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Encyclopedia / Frogs & Newts / Red-tailed knobby newt
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Variations

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Red-tailed knobby newt

Tylototriton kweichowensis · Kweichow newt, Kweichowensis

Peaceful but toxic; needs a large damp land area and shallow water.

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21 cmAdult size ✓
10–26 °CTemperature ✓
UnknownpH ?
81 LSmallest tank ✓
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Tank mates
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This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.

Not recommended
  • Red-tailed knobby newt should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
Not recommended
  • Red-tailed knobby newt should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
Not recommended
  • Red-tailed knobby newt should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
Facts checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026. ✓ means a source backs it; ? means no reliable source yet. See sources

Care and water

Hardness ?Unknown
Group size ?2 or more
Temperament ?Peaceful
Swims at ?All levels
Care level ?Moderate
Diet Carnivore
Lifespan ?Unknown
Size in shops 7–12 cm
Growth Slow

Behavior

Peaceful but toxic; needs a large damp land area and shallow water.

Good to know: Largely terrestrial; needs a large damp land area.

Food

Crickets, mealworms and earthworms.

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Male or female

Males are slimmer and smaller; females are larger and heavier. The surest sign is the cloaca: slit-shaped in males, round and cone-shaped in females (sexable from about 1 year old).

Health

Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.

Breeding

Egg-layer · Hard

Breeds in the rainy season (about May-July in the wild; March-June in one keeper's tanks). After face-to-face circling courtship, the female lays one batch of eggs over 1-3 days, mostly at the land-water edge, often on plants just above the water line; move them fully into water or they dry out.

Pairing

Group of 3-4.

Setup

Paludarium with moss and shallow water.

What starts it

Cool dry rest then rain.

Eggs

About 50-150 eggs in one yearly clutch (literature: 100 or more); hatch rate 50-80% in captivity.

Raising the fry

Larvae eat daphnia and brine shrimp.

Common mistakes
  • Heat
  • No land
  • Dry conditions
Full breeding guide, day-by-day plan and simulator →

Where it lives in the wild

RegionSouthwest China – Guizhou and Yunnan
Rivers and lakesMountain ponds of Guizhou
HabitatPonds and pools in mountain forest
Native rangeAbout 300 km across
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The story of the red-tailed knobby newt

A robust knobby newt from western Guizhou and northeastern Yunnan, dark with orange ridges and an orange tail. It lives on land for most of the year and enters water mainly to breed.

This newt was described in 1932 from Guizhou province, China. It has black skin with orange-red stripes. It is kept by specialist amphibian keepers.

First described by Fang & Chang in 1932. Named for Named after Kweichow (Guizhou) province in China.

  • It has orange-red stripes on its back.
  • It spends much of the year on land.
  • Its tail is red-orange.

Sources

11 facts checked with sources