Newts are carnivores, so their larva in fact eat small insects and small invertebrates. Adults will eat snails, worms, fish and slugs. Their food is typically found in the same places that they live, and since they are stealthy and very quiet amphibians, their food sources are usually unable to hear them coming.

Newts are not born like humans or mammals are, as they are instead hatched from eggs like other amphibians are. The female newt lays around 400 eggs on rocks or vegetation that is submerged under water, and it takes approximately five weeks until the eggs are mature enough to hatch. Newts in larval form are known as an eft. Factually speaking, some species of newts remain in their larval form throughout their lifespan and are unable to reproduce, though other newts develop into adults within 3 to 4 months. Eastern newts, which are found in the eastern areas of the United States, are known to maintain larval form, live on land and then return to the water to take adult form. These newts also lay one egg at a time going from rock to rock or plant to plant.

All animals, regardless of whether they are large or small, have built-in defense mechanisms that they use to protect themselves. To that end, newts secrete a highly toxic substance from their skin as a form of natural defense. It is because of this toxin that newts are considered to be one of the most toxic species of animal in the world. Due in part to this toxin, newts are not suitable for petting or holding, even though some people enjoy having them as pets in a terrarium. Just as the toxin that is secreted by newts can harm humans, the oils, the salt and the heat of human hands are toxic to newts. Different species secrete different toxins that are not tolerated by the other species, which means that they typically cannot coexist in the same terrarium. In addition, if you put different species of newts together in the same habitat, their skin secretions are likely to adversely affect one another.

FYI:  I and children hold Newts a lot but I always insist that if they are they must get their hands very muddy and or dirty or pick them up with a lot of debri on their hands. I have never seen a problem with this at all. I do greatly discourage children picking them up with getting their hands prepared, for the benefit of the Newt!

As the group that I was with was settling into being with the Newts Jill and the others came down the path on the otherside of the pond and landed in the area on the other side.  After climbing and exploring over there, one by one they all came over to the side the rest of us were on.  There was excitement about finding the Newts and then Juliette discovered how to climb up on this big fallen limb and jump off it. Cole and Zac thought this was GREAT and proceeded to do this with a lot of  “Look at me, Look at me!!!!” And so I did with great joy over their skill , self pride and accomplishments.  Finn discovered the great Eucalyptus caps and brought them over.  I said that we could make necklaces out of them but all I had with me was thin wire. So, we decided to use that. Then, the rest of the day was a lot of gathering of Eucalyptus caps and many of us poking holes in them to string them. There were many ways that we did poke holes in them: My leatherman awl, sticks sharpened to points, and then just pulling off the soft top part to make a hole.  Zac, Julian, Finn, Ridham and Eden all worked at this and some did the stringing.  Julian and Zac really wanted to make extra necklaces for their families and this meant that they needed to gather more caps.  We finally got enough caps for everyone at Tender TRacks who wanted a necklace.
While all of this was happening, Ridham created a great game from the story, The boy who cried Wolf. Zara really liked this game.  Eden tried to get her to go away from it or play her way but Zara was insistant that she wanted to play it the way Ridham wanted it played. So, they did that for awhile and then the game shifted.  I had asked Ridham about the game they were playing and he said ” Oh, we finished that game. Now we are playing family” and off he ran to play.
Finn and Jill had a GRAND time gathering all the wonderful Eucalyptus caps that smelled so wonderful.  Cole and Julian were very involved in their games and this became challenging for Zac as he wanted to play with them and they wanted some time alone.  However, two things took place after that.  Firstly, I aided him in finding an alternative to his strong desire to play with these two. He discovered making holes in the caps and how fun that was. Then, later, the three of them were back to playing together and he was delighted about that.  We were all mostly huddled in one small area most of the day being busy playing games near one another, gathering for the necklaces and stringing the necklaces.
A fine day indeed.