Andrea the feeders you mentioned (with the possible exception of whiteworms which I am not familiar with) are all feeders used in the tropical fish hobby.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Thanks Merlin!!
Martin and I are going to head over to the tropical fish store soon and see about setting up a better home and more appropriate food for our refugee.
With the close-up photos Martin just took, I'm tempted to say he's a she now (as I read the females have a more granular skin texture and the males a more velvety texture.)

She's really a tough and lively little critter!! She climbed up and down my arm like she was determined and in a hurry to get some place.

OK here are the pics:



Cool how they have 4 toes on the front feet and 5 on the back.



Got places to go...

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Andrea

Just a few more:






I think I'll try to let her go in the forest if the weather is a bit warmer tomorrow. Honestly I'm a bit out of my element as far as taking care of her. She doesn't seem to like staying in the water: I'm not sure she's eaten any of the pinhead crickets or the flies or if she'll eat the brine shrimp that I just put in.
I'd hate to have come this far just to watch her die in my care... one guy online says he puts his in the refridgerator for the winter!! (So maybe it's OK to let her go. My fridge is still colder than outside at the moment!!)

She's so lively and active today compared to being dried up and half dead yesterday, so I'm happy about that.
I'll let you know what we decide and take pics of the release area, etc.
Thanks for looking.

Oh, by the way, we changed her name to "Newt" after the tough little girl in the movie "Aliens"

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Andrea

Cute little "Newt".

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Ken
" The United States Marine Corps......sure we are a department of the Navy,,,,,,we're the MENS department "

lol, I love the name As already figured out, she's an Alpine newt, Mesotriton alpestris alpestris (you even got the subspecies ). The genus was formerly known as Triturus before it was split, or it still is Triturus and there's no such genus as Mesotriton, depending on who you ask.

Your newt is a juvenile, so it will be hard to properly sex her, but "she" sounds reasonable for now If you're thinking of letting her go she may fair well. They will hibernate during the winter, which is possibly what she thought she was going to do in your cellar. If you do keep her, keeping alpine newts is very similar to keeping Spanish ribbed newts, which Paige has posted several threads about. If you search HC for "Paige" you should find about 2 pages of threads and it's easy to pick out the newt ones.

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+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

Thanks for the info, Matt!!
My husband and I are still a bit at odds about whether to let her go now or not. He thinks it's too cold (5-8C) and "Newt" won't find a hibernating place in time. If we do let her go, should I place her IN the creek, next to it on the bank, or somewhere else?? Any ideas???
I'm just worried that we don't know enough about keeping her alive till springtime. I'll check out Paige's threads before making any decisions.

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Andrea

Newts do prefer cooler temperatures, but that does seem a bit chilly. I'm not sure how active they still are in their native range at that temperature, or if they'd be looking for a place to hibernate or if they should already have one by that time. If you do keep her though, I would put more emphasis on land than what most caresheets will suggest because she is still a juvenile. Adult newts are almost solely aquatic, but juveniles spend most of their time on the forest floor in the leaf litter. Keep her habitat cool and provide litter for her to hide in on the land side. She'll likely spend most of her time there. If she doesn't eat, it's likely because she's expecting winter to come and is confused by a sudden increase in temperature and food. The only other option I can think of would be to let her hibernate under your care. I believe Ken has more experience with hibernating salamanders/newts than I do.

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+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

Thanks again Matt.
We have her in our "winter-garden" now. (It's always about 10-12C in there in winter.)
I guess I'll set her up with some gravel, soil, a water bowl and dried leaves and keep her in there for the winter.
Will that be cold enough for her to hibernate that I don't have to worry about feeding?

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Andrea

Andrea, I have a marbled salamander that I actually allow to hibernate each year. We place hime in a 20 gallon long with a few inches of damp moss and dirt, on top of which about 6-8 inches of leaf litter. We then place it outside in the shed, with a shallow water dish on top of the leaf litter. Every spring he emerges to the top and we go back to his (summer lodgings). This might work for you if you can keep it in the basement, providing the basement does not drop below 40 degrees F. Just add a few small earthworms to the mix in case he does get hungry.

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Ken
" The United States Marine Corps......sure we are a department of the Navy,,,,,,we're the MENS department "

Thanks Ken, I was hoping to get your input! I'll look for some earthworms to add to the box.
40F is about 4.4C -- I can keep him above that, but what's the upper limit, so that he stays in hibernation and doesn't need to eat? Or do I have to add worms throughout the winter?
The weather outside is warmer today and right now it's 59F in the winter garden (the coolest place in the house).
Thanks for the help. I really want to give little "Newt" the best chance of survival as possible.

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Andrea