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Encyclopedia / Frogs & Newts / Smooth newt
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Variations

1 kinds · tap one for a closer look

Smooth newt

Lissotriton vulgaris · Common newt, Lissotriton

Peaceful in groups but needs a cool tank and a land area.

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10 cmAdult size ✓
UnknownTemperature ?
UnknownpH ?
UnknownSmallest 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
  • Smooth newt should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
Not recommended
  • Smooth newt should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
Not recommended
  • Smooth 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 ?3 or more
Temperament ?Peaceful
Swims at ?All levels
Care level ?Moderate
Diet Carnivore
Lifespan ✓6–14 years
Size in shops 5–9 cm
Growth Slow

Behavior

Peaceful in groups but needs a cool tank and a land area.

Check your local laws. Europe: Bern Convention Appendix III; capture, killing and trade banned in Ireland (Wildlife Act 1976) and trade banned in the UK (Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981); protected nationally in several other countries. US: genus Lissotriton is listed as injurious under the Lacey Act (Bsal rule). Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.

Good to know: Needs a land area during the terrestrial phase.

Food

Bloodworms, daphnia and small worms.

Tap a food to see what it is.

Male or female

Breeding males have a continuous wavy crest along back and tail, large round dark spots, an orange stripe under the tail and a swollen dark cloaca; females are drab with small spots and no crest.

Health

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

Breeding

Egg-wrapper · Moderate

Breeds in ponds in spring after hibernating on land; the female wraps eggs singly in the leaves of water plants.

Pairing

Group of 4-6.

Setup

Cool tank with land.

What starts it

Winter cooling.

Eggs

100-500 eggs; larvae hatch after 10-20 days depending on temperature and become land-living efts after about 3 months.

Raising the fry

Larvae eat daphnia.

Common mistakes
  • Heat
  • Dry land
  • Wild-caught stock
Full breeding guide, day-by-day plan and simulator →

Where it lives in the wild

RegionEurope and western Asia
Rivers and lakesPonds and lakes across temperate Europe
HabitatPonds, ditches and wetlands
Native rangeAbout 2,500 km across
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The story of the smooth newt

A small, widespread European newt; males grow a wavy crest in the spring breeding season, and adults live on land the rest of the year.

Carl Linnaeus described the smooth newt in 1758. It is one of the most widespread newts in Europe. Males grow a wavy crest in the breeding season.

First described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.

  • Males grow a wavy crest in spring.
  • It is common in garden ponds.
  • It spends most of the year on land.

Sources

10 facts checked with sources