# Smooth newt breeding attempt



## FishForLife2001 (Sep 23, 2014)

Hi all,

I intend to keep this post updated on my smooth newts and the rearing of their larvae. Whilst there are plenty of mentions of this species on the internet there are not many accounts of breeding them, although it is quite simple from what I have heard. 

I collected one female and two males from a local pond. I should add that this is perfectly legal - smooth newts are not protected in the same way as GCN (which interestingly is the most common newt locally based on the numbers I have seen). Smooth newts are also very common here. 

These were initially and briefly kept inside at around 21°c. However this seems to be too high for this species, and they seemed confused due to the breeding season having temperatures of a summer day. 

I then moved them outside. A basic setup is being used, being a ventilated tub with a mix of _Elodea_ and aquatic moss.

















The female has been laying eggs for a while, and although I don't see them in the tank spawning behaviour is fairly obvious. Last night she was showing this behaviour so more eggs are being laid. 

A few weeks ago I removed the plants so that I could separate eggs into another container. These developed well, and I now have 37 larvae in a tub plus eggs and recently hatched in another tub. 

























These are being fed microworms currently and small white worms should be small enough soon. The water is changed daily at around 95% of the volume, with rain water. 

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## Taurus (Apr 18, 2017)

So what's the plan with the larvae? 

My missus loves newts. She had a pond full as a child and is quite keen. Don't think she'll allow me another tank though?:whistling2:


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## FishForLife2001 (Sep 23, 2014)

A few updates. Firstly the last of the eggs have hatched, bringing the total larvae count to 47- this doesn't include any which have hatched in the adult tub or the daphnia culture. 

The largest of these have begun growing front legs, although none are significantly larger than the others. Interestingly they seem to develop without proportional increases in length/size unlike my toad tadpoles. 

The first enclosure I have mentioned was left with a couple of inches of water on the bottom. I finally went to fish a large snail out (now living in the pool in the crab enclosure) and found three well developed larvae! The female had been laying inside but all of the plants were transferred with the adults. 

They are still small but have enlarged eyes and four legs. In terms of behaviour they are much more similar to the adults, then the inactive larvae. They show clear hunting behaviour as opposed to merely jumping at prey, and more complex movement. This is becoming apparent in the developing larvae also to an extent. 

I have moved the three larvae into a one litre ice cream tub, with some
_Elodea_. They were given microworms yesterday, and small daphnia tonight. 









The smaller larvae have been transferred into a 4 litre container from the 1 litre tub. Both daphnia and microworms are being used as feeders. Water changes are still daily, with most of the water being changed.










One of the males was already living in a terrestrial setup, and is now joined by the other male and the female. They have gradually been spending less time in the water, and the male is extremely hydrophobic- floating and thrashing when introduced to water. This is a surefire way to determine if they have transitioned to the terrestrial stage.

The female immediately ate a piece of earthworm. 









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## FishForLife2001 (Sep 23, 2014)

Taurus said:


> So what's the plan with the larvae?
> 
> My missus loves newts. She had a pond full as a child and is quite keen. Don't think she'll allow me another tank though?:whistling2:


Raise them to a decent size, then a combination of releasing and keeping them. I am undecided on whether releasing them is legally and ethically sound but I will research beforehand.

I have been approached with interest in buying some, not sure if this is legal - they are captive bred but I am not sure if they need to be a certain generation. If you or anyone else knows the answer it would be appreciated. 


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## Taurus (Apr 18, 2017)

I have no idea on the legalities of releasing the young from wild caught animals? I see it as they would have bread anyway, difference being survival rate is higher when you are looking after them. It's not like you'll dump 1000 newts back in the pond is it and they're native.... If I had a pond I'd have had some. No ponds around here as fairly new build and no local ponds either which is a shame. 

I've got enough with Axolotls but the wife loves newts so much. I do believe that I have seen smooth newts for sale in pet shops, also native fish for people's ponds, all had to come from wild at some point......
Keep a few newts for your own enjoyment and release the rest. I can't see there being a problem?


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## FishForLife2001 (Sep 23, 2014)

Yeah I agree, and you are probably right.

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## FishForLife2001 (Sep 23, 2014)

An update to this has been long overdue.

I have had a few losses. I cannot say with certainty as to why, but i think it was due to underfeeding in the less voracious individuals.

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## el Snappo (Mar 4, 2017)

Just marking this. One of the best threads I've ever read.


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## FishForLife2001 (Sep 23, 2014)

el Snappo said:


> Just marking this. One of the best threads I've ever read.


Cheers! The previous update is incomplete as the internet went down after accidentally posting it. 

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## FishForLife2001 (Sep 23, 2014)

An update to this has been long overdue.

I have had a few losses. I cannot say with certainty as to why, but I think it was due to underfeeding in the less voracious individuals. It is difficult to see which larvae have eaten due to size, and providing a constant food source is difficult in a sterile setup like I had been using. 

I decided to move all of the newt larvae into a daphnia culture. This was a huge success! The old adult setup (aquatic) was used to keep daphnia which bred quickly, and I had thousands of them. 

This presented an ideal scenario for me. The setup already had plants, algae and various pond life and biofilm. The larvae have been difficult to monitor however they have grown massively. 

I do not know how many larvae are left, although around 35 were added. I believe they may be almost ready for metamorphosis, as the proportions are very similar to those of the adults and the gills of one individual seemed somewhat shortened. 

Individual 1 (shrinking gills?)



























Individual 2 (larger gills)










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## jimbod22 (Mar 17, 2016)

Excellent series of posts bringing back happy memories of my own smooth newt breeding many years ago when I first set my pond up. My set up followed similar lines apart from it all being done in a 3ft aquarium. When the newts spawned I removed the adults and proceeded from there. My initial feeds were tropical fish fry food and daphnia. The offspring were relocated to my pond once the gills showed signs of reducing. The adults were returned to their home pond. This was a few decades ago and the knowledge base was limited, I can remember trying boiled egg yolk as a feed at one stage as this had been suggested.
Jim


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## FishForLife2001 (Sep 23, 2014)

Fantastic, the first newts are leaving the water! I had one leave yesterday and another today. Pics from a few hours ago.


































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## el Snappo (Mar 4, 2017)

That is just bloody fantastic!









And, they're okay with those temperatures, obviously? I was talking to a mate, over there, today. He was burning in hell!

Oddly, I bred a pair of wild caught Fire Salamanders ~ so, we're presuming Portugal or there abouts? The young would shrivel up, go black and die in _hours_, if ye didn't keep everything just so.

I had the same nightmare with some newts, later. That's when Mark Staniszewski recommended putting them in the fridge. Never lost another one from that moment on.

I guess these ones must be genetically programmed to expect the temperatures ye get there now? Fascinating!


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## FishForLife2001 (Sep 23, 2014)

Hi Snappo,

Rather belated reply, sorry!

They seem to cope perfectly well at a range of temperatures. The heat wave we had probably reached the high 20's and they seemed fine, and they can survive very low temperatures easily. Rapid temperature change seems fine too.



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## FishForLife2001 (Sep 23, 2014)

Not much has happened since the last update. I now have 6 little newts which are bloody hungry things, and they all seem to be eating. 

Typically I will just place bloodworms on the damp paper substrate and they are gone by morning. They have also been eating mealworms, and woodlice will probably be introduced when I setup a more permanent setup. 

They are being kept in a takeaway container with plenty of air holes. A few leaves and a bit of moss is enough to keep them happy.

In terms of behaviour they seem to sit on the side of the container later in the day and at night. This matches observations of the adults at night, sat in reeds next to the local pond around 1.5ft off the ground. 


























The substrate looks quite dirty, this is mostly algae and will changed soon anyway. Interestingly the newts seem to huddle together even with plenty of hiding places. 

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