I'm guessing this little guy is some kind of "fire salamander" because of his orange belly but I can't seem to find any pics on the internet that tell me exactly what he is.
I found him this morning in my cellar stuck in a dusty spider web all dried out. I thought he was dead, but I picked him up and he moved a bit, so I put him into a tuppaware box with a damp paper towel and misted the sides.
I had to run to work, but just got home now and he's definitely perked up a bit. I was going to get some tiny flies or something to offer him before releasing him into the woods somewhere.
(I assume the little thing is indigenous to Switzerland, but he seems SOOOOOOO tiny and helpless: I don't know how he got into the cellar. But I hope he can survive the winter if I put him out. -- I think it's illegal to keep him, but he would've died if I hadn't done something!
Can anyone (Matt, maybe) give me an exact ID?
I'm calling him "Phoenix" for now.
The ball point pen is for scale

Belly:

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Andrea

I am terrible with ID's so I hit google as my first stop, here are some lists that maybe might help people:
club100.net, home of European field herpetology: frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, lizards, snakes, skinks, turtles terrapins tortoises

List of European amphibians - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Newts and European Salamanders: Salamandridae - Physical Characteristics, Habitat, Behavior And Reproduction, Conservation Status, Smooth Newt (triturus Vulgaris): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, DIET, EUROPEAN SALAMANDERS NEWTS AND PEOPLE

Name that Salamander - How to Identify Them!

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Yea I pretty much found the same ones, lol. It is a cutie.

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

love that belly!

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Thanks everyone. The woman at the reptile shop said it's a baby fire salamander (apparently they turn black with yellow spots as adults???????)
She gave me some fruit flies and pin-head crickets.
I put him in a glass terri with moist terrarium soil, a lid with water and the flies and crickets.
Tomorrow afternoon or Saturday, I'll take him to the forest and let him go near a creek. He sure is a cutie, though!

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Andrea

Martin found out!!
Little "Phoenix" is an Alpine Newt (T. alpestris alpestris.)
(Not a fire salamander)!
I'll have to read more info about him and what his needs are. Martin thinks he's too little to be put out in the forest (it's supposed to snow here tomorrow). So we might try to keep him till spring ???
He seems really active and lively now, so I am happy about that. He was pretty dried out and dead this morning!!

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Andrea

Good job Andrea and Martin. Cant wait so see pics of him perked up

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

Awesome Andrea. If there is snow in your forcast I would highly recommend keeping him until spring. As long as you can get a food source for him until then he should be just fine. I'm willing to bet all of his species are already in brumation in your area and if it's cold enough for snow I really doubt he'd make it in the wild. Good thing he was in YOUR basement !!!!!

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

how cute! good luck with him/her!

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Ken: that was Martin's impression too; that most of the other newts would have found their winter hideouts and our little guy won't make it if I put him out in the snow.
Just so you all know: I'm VERY new to the lizard/amphibian world. From what I've read, the male Alpine newts have thinner bodies and more of a deep orange belly. The females have more yellow bellies and are fatter. So I'm guessing he's a male. (Although another website says that depends on the color of the food they eat.)
Either way (surprise) the woman at the reptile shop gave me completely wrong info and the wrong food! (At least she was nice enough to give it to me for free!!!)
Apparently I should be feeding him worms: "Juveniles and larvae can be fed Artemia (brine shrimp), tubifex, chyronomid larvae (bloodworms), daphnia, cyclops and Enchytraeus (white worms)."
Aside from brine shrimp, I've never heard of any of these, so I'll have to see where I can get those things.
Also, they don't recommend keeping them on soil: but gravel and 1/2 water 1/2 land or all water (?!) with some little floating things to climb on.
(Suddenly springtime seems VERY VERY far away!!)
I'll do my best, though. Wish us luck!!

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Andrea