ID please

[Star]

My mum was changing the water in ehr horses field earlier, she keeps it in an old bath tub. When she tipped the bath over she found a lizard... Sent me a pic and asked me what it was. I was baffled so went over to collect it from her (she'd put it in a jar with some mud and grass) when I got there it seemed more like a smooth newt. Just wondering if anyone can either confirm that it is or if not, identify it please.

Also, what should I do with it?? I can't put it back where it was because there are no ponds in the vicinity, it's literally a field and it is next to a railway line... We have a pond but quite honestly I don't think it has been touched in years, there's all kinds of debris in there, plus my cat is a turd... He frequently leaves dead frogs next to the pond
I've currently got it (think it may be female) in my 2ft tank with an inch of cycled water in from my axies tank and a couple of rocks, few fake plants and a bit of grass.

 

[Azhael]

Yep, it´s a smooth newt, a female.
There must be some place relatively close where it can live, otherwise it wouldn´t have ended up in the tub. Maybe that pond you have is more adequate than you think. You could see if there are any newts in there, you´ll probably find males if there are any, in which case i would release her just there.

However, if the cycled water you used is from the axolotls, i would be concerned about the possibility of patogen exchange. If that´s the case, you could keep it (if i´m not mistaken, british laws allow this), or take it to a recuperation center or any wildlife association of the sort.

 

[Star]

I might get the pond cleaned up over the summer and release her when it's done as I will need my 2fter for the axie larvae I have coming. At the moment though I don't think there is anything alive in the pond, will have a look tomorrow though.

I added bottled spring water and the axie water so I'm hoping it should be OK for her as my axies are healthy. I'll also look into what associations there are around here see what they say. Thanks for your help!

 

[zoezakella]

we have loads of newts around us and although we do have ponds / streams in some of the fields I found these guys in my front garden amonst our wood chippings. One was under our log roll border and the other under a bush so dont stress too much they were quite far away from the water

http://www.caudata.org/forum/members/zoezakella-albums-found-2-x-newts.html

 

[Star]

In read that out of breeding season they move onto land and live in damp, dark areas so I guess it's that. She's happily nestled in my pink fake plant at the moment but enlisted my mum's help to sort our pond out in a few weeks when I get time so will move her out there then I put a worm in with her but she doesn't seem interested

 

[zoezakella]

sure she will settle down soon, if your worried about her just release her back to where she was I bought the 2 I found in my garden into my house for Zak & Ella to look at for an hour as they are fascinated by amphibians and animals in general and they even ate the worm I popped in with them but then me & Zak took them for a walk to a nice place around the corner (a dried out ditch) and released them back there :happy: Good luck Star