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Didn't expect to see him at the beach !!!
- Thread starter pitdog
- Start date
:thumbup:
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2007
- Messages
- 695
I would like to have kept that as a pet! Nice pics!
It is commonly called a rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa).
They can be very toxic (tetrodotoxin), depeding on the location, and most critters won't mess with them, except the common garter snake (T. sirtalis), which regularly dines on them, as well as the very toxic western toad.
They are tough critters, out even in the cold. I have seen them hiking over snow in the Oregon Cascades.
Nice shots.
Brome
They can be very toxic (tetrodotoxin), depeding on the location, and most critters won't mess with them, except the common garter snake (T. sirtalis), which regularly dines on them, as well as the very toxic western toad.
They are tough critters, out even in the cold. I have seen them hiking over snow in the Oregon Cascades.
Nice shots.
Brome
Well, safe is always a relative thing, of course. I sure would rather hang out with a newt than some of the folks who pass me on the way to work who somehow got a drivers license
(right, that wasnt a very nice thing to say)
But my recommendation is always to handle amphibians with care, since almost all have some level of toxin in or on their skin.
Always wash your hands before (to decrease the effect of any chemicals on your hands being absorbed into their skin) and after you handle them and definitely before eating any food with your hands or putting your hands near any mucus membranes (mouth, eye, nose, etc.).
And please don't lick them.
But to be honest, I handle 100's to 1000's of amphibians, including newts, every year, and don't always remember to follow my own rule. I have had some unpleasant experiences, but none so bad that I would deem it unsafe to handle them. So be careful and respectful, but no need to freak out about it.
I am much stricter about handling rules for children, though, for obvious reasons.
Enjoy.
Newts are pretty cool little fellas.
Brome
But my recommendation is always to handle amphibians with care, since almost all have some level of toxin in or on their skin.
Always wash your hands before (to decrease the effect of any chemicals on your hands being absorbed into their skin) and after you handle them and definitely before eating any food with your hands or putting your hands near any mucus membranes (mouth, eye, nose, etc.).
And please don't lick them.
But to be honest, I handle 100's to 1000's of amphibians, including newts, every year, and don't always remember to follow my own rule. I have had some unpleasant experiences, but none so bad that I would deem it unsafe to handle them. So be careful and respectful, but no need to freak out about it.
I am much stricter about handling rules for children, though, for obvious reasons.
Enjoy.
Newts are pretty cool little fellas.
Brome
- Joined
- May 25, 2007
- Messages
- 15,113
Looks like a Newt or Salamander ? Great pics as always !
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2006
- Messages
- 4,302
Nice pics!!
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2005
- Messages
- 20,005
Man, that guy looks cold. Crazy fool lizzard.
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2007
- Messages
- 610
Cool, those guys are pretty common here, but I don't think I've seen one far enough from water for its skin to actually be dry. Great shot, pitdog.
I hiked into a lake this past summer and saw tons of them. There was a tuna can on the lake bottom that created sort of a light-colored disc. These guys would cluster over it almost completely obscuring it. Mating behaviour maybe ?...
I hiked into a lake this past summer and saw tons of them. There was a tuna can on the lake bottom that created sort of a light-colored disc. These guys would cluster over it almost completely obscuring it. Mating behaviour maybe ?...