-leafed plants, such as water mint Mentha aquatica and water forget-me-not Myosotis scorpioides, could be particularly good for this purpose. If you do not have a pond (or space to create one), your garden can still benefit amphibians and they may make use of it if there are water bodies nearby. Amphibians spend the majority of their life on land and prefer a variety of habitats in which to forage, shelter and overwinter (hibernate). They will make use of log and stone piles, long grass, compost heaps and even nooks and crannies under your shed, decking or greenhouse. Habitats that provide shelter, stay damp and provide a good source of insects and slugs to feed on are particularly beneficial. Make sure that the boundary to your garden allows newts to enter and exit, by ensuring at least a small gap in any walls or fences. See our Dragons in your Garden leaflet for more details. Back to top I am working on my pond. What shall I do with the newts in it? If possible, delay pond maintenance until late autumn (September/October), so that newt larvae have been given time to metamorphose and before other amphibians, like male common frogs, might be returning to the pond to hibernate. If you need to carry out the work more urgently place any amphibians you find in a tank or suitable container, preferably with pond water, while you do the work and return them to the garden/pond when you've finished. Occasionally tadpoles/newt larvae remain in the pond over the winter and develop the following spring, so be sure to be check the pond carefully at any time of year before starting work. Removing a pond can be detrimental to local wildlife, particularly as adult amphibians will have nowhere to spawn when they return the following spring. If you are considering filling in your pond because of safety concerns we advise you to consider installing some simple safety precautions for the pond instead. Please see our ‘How can I make my pond safer for children?’ FAQ. It is unlikely you would find an organisation willing to collect newts disturbed whilst a garden pond is being infilled. It is best to try to keep the newts in your garden if at all possible. Note that if great crested newts are present then you should consult the appropriate government agency (Natural England, NatureScot or Natural Resources Wales) before carrying out any major work, as this species is protected by law. Back to top Newts are eating my tadpoles. Can anything be done to stop them? Frog tadpoles can be an important food source for newts (particularly the smooth newt which is common in gardens) but we would advise that newts should not be removed. By relocating the newts to another pond you could be accidentally transferring invasive plants and diseases, as well as leaving the way open for more newts to enter the pond. If you have great crested newts in the pond then you could also break the law by handling a protected species without a licence. Garden ponds are often home to more than one species of amphibian; this is a healthy situation and indicates the pond is functioning well. In most cases where newt predation takes place, some tadpoles will survive to become froglets. A complex predator-prey relationship between frogs and newts may develop over the years, with their numbers varying. As well as the number of newts, frog numbers are influenced by other factors such as the condition of the pond and the numbers of insect predators like diving beetle and dragonfly larvae. To help frog numbers, you could add more hiding places in the pond to help tadpoles evade predation. Potential hiding places include rocks, pebbles or aquatic planters. In some cases, it may be that predation by newts is so intense that it eliminates the frogs from a given pond. This is difficult to address, but you could try creating another pond more suited to frogs and less suited to newts – if it is small and very shallow this can sometimes help. Back to top I have found an injured newt. What can I do for it? If the injury appears slight and the animal is active and able to move freely, then it's advisable to just move the amphibian to a sheltered part of the garden, away from the view of predators (e.g. cats and birds) and extreme weather, such as amongst dense foliage or dead wood. Make sure it has the option to move to another part of the garden, should it want to. Injuries such as skin abrasions will heal fairly quickly, so moving the animal to a quiet area of the garden, where it can recover and forage easily, will increase its chances of survival. If the newt looks like it will not recover on its own, you could possibly take it to a local vet, or to a wildlife rehabilitation centre. The British Wildlife Rehabilitation Council maintains a list at: http://bwrc.org.uk/find-a-rehabilitator. We suggest you call the vet or centre first to check they are happy to see or accept the newt. Back to top I’ve found a swollen newt. What can be done? Female amphibians become noticeably swollen with eggs in spring. This is completely natural and they normally return to a smaller size once they have spawned. In spring or early summer a swollen amphibian could be a female that is egg-bound - where eggs fail to pass properly through the reproductive system. Try contacting a vet about it; most vets treat wild animals for free but do ring first. Sometimes Amphibian and Reptile Conservation receives reports of amphibians, primarily newts, that become noticeably bloated. The bloating is apparent even in the upper body of the newt, rather than only the belly (which is indicative of carrying eggs). This unusual bloating may be related to a hormonal imbalance which pulls water into the newt's body causing it to swell, or it may be due to an infection. Symptoms often appear to subside over time, and so it is normally best to leave the newt alone. If you have found a bloated amphibian that is dead, this is likely to have occurred after death, especially if it died in the pond, rather than being a symptom of something that killed it. Back to top My newts are being preyed upon. What can be done? Newts feature in the diet of many animals so you can expect to see a number of predators in your garden. Some, like grass snakes, have themselves become rarer, so having these animals in your garden is a privilege. Generally there is nothing recommended to address natural predation, aside from ensuring that your garden provides plenty of places for newts to hide. Cats, however, can pose a persistent problem. While some cats may ignore amphibians, others will catch, play with and sometimes kill them; newts cannot escape as quickly as frogs can. Adding a variety of places in your garden for amphibians to hide when disturbed is the best long-term advice. Log piles, rockeries, dense low-growing foliage and water bodies can all provide places where newts, frogs and toads can hide and cats have trouble getting their paws in to. 'Cat scarers' are another alternative method to consider. We would advise that pond-owners avoid using pond-netting. Sometimes the animals you're trying to attract (like grass snakes or hedgehogs) can become caught and die. Back to top I have found dead newts. What's going on? Depending on the time of year there could be several explanations. Newts hibernating in pond edges may succumb to cold weather or noxious gases trapped by ice in the winter. This is more common with frogs, who will sometimes hibernate at the bottom of ponds, though newts can also be affected, especially during long periods of cold weather. Newts, like all UK amphibians may emerge during milder patches of weather to forage occasionally they can be caught out by a sudden change in weather or be disturbed by a predator. It can be common for amphibians to die naturally after breeding has taken place, in the spring sometimes in quite large numbers. Breeding requires a great deal of energy and such exertions can leave amphibians lethargic and more open to predation or natural diseases. Animals that are known to prey on breeding amphibians include: foxes, cats, mink, stoats, otters and rats (though frogs and toads are more at risk). During spring amphibians make migrations to breeding ponds, sometimes moving up to half a mile or more. Roads pose a particular problem in some areas where they interrupt migration routes, and dead amphibians on roads can be a common sight - see our Common Toads and Roads leaflet. This is primarily a problem for common toads but newts and frogs can also be affected. In particularly hot summers, exposed amphibians can die from drying out (desiccation). This is a particular threat to young amphibians that have just left the pond. To avoid this happening make sure there is plenty of shade and shelter provided by plants around the edge of the pond. If you have found young newts dead in the pond itself then it's possible that they have been unable to get out of the water. When newt larvae metamorphose they are particularly susceptible to drowning at this life-stage. To avoid this happening create gently sloping sides to the pond and areas where it is easy for animals (including small mammals who may fall in by accident) to leave the water. In adult amphibians, diseases can be common in summer. If you have found large numbers of dead amphibians that are very thin and were lethargic before death, we recommend you contact our colleagues at Garden Wildlife Health (Zoological Society of London) for advice. Back to top What legal protection do newts have? All life stages of all wild, native amphibians are protected against trade, unless covered by a licence. Please inform the police if you see amphibians being sold, including on internet auction sites, and you suspect a licence is not in place. With some exceptions, it is legal to trade in exotic or captive bred amphibians; the source of animals should be stated in any advertisement. Great crested newts have full legal protection. This means that it is illegal to capture, kill, disturb or possess them, or to damage or destroy their breeding sites and resting places, unless a licence is issued or an exemption applies. For more information on legislation please see our Legislative protection for the UK’s herpetofauna page. Back to top A development is damaging newt habitat. Who should I report this to? Please see our Planning and development page. Back to top Manage Cookie Preferences