Newts Can Climb

[steve]

I was doing some tank maintenance, so I put the Newt in a tupperware, and when I turn to see how he was doing, He was not there, I found him tripping on the table, them I put him again in the pot and wait to see, that's what happened:

 

[TJ]

They sure can!

Glad to see you found this out before it was too late. Here's something you might want to have a look at in this regard:

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/escape.shtml

 

[alan]

Oh look, the first photo from my new camera:

 

[i.]

Wow! That's really cool! I wished mine was a climber too

 

[steve]

Don't underestimate them, They are watching you

, waiting for an opportunity

 

[caleb]

I recently had a three-legged alpine newt escape from a covered container- not only did he climb the side, he also pushed the cover up enough to escape!

He was recaptured some time later, a little dustier than before.

 

[paris]

one thing to note on amphibian climbing. many people believe that frogs climb glass by 'suction cups' on their toe pads-this is of course untrue, they have skin cells on their finger tips that are hexagonal (or octagonal) that are like closely packed hairs-these with mucus secretions increase surface area for them to stick to things-even glass. it is worth noticing that when a newt/sal climbs glass they do the same thing as frogs-they slide alot at first till they are a little more dry and use their bellies to increase surface area (more surface area=more surface tension to keep a small body up)...BUT the most important thing about climbing i just learned about a year ago-and it was in a basic college biology book (and there are x-ray pics to go with it) get this....palm salamanders actually DO climb by suction! they have extra bones in the feet and the palm works like a suction cup! now that i think of it -in pictures of them they are never seen like most caudates with their bellies pressed tight to the surface they are climbing.