What Does the Newt Eat?

Physical Appearance

• Newts look like lizards and are generally less than 6 inches in length, with some species growing to 8 inches. They come in a wide array of colors, from charcoal grey with blue speckling to bright orange with reddish spots. While genders in some species are undifferentiated by appearance, others have gender size differences. Also, breeding season brings about dramatic physical changes such as color variations and protuberances including back crests in some newt varieties.

Habitat

• Like most amphibians, newts split their time between aquatic and terrestrial environments. However, the amount of time spent in either environment varies greatly among species. For example, some species remain land dwellers as adults, returning to the water only for breeding. Newts prefer moist, weeded or wooded habitats including marshes, parks and bogs. Newts are predominantly distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and are generally found in North America, Asia and Europe.

Diets

• Newts are carnivorous with diverse diets. While on land, adults eat animal varieties including insects and worms. In aquatic habitats, newts eat varieties such as crustaceans and mollusks. Even as larvae, unlike frog tadpoles, newt tadpoles are carnivores feeding off plankton and insect larvae.

Feeding Habits

• Newts typically hunt for prey close to the water's surface. In addition to having tooth-lined jaws, the roof of a newt's mouth has two rows of teeth. However, the teeth aren't used for tearing food, but for holding slippery and/or squirming prey.

  Newts engage in both opportunistic feeding -- waiting on prey to fall within reach -- and predatory methods, actively hunting for food. Hunting according to scent is a common practice. Cannibalism occurs in some larvae and adult species if food sources are in short supply.