Wtf is this near my back door?

[FrankReynolds]

Got basement level garden and back door, husband noticed something moving near door mat and found a small creature. What it is and why is my house suddenly Chester fucking Zoo?

Maybe you've got witches.....

images.app.goo.gl/iK2BL9xHNMXzrYY58

@FrankReynolds

Husband has confirmed, the visitor has left via the back door. I'm not a small animal/reptile person I'm afraid

I can’t believe you’ve killed it.

I really hope he isn't dead - they're really cute and harmless. I don't understand why some posters are interpreting "left by the back door" as meaning he's been killed and hope you're wrong

I think she just means the creature went out of the back door after her DH opened it for him. I don't think it's been dispatched!

No no no, no-one would kill such a tiny creature just because, would they. They would assist it into a box or dustpan or similar and relocate it carefully. Wouldn't they.

Can you confirm that the newt hasn't been killed please OP?

That would be a really shitty thing to do.

I'm just here to see if Ned voluntarily left via the back door ...

I hope OP meant he did just leave through the back door!

I love amphibians, here's a photo of an amphibian sex-party that occurred at my back door. Two toads at it when a great created next wandered up to check it out!

What's with the hysteria on this thread ? The OP says newt was near the back door, so when she says he left by the back door, she probably means just that.

'Not necessarily. Op said basement so probably damp ish.
Newts spend most of their time NOT in a pond, and really only go into the pond to made or lay eggs. Often they live in walls, tree roots etc.'

@TheSpottedZebra which is precisely.. now. It's breeding time and this newt has probably got lost on it's way to a pond. Amphibians are travelling to ponds just now to breed.

It's also pretty emaciated, and needs some help. (Yes, I have an interest in native amphibians and do toad patrols at this time of year. Which also includes frogs and newts).

Newt to get worked up about

We get them too. We name them. We are sad like that. I wonder whether it's a Sir Isaac Newton or an Olivia Newton-John?

@FrankReynolds

We're in the North West, our garden backs onto allotments so I'm hoping he's just lost his way. I really don't want him getting comfy and staying. Do they live in houses? The basement was renovated by previous owners so it's a liveable space, we use it for storage.

Some newts and their habitats are protected. I believe they can be seen in the Ainsdale/Formby conservation areas if you're close to there? www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2020/02/british-newt-id/

The newt is looking for another newt, to mate with. One of my cats brought one into the house a few years ago, it was dangling from the cats mouth, but he dropped it on one of stairs going upstairs, and then then went out again through the cat flap. I didn't fancy picking the newt up in my hands, so swept it up with the dust pan and brush, and put it outside on the damp lawn.near to some shrubs and plants.

Jesus Christ, he didn't kill the poor sod! I just meant he exited the same door he (presumably) came in. I'm not keen on creepy crawlies but I wouldn't order its execution! I've been reading up on how we could make our garden a bit friendlier towards any guests actually!

@ShrikeAttack all that picture needs is some light jazz, a handlebar moustache and a wafer-thin plot line and it could be a voyeur fetish porno

@FrankReynolds

Jesus Christ, he didn't kill the poor sod! I just meant he exited the same door he (presumably) came in. I'm not keen on creepy crawlies but I wouldn't order its execution! I've been reading up on how we could make our garden a bit friendlier towards any guests actually!

Oh that's good!

They are fascinating things.

[quote FrankReynolds]@ShrikeAttack all that picture needs is some light jazz, a handlebar moustache and a wafer-thin plot line and it could be a voyeur fetish porno [/quote]

@ShrikeAttack

Blimey, it is all going on at yours!

@SausageBeanz

'Not necessarily. Op said basement so probably damp ish. Newts spend most of their time NOT in a pond, and really only go into the pond to made or lay eggs. Often they live in walls, tree roots etc.'

@TheSpottedZebra which is precisely.. now. It's breeding time and this newt has probably got lost on it's way to a pond. Amphibians are travelling to ponds just now to breed.

It's also pretty emaciated, and needs some help. (Yes, I have an interest in native amphibians and do toad patrols at this time of year. Which also includes frogs and newts).

Yep exactly.

Amphibians need dampness and OP's basement doormat and floor tiles didn't seem exactly appropriate.

@FrankReynolds

Jesus Christ, he didn't kill the poor sod! I just meant he exited the same door he (presumably) came in. I'm not keen on creepy crawlies but I wouldn't order its execution! I've been reading up on how we could make our garden a bit friendlier towards any guests actually!

Oh thank God for that 🤣

We have them round here. I found a poor tiny dead one next to the local pond. Poor little dude. I keep trying to save. The tiny little roads who end up all over the road each year, loads of them get squished or fall down the drain...I try to scoop them up and put them next to the pond they try to hop away though as I scare them.

Newt. Great crested are VERY protected, you can't disturb habitat, have to have huge studies done before commencing any work / changes to the landscape.

Have you got a pond / water source / damp in the basement?

@idontlikealdi there's no damp or anything, we don't even have much grass or a pond in the back garden. He must have got very lost. I wonder if there's such a thing as newt hotels so I could make one for the garden. I've seen hedgehog hotels so I'll do some research.

Or perhaps make an amphi-b an' b?