How to Breed Newts

Newts require a particular kind of environment for successful breeding. The lighting, temperature, food and water level must be right in order to encourage newts to breed. The habitat must be large enough to house several newts and to give them enough room for their specific mating ritual. If the habitat is right, newts will lay eggs that hatch into legless newt larvae.

Instructions

1. Set up a habitat that contains several male newts and at least one female. The female will choose her male after she has seen the males do a mating dance. To get her to feel comfortable enough to choose a mate to breed with, the habitat must be kept clean and stocked with food.

2. Keep the water in the tank clean by replacing the water every few days. The water level should be on the high side, because newts prefer mating in the water. If there is enough water to cover the newts and allow them to stay immersed, there should be enough water for mating.

3. Put a few leaves in the tank. The female, once she has chosen a mate, will lay her eggs under a leaf. There should be loose leaves in the tank to allow her to roll up her chosen leaf to keep the eggs safe.

4. Take the leaf and eggs out of the tank. The parents may try to eat the eggs before they hatch or eat the newborns after hatching. To be on the safe side, place the eggs in a new tank that’s set up for newts.

5. Wait several weeks for the newt eggs to hatch. Different species of newt have different incubation times, but all require at few weeks for incubation. The newborn newts will have long tails and no legs, much like tadpoles. Feed them live brine shrimp every day for high-protein meals that will help them to grow.