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Is this newt laying eggs?

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chubsta View Drop Down
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    Posted: 11 Apr 2017 at 11:53am
Sorry about the awful picture, but it is hard stretching out over the pond with my phone!

Anyway, was very pleased to see a newt in the pond this morning - just at the 7pm position from the duckweed is the culprit, there are a lot of small 'globs' on the little weed that is in there - it looks to me like the newt is curling itself around the weed which i take to be an egg-laying posture - anyone got any opinions? If i should get newts tadpoles, apart from the size difference with the frog one is there any other way of identifying them easily?


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PondDragon View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote PondDragon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Apr 2017 at 1:42pm
Doesn't look much like an egg-laying posture, and the leaves of the water-crowfoot don't look that suitable for laying - newts fold the leaves over to protect individual eggs so these leaves would be too narrow. The round 'globs' could be algae or more likely colonies of sessile ciliates e.g. Vorticella.

Newt larvae basically look like the adults but with gills - very different to frog/toad tadpoles. They have legs from a very early stage. I haven't seen any yet this year apart from some large ones that overwintered in the water.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote GemmaJF Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Apr 2017 at 1:50pm

Looks like typical egg laying posture to me, you will see her mostly use the hind legs, perhaps arch her back while laying eggs. They pick the weed based on what is available, so I would go with her egg laying if there are not a lot of alternatives to use in the pond.
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chubsta View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chubsta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Apr 2017 at 1:55pm
thanks for the replies - there is very little other options for weed in the pond at the moment as i cleared it out a couple of months back but i guess we will wait and see.
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Suzi View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 May 2017 at 3:50pm
After a day of rain which has filled the ponds up nicely we have got some sun this afternoon so I've spent time just sitting watching the palmate newts up to spring activities. No sign of GCNs, but then they seem very elusive in the day time, even if they are still in the ponds. I watched a red damselfly drying its wings and then fly away and various other insect life on the move. I have not seen any sign of any tadpoles of the hundreds I released. I wonder if they've all been eaten. I am always amazed at the density of palmates in my ponds like newt soup.
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Tom Omlette View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tom Omlette Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 May 2017 at 6:37pm
yes suz i'm always amazed the newts can find enough to eat! if there are that many maybe the taddies have all been eaten :(

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 May 2017 at 10:01pm
I haven't said much about my taddies Tim as ninety percent of mine died within a few days of each other at the same time as other people on here experienced. I didn't get pollution like Gemma, but it was a mystery what happened. They were in the shade, water OK, eating well etc. The only thing is they were overcrowded. I had them in twelve separate containers large washing up bowls, Curver boxes one third filled and such like. I had already released several hundred into the small pond as I could see they just weren't growing much. I released more when I saw the large number dying. Anyway when I normally release them into the pond they are much bigger and I doubt a newt could eat them. This year they weren't as big and I guess got gobbled up. I say all this but other years I don't see much of the taddies till they're hopping about on the surface weed. Maybe I am being pessimistic, but I think they're gone. Never mind I raised hundreds to froglet size last year.
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