We've got palmate newts in ours; when I come out for beer in the evening (keep beer in garage fridge) I have to be careful cos they hunt on the patio (and sometimes in the garage! When it rains, or I'm a bit enthusiastic in my watering, they can swim across the puddles 🙂
We've got palmate newts in ours; when I come out for beer in the evening (keep beer in garage fridge) I have to be careful cos they hunt on the patio (and sometimes in the garage! When it rains, or I'm a bit enthusiastic in my watering, they can swim across the puddles 🙂
How did you tell they were palmate rather than smooth newts? I've found it very difficult to differentiate!
Growing tropical and desert plants outdoors in West Yorkshire INSTAGRAM/ YOUTUBE
@carletonexotic this time of year its fairly straightforward; male smooth newts develop a crest (albeit not as showy as the great crested), while the palmate male develops a sort of spike on the end of its tail (which I've just looked up and is called a filament). The palmate also apparently develops back webbed feet - which is what "palmate" refers to I think, though you'd have to be pretty friendly with it to see that 🙂 I think they also have a sort of crest but it really isn't obvious!
My neighbour gave me 5 newts found under a patio being demolished. I didn't see them for a couple of years after introducing them to the bog garden around my pond. I have since only seen them a couple of times in the pond but occasional bubbles of air popping indicate they are still around. I have had hundreds of tadpoles each year and lots of frogs and toads in the garden. I take a tea break around 4.00pm each day and sit and watch the pond wildlife while I drink my cuppa, the fish have learnt to come to the same place each day to be fed. I weakened and bought some new fish yesterday so they need to be kept an eye on for a few days. I try to avoid them becoming hand tame because the local herons call in periodically to have a free meal.
Oh wow I’ve never seen one of those @Fire. They are an invasive species, (your actually supposed to euthanise any you capture, Im not sure I could though) but so far don’t seem to be doing any noticeable harm to native wildlife from what I’ve read so I’d enjoy them guilt free!
Well they have apparently been around for decades, mainly in urban areas, and dont seem to be having an adverse affect on local amphibians so they are probably not too bad tbh. They have the potential to cause problems in future as competition for habitat becomes fiercer
Posts
I think you may need something bigger for the gunnera.
When it rains, or I'm a bit enthusiastic in my watering, they can swim across the puddles 🙂
INSTAGRAM/ YOUTUBE
I think they also have a sort of crest but it really isn't obvious!
I take a tea break around 4.00pm each day and sit and watch the pond wildlife while I drink my cuppa, the fish have learnt to come to the same place each day to be fed. I weakened and bought some new fish yesterday so they need to be kept an eye on for a few days. I try to avoid them becoming hand tame because the local herons call in periodically to have a free meal.