What Do Newts Eat

What Do Newts Eat?

“What do newts eat?” is a question that is often asked today. That’s because newts, like other small reptiles are becoming popular household pets.

A newt is a member of the salamander family. Most people cannot tell the difference between newts and salamanders. Their size and colors are much the same but newts have rougher skin and they return to water to breed. Some newts also develop a flat tail at breeding time.

The question, “What do newts eat?” is easily answered. They are predators who eat live food, so while you might hope that yours will eat fish pellets, they are more apt to only eat live prey. That includes mealworms, earthworms, tubifex worms, whiteworms, crickets, cockroaches, grasshoppers and other live food. You will need to feed them at least three times a week but not necessarily every day.

Because some newts live on land and some live in the water, you may need to try a couple of types of newt diets. Those that live in water like fish. You can try frozen brine shrimp but don’t be surprised if your newt won’t eat it. It takes the wiggling of the prey to stimulate the digestive tract of the newt. Try giving the newt live worms of just about any type.

If you want to know, “What do newts eat?” the most comprehensive answer is any kind of worm or bug. You could raise your own crickets and feed them to your newt. If you are patient, you might be able to get your water newt to adapt to eat fish food, reptile pellets or sticks, but if not, live worms are the first choice.

In addition to live bugs and worms, newts also like to eat mosquito larvae. You can make your own by leaving a bucket of water in the yard until it becomes stagnant. You need to keep track of the larvae because you need to feed it to your newt before the larvae turns into adult mosquitoes. If not, all you will end up with is mosquito bites.

You can buy mealworms and black worms at many pet stores. If you keep them in a cool place, you can get worms to last 2-3 days. Newts, like most reptiles, always do much better if you can give them the same type of diet they would have if they were living out in the wild. If you keep your newt in good health, he could live to be anywhere from fifteen to thirty years old.

Many people purchase newts and populate their outdoor ponds with them in the same way that others populate their ponds with trout. Even land newts return to water to breed. If your newts are healthy they should mate and lay their eggs in the pond. They will only be in the water during these breeding months which are usually in the spring between the months of March and July.


If you have a pet newt which lives inside in a reptile tank, chances are very good that it will never breed, not even if you have males and females. If you want to give it a try though, make sure to have plants in your tank. Newts only lay their eggs on plants and can lay 150-300 at one time. Baby newts should not eat anything other than brine shrimp.

Newts make excellent pets and you don’t have to worry about being bitten like you do with some other reptiles. Always prepare for your newt before you bring it home by buying a proper tank and accessories. And, be prepared to feed live food, because that is the real answer to “What do newts eat?” If you are too squeamish to handle live worms and bugs, you are not going to do well with newts as a pet.