SECRET NEWT ARCHIVE
Fate has brought you here to answer one of life’s most burning questions: “What is the DEAL with Heather and newts?”
I’ve always loved newts, ever since I was a tiny child. We have Rough Skinned newts here in Oregon, gentle souls that amble around the woods like little newt buddhas. I’d watch them wander in the woods, do their amazing slow wiggle swim in ponds and lakes, and catch, marvel at, and sometimes keep them for a little while.
One summer when I was at camp and the other girls were being brutal to me, I spent every spare moment by myself on the banks of a small pond, catching and releasing newts. (One afternoon I caught and released 35 of them.) They make me so happy!
It wasn’t until I was a grown ass adult that I found out that these enchanting chocolate brown creatures had evolved their bright orange bellies as a warning to predators and any who might try to ingest them - their skin carries a deadly toxin. I also didn’t know that different species should not be kept in the same habitat. OR that taking newts from the wild is super illegal (it is, and rightfully so.) Thanks, Internet.
In the 1980s I had a 50 gallon tank in my living room/studio, home for up to 8 rough skinned newts. I never caught them myself, people would find them wandering in the road, on bike paths, etc., and bring them to me. By the time I moved away to SF in 1994, I just had one rough skinned newt left - Fluffy. I also had a Japanese Firebelly newt named Snowball, you could still buy those at pet stores back then, and someone left her with me when they moved. Fluffy and Snowball came with me everywhere I moved until I finally bought a house and settled down, and they settled down too.
Fluffy and Snowball were adults when I got them. By the time they passed away in 2015, within a month of each other, they had been together, and with me, for at least 30 years. I reckon they were at least 35 years old when they died.
The current newt in Land-O-Newt is Dr. Steve Tanaka. I rescued Dr. Steve from a Craigslist ad in 2011, along with an Eastern newt who had many names while he was with me (Eno, Cher… nothing seemed to stick) The previous owners told me that they had gotten these newts around 2001. They were being kept in a small, filthy tank, in about an inch of water that smelled incredibly foul. I started them off in a 100 gallon tank in my studio, and after Eno, and then Fluffy and Snowball, passed away, Dr. Steve got his own 20 gallon tank in the living room.
As of now, 2024, I reckon Dr. Steve is around 23 years old, and going strong.
Basically, newts rule.