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Know your newt!

Do you know your newt? Read on for facts and identification tips for your own newt knowledge, plus pointers on creating pond habitats.

Do you know your newt?

There are 3 native species of newt to the UK, and with a steep decline in their numbers in recent decades, we share our newt knowledge so you can identify and create your very own dragon's den for the noble newt.

Newts are important species for the eco-system. They secrete toxins from their skin, which provide nutrients which they then cycle between water and land.

Newts also have the ability to regrow limbs and organs, making them a subject of study for regenerative science.

We’ll show you how to invite newts into your neighbourhood by creating a pond and making small but real changes to your outdoor space.

Male smooth newt under water

Male smooth newt. Credit Alan Price 

Smooth Newt (Lissotriton vulgaris)

Smooth newts are also called the common newt, as they are the most widespread across the UK.

Appearance - Smooth newts are brown with a bright orange spotted underside. Their spots are all the way up their throat, and the patterns are as unique to each newt as fingerprints are to us.

They develop a small, wavy crest along the length of their body during breeding season between March and June.  It's not as large or jagged as the great crested newts. They appear silky smooth in the water, hence their name, but can appear velvety on on land.

Habitat- Newts spawn in ponds before leaving the water. Being the most commonly found native newt, they are often seen in ponds and bodies of water in parks and woodlands. They like to shelter in damp soil under logs and rocks once they have left the water in late summer.

A smooth newt

Smooth newt identification  

Diet - Frog tadpoles and other water and land invertebrates. 

Fun fact – Newts develop their front legs first, unlike frogs who develop their back legs first. Once newts have absorbed their gills, they leave the water. At this stage they are known as 'efts'.

Protection status - Smooth newts are protected by law in the UK. It is illegal to sell or trade them in any way. In Northern Ireland they are fully protected against killing, injuring, capturing, disturbance, possession or trade.

Great crested newt. Rare and protected. Credit: John Bridges

Great crested newt. Rare and protected. Credit: John Bridges

Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus) 

Appearance –Great crested newts are the largest of our native newts, growing up to 17cm in length. They also look the most dragon-like, with bumpy, warty skin, and a huge jagged crest along the length of it's body which enlarges during the breeding season. They are dark in colour with a striking orange belly and spotted flanks. 

Habitat- Great crested newts are very picky about where they choose to breed. They need clean water and will travel up to 1 kilometre to find the perfect pond. They can be found in fresh water in grassland, wetlands and farmlands.

Diet - Prefers tadpoles on the menu, but will also eat other land invertebrates. 

Great crested newt identification markings

Great crested newt identification

Fun fact – Great crested newts can live up to 25 years!
They also use their tails and crests to perform underwater courtship dances to impress females by wafting pheromones towards them. 

Conservation status- Protected (Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.) Priority (UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework). The decline in great crested newt numbers means that they are strictly protected by British and European law. It is an offence to kill, injure, capture or disturb them; damage or destroy their habitat; and to possess, sell or trade. This law refers to all great crested newt life stages, including eggs.

Pond tips- Likes lot of aquatic plants to hide and lay eggs. Does not like sharing its home with fish!

Palmate newt Credit Philip Precey

Palmate newt Credit Philip Precey

Palmate Newt (Lissotriton helveticus) 

Appearance- Palmate newts are similar to the smooth newt in colour and size, and they can be hard to distinguish between. What differentiates them best is that palmate newts don’t have a spotted throat like the smooth newt, and have dark webbing on their back feet. Palmates also develop a pointy filament on the end of their tail during breeding season.

Habitat- Palmate newts like shallow ponds in acidic habitats, such as heathland and bogs. They can venture further from water than other newt species after breeding season in late summer.

Palmate newt identification markings

Palmate newt identification

Diet- Tadpoles and other invertebrates. Sometimes they are known to eat other palmate newts!

Fun fact- The word 'palmate' refers to something shaped like an open hand, which is where this newt gained it's name because of their webbed feet. 

Conservation status - In the UK, the palmate newt is protected only from sale and trade in any form.

Pond with sheep in the background

Photo courtesy of DLL Scheme

What you can do to invite newts into your neighbourhood

If you want to see dragons on your doorstep, here are some simple and free ways to make them feel at home:

  • Create a pond -The best way to create a habitat for newts it to create a pond. The ideal time is now, so the pond will be ready for springtime breeding season. It's a great activity to do if you’re itching to get outdoors and have done all your winter jobs for the season
  • Aquatic plants -  Newts lay around 200 eggs, and the female carefully wraps each one in a specially chosen leaf to keep them safe. Pond plants will encourage and protect breeding newts in the springtime.
  • Clean water - If you're hoping to attract great crested newts, they are particular about where they reside and breed. They like fresh, clean water with no aquatic company. So fish are not advised.
  • Compost heap - To attract small invertebrates for newts to eat, and provide cool damp shelter. Learn how to compost your waste here.
  • Log pile - Newts don't hibernate, but they 'overwinter'. From November onwards they hide in damp soil under plant roots, log piles, compost heaps and stone walls. Read more about log shelters here.

Explore more tips on How to create a mini pond in your available outdoor space. You don’t have to be a green-fingered gardener to create a space for these fascinating and important amphibians. 

great crested newt crawling on moss

Great Crested Newt by John Bridges

A smooth newt creeps through some short grass

Smooth newt © Philip Precey

Pale orange juvenile palmate newt against a background of black peat

Palmate newt babies were discovered at Little Woolden Moss for the first time in September 2021.

great crested newt crawling in the mud

Great Crested Newt by Janet Packham

smooth newt

Smooth newts have been recorded at Broadhurst Clough for the first time. Photo credit: David Longshaw

Great crested newt in water

Are you helping newts and other wildlife in your garden?

If you're supporting newts and other wildlife in your garden, we'd love to know about it - and you could even be eligible for one of our 'My Wild Garden' awards!

My Wild Garden Awards

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