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Those who are not very familiar with newts but are intrigued about the prospect of owning one might be wondering whether these creatures live on land or in water. The answer to that is that they can live on both land and water. Some newts are fully aquatic, meaning they live in the water, while others live in and out of the water.
Can Newts Breathe Underwater?
Even aquatic newts do not breathe underwater. Some species, such as the crested newt, absorb oxygen from the water through their skin. Although they are born with gills, these gills are absorbed and replaced with air-breathing lungs.
Common Newt 
Emperor Newt 
Red-Tailed Knobby Newt
How Long Can Newts Stay Underwater?
There isn’t an exact time that newts can stay underwater. Because some have the ability to absorb the oxygen in the water through their skin, much depends on the water quality and how much oxygen is in the water. If there are low oxygen levels in the water, the newt will not be able to stay submerged for as long as it could if there were a lot of oxygen in the water.
The water temperature also plays a crucial role. This is because the warmer the water, the more oxygen the newt requires as warmer water raises its metabolism. In addition to this, warmer water means less oxygen in the water as the gases become more soluble. Basically, if the water is warmer, the newt will not be able to stay submerged for as long as it could in cooler water.
The level of activity of the newt can also shorten the time it can spend in the water.
Can Newts Drown?
Newts do not breathe underwater as they do not have gills. This means that without the ability to come up for air, they would drown. If you are a newt owner, it is important that your tank does not contain any hazards that could trap the newt under the water.
Rough-Skinned Newt 
Eastern Red Spotted Newt
How Long Can Newts Stay Out of the Water?
Some newts only go in the water to breed and will spend the rest of their time on land. In the wild, newts can stay on land for many years. In captivity, it is best to provide both land and water for your newt to enjoy. Know that newts can potentially stay out of the water indefinitely, and many may choose to do so if the water conditions are unfavorable.
Make sure the water in your tank is cleaned regularly and that the temperature is somewhere between 65 and 70oF. Water plants, either live or plastic, are also good for newts.
Photo Credits:
- Featured Image (Smooth Newt): gailhampshire
– This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. - Red-Tailed Knobby Newt: Seánín Óg – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
- Rough-Skinned Newt: Rennett Stowe – Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
- Eastern Red-Spotted Newt: Bruce Lucas – This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
- Emperor Newt: Huangdaniel30 – This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
- Common Newt: Ian Kirk – This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
