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Amphibians - Newts

Fire bellied newts are among the most commonly available amphibians in UK specialist pet shops. They are known to be hardy and relatively easy to care for. This is the reason we believe they make a good choice for the novice amphibian fancier.

The term fire bellied newt will be used within to generically refer to newts belonging to the genus cynops. Especially the Chinese and Japanese fire bellied newts, cynops ensaticauda, cynops orientalis and cynops pyrrhogaster as these are the species most commonly found in specialist pet shops. These newts are sometimes, called dwarf fire bellied newts or oriental fire bellied newts. They are dark brown to black in colour over most of their body, save for the brightly contrasting fiery orange to red markings on the underbelly. In their natural environment, these bright markings act as a 'warning' to predators that they are not good to eat! As fire bellied newts do produce some skin toxins and have prominent poison creating glands, known as parotid glands on either side of their head.

There are differences in the size and appearance between the species. Japanese fire bellied newts, cynops pyrrhogaster, average about 9cm - 15cm and has a bumpy appearance to the skin. The general pattern of the orange to red colouration on the belly is speckled. Cynops orientalis is a bit smaller at 6cm - 10cm and the skin appears much smoother. The colouration is more orange and the belly pattern is blotchier, with the orange belly colour becoming the predominant colour in some cases. The only real difference as far as the hobbyist is concerned is that the larger Japanese fire bellied newt will need a bigger terrarium and will be able to eat bigger prey.

There are also the giant fire bellied newt paramesotriton species. Because of there appearance they are also known as Crocodile newts! There are a couple of species imported, the predominant one being the Hong Kong warty newt or fire bellied newt paramesotriton hongkongensis followed by the Chinese paramesotriton chinensis and the Vietnamese paramesotriton deloustalia.