Rough Skinned Newt
Common Names
Rough-skinned Newt, Oregon Newt
Species
Taricha granulosa
Size
Adults have a total length of often 7-8 inches (18-20 cm) or more, with most of that being tail and a snout to vent length of only around 2-3.5 inches (5-9 cm).
Appearance
Dorsally brown to tan and ventrally bright orange. Their orange ventral coloration warns of their poisonous nature. As the common name implies, their skin is usually rough, except for during the more aquatic breeding season when the skin becomes smoother and, especially in males, the tail crest increases in size.
Distribution, Habitat and Behavior
Forests and grasslands throughout the west coast of the United States and north into British Columbia. They live a seasonal life and during much of the year they are terrestrial while during the breeding season they switch and migrate to water bodies to breed.
Availability
Formerly collected from the wild in large numbers and widely available at pet stores. Today they are only sporadically available and are best located through the amphibian hobbyist and breeder community.
Housing
A 29 gallon aquarium that measures 30 inches long by 12 inches wide by 18 inches high (76 cm by 30 cm by 46 cm) is enough space for a pair or two of adult newts. Make sure to use a secure screen cover to help prevent escapes.
Although in the wild they occupy different habitats (terrestrial / aquatic) during different times of the year, in captivity rough-skinned newts can be provided with both in the same enclosure. Provide a large water area that takes up half of the enclosure and reaches a depth of around 10 inches (25 cm). Aquatic plants, either artificial or live if there is sufficient lighting, can be used to offer footing and cover underwater. The land side of the enclosure can be simple, with a few moist clumps of moss, some shelter such as a curled piece of cork bark or driftwood, and plants if desired.
To create a semi-aquatic setup, often the easiest way is to use large grade aquarium gravel and slope it up to one side. A glass divider or large stones can be used to help hold the gravel in place and form land on one side. Then fill the aquarium with water so that the water level reaches within an inch or so of the land. Pay attention to the behavior of the newts as well. If they seem to be spending almost all of the time in the water, their skin is smooth and their tail crest apparent the water portion of the enclosure should be increased, while if the newts appear to have very rough skin and are always on land the enclosure can be converted to a more terrestrial setup.
Water
A small submersible filter or canister filter can be used to help maintain good water quality. Deflect the output of the filter with a rock or piece of wood so that the current isn’t too strong. The water may need to be partially changed as often as once a week in a small aquarium that is stocked heavily, while large aquariums with only a newt or two my only need monthly partial water changes. It’s better to do small frequent water changes than occasional large ones, and the larger the volume of water in the tank, the less concentrated waste will be, and the easier it will be to control water quality. It may be helpful to purchase test kits or bring water samples to local fish stores so that the quality of the water can be monitored. If tap water is used, treat it with tap water conditioner to remove chlorine, chloramines, and heavy metals from the water.
Temperature
Rough-skinned do not tolerate warm temperatures well so keep the enclosure and the room it is in cool. Most of the time the temperature in the tank during the day should range from 60°F (16°C) to 70°F (21°C), with a decrease in temperature at night. Temperatures below this range are tolerated well, and a drop to as low as 50°F (10°C) is not a problem for healthy animals. Warm temperatures, on the other hand, are usually harmful, and those above 80°F (27°C) should be avoided. Consider keeping newts in a cool basement or air conditioned room so that the temperature does not rise too high.
Diet
A captive diet for rough-skinned newts can consist of black worms, blood worms, chopped earth worms, small crickets, slugs, ghost shrimp, freeze dried krill, and brine shrimp. Using a variety of foods will help prevent nutritional problems. Frozen fish foods should be thawed in lukewarm water prior to being offered. Some newts may not accept all foods mentioned above and some experimentation may be needed to find a good, varied diet for a newt. Feed adult newts two or three times a week. Over feeding is a common problem, so pay attention to how much is being fed and make sure to remove excess food that newts do not eat. Uneaten food will spoil the water quickly in a small aquarium.
This is an old post but I wanted you thoughts. I had a newt as a child. For my grading gift in the early 90’s I wanted fish and my mom found someone selling an aquarium in the paper. When we went to pick it up they had the most amazing thing! A brown newt. They were moving and we’re upset that they couldn’t find anyone to take him and offered us the newt and setup for free!
The newt was dark brown with a orange belly. It was very bumpy, dry skin but had a tail that was more lizard like than I am seeing for the rough skin newt. It was rounder and had no fin like ridge. From nose to tip of tail he was around 3 inches.
The tank was mostly water with rocks that could be climbed on. It would spend hours in the water without surfacing and also hours on the rocks.
It was super friendly and was often held and handled by lots of children. There was never any sort if smell or irritation from contact. He would come up to the rock every night at bedtime to say goodnight and get pets.
We swapped out all the water once a week and replaced it entirely. We also fed it half a turtle pellet once a day as the only source of food.
It also had a heater for the water. It was kept between 22-24C.
When we got it the person said they had it for 10 years and had also bought it off someone and it lived for another 3 years with us.
The rough skin newt is the closet match I’ve found but tail doesn’t match. (Also with the internet I’ve realized we didn’t provide the best care but continued what was explained to us). Any thoughts on the type of Newt I might have had? I’ve often wondered what the little guy was.
If not a rough skin newt, maybe a species from Asia? During the 1990s and early 2000s there were large numbers of newts imported from Asia for the pet trade. Some common ones were fire-bellied newts, Cynops orientalis and Cynops pyrrhogaster, also Pachytriton species sold as paddletail newt. Maybe one of those? Thanks for sharing your story.
thanks so much for all the information and contributing so much to this community. this has helped me so much with my little bugger houdini and has clearly helped many others
just caught a newt and not sure how exactly to care for it? I am a beginner.
What kind of newt is it? The best thing to do for now is probably to let it go in the same place you caught it, so long as you haven’t put it in an aquarium with other fish or amphibians. Often it isn’t legal to collect amphibians from the wild without the right kind of permit. But, now that you know you want to keep a newt (and they are a lot of fun to keep), do some research on the kind of newt you want, set up the aquarium for it beforehand, and then find someone producing the species in captivity to buy from. Buying a captive-bred newt rather than collecting one from the wild is the best way to go. However, if the kind of newt you caught is a common species, it’s legal to collect them in your area (or you have the right permit), and it is not often bred in captivity, then maybe it is best to keep the one you have. If this is the situation, the first step is to find out what kind it is (different kinds have different care requirements) and start from there. You could use the information on this page about rough-skinned newt as a starting point to know what types of food to try and how to set up the enclosure. Probably the most important part to get right at the start is temperature and making sure it doesn’t get too hot. Newts need to be kept cool and almost all species do not tolerate warm temperatures well. Good luck,
Devin
Its typically easy to take care of them they don’t need a lot of care you don’t have to clean their tank a lot and it’s pretty easy but you can always look online and look for salamander foods but they’re pretty easy to catch they’re pretty easy to take care of so yeah all I say is don’t put them in warm temperatures
Do rough-skin newts need to be in pairs?
Nope, you can keep them on their own.
Hey, I’m planning to get one of these cuties and I was wondering do they need any special lighting or such?
Nope, nothing special is needed. Good question. Use a light source that doesn’t get too hot. Keeping them cool is really important so a simple LED or fluorescent strip light or other type of light source that doesn’t heat up should do the job. Keep it on a 10-12 hour a day photoperiod.
Devin
Hey there! I managed to save a slightly injured rough skinned newt two days ago. It hasn’t eaten a thing but I’m concerned we interrupted hibernation and hike clearing the fence line. It’s back left leg doesn’t want to move as well as the right, I prepared a twenty gal tank with half natural soil from the area he was in and half water, small stone divider and planted it with succulents and a hazel treeling.
My questions are; how do I get him to eat? I bought it some reptomin select a food (three foods in one) but he hasn’t yet taken any offerings how do I entice him? Also, howling can it go without eating before I should be worried?
I had a similar problem while installing a drift fence the other day, where the spade went into the ground and hit the tail of a salamander near the breeding pond. Instead of keeping it, I actually suggest releasing it where found. Newts and salamanders can withstand a lot of trauma and some species can even regenerate limbs, but the move into captivity could be so stressful that it weakens the newt’s immune system and slows or prevents recovery. So, I would put it back where you found it, under some cover or in the same habitat it was found.
Are you aware that the Rough Skinned Newt issue contains higher concentrations of the potentially lethal neurotoxin Tetrodotoxin than the infamous puffer fish? Even handling these newts without gloves is potentially dangerous, if the unwashed fingers subsequently contact your food, mouth or eyes. When they arch their backs in defensive posturing, their skin is actively secreting the toxin.
How the hell were these ever legal in pet stores? Then again, our population could use downsizing…
Good point, however, there is no risk of a newt harming someone who is keeping them properly. You shouldn’t handle captive amphibians. Newts are display animals, like fish in an aquarium. The salts and oils naturally produced on human skin can harm them. My other thought is that if there was a large risk (and you are right, they do have some serious chemical defenses in their skin) then there would have been a lot of people dying or being rushed to emergency rooms back in the 1990s and early 2000s when hundreds of thousands of Taricha were being traded and available at almost every pet store in the U.S. It’s a good thing trade on this scale was stopped for the sake of wild newt populations, but if newts were dangerous to keep (versus being dangerous to eat, which they are–don’t eat them) then I would have expected some sort of mass public health problem where kids keeping pet newts were being rushed to emergency rooms left and right. Taricha do have some impressive defensive chemical compounds in their skin, but so long as you aren’t messing with your newts and especially not eating them, then there is no risk in keeping them.
Devin
Once you’ve collected the eggs what do u do with them?
I haven’t raised Taricha eggs or larvae but I expect it is pretty straight forward. This article might be helpful: https://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Taricha/T_granulosa.shtml and it links to this article Raising Newt and Salamander Eggs which is a nice overview of how to care for eggs and larvae of newts and salamanders in general.
I hope this helps,
Devin
Thanks for this page!I have referred to it often for my 10 year old rough skinned newt that a boneheaded person collected tom the wild not even aware of anything to do to care for him. He is doing well thanks to this page , but his conpanion died a couple of years ago and I wish I could aquire him some compan withou resorting to looking in the local river for one.
Maureen,
I’m glad to hear this article on rough skinned newt care has been helpful. If you want another newt but are worried that taking one from the wild might be harmful, you could consider looking for an egg mass instead. The majority of larvae will die before metamorphosis and collecting one egg mass would have little impact. Check with state laws to make sure it is legal to do so first though. Taricha eggs are very distinct (round and stuck to sticks or vegetation underwater). The newts have a particular breeding season that varies depending on where you are located, and looking for eggs might be a fun way to spend some time outdoors and find a companion for your newt at the same time. Plus, you could have the enjoyable experience of raising newt larvae too.
Enjoy the newt,
Devin
I don’t know where your at but i have three of them and am looking for a good home for them
Try visiting https://www.caudata.org/ and visiting the forum. That would be a great place to find a new home for your newts. There is a section at the bottom of the forum where you can post pet newts for sale and for adoption. Best of luck,
Devin
do you think i can keep one single newt in a ten gallon
Probably. It depends on the kind of newt and how the aquarium is set up, but yes that is probably large enough. If you have more room go bigger.