Salamander?

Question
We live in the high mountains of Colorado and my son just found a salamander (I think, it looks like a really wet lizard with a frog shaped face) at the bottom of our now empty pond.  ...getting ready for winter and all as it is mid October.  Anyhow...  it is very still but looks very alive, not puffy like things get when they are dead.  Gross, I know.  Is it hibernating?  or did it suffocate?  Can they breathe underwater?  Will we be able to keep it as a pet?  If so, what do they eat?  Does it need to have an environment with water and a dry area?  Should we just put it back outside covered somewhere?

Thanks so much for your time!

Jodie and Damien Kern, Grand Lake, CO  

Answer
Dear Jodie,
thank you for your question.
The newt/salamander is getting ready to hibernate and they usually do so buried underwater or in sheltered places. While they hibernate, they slow down their metabolism and need very little oxygen to survive. Salamanders are amphibians and cannot breathe underwater, but they can hold their breath for a long time.
I wouldn't keep it as a pet. It's a wild animal and should stay in the wild. Apart from that, you don't know its species and its requirements, those are different for each species. You can buy a great number of salamander species that are captivity bred if you want one as a pet. I suggest you put it back outside where the frost cannot reach it. If you have another pond or lake near you, that's a good place. Just put it somewhere hidden, it will wake up and dig down underwater again.
If you don't have anything like that near you, put the salamander in a box with moist moss, leaves ect. and keep it somewhere cool, the temperature shouldn't be above 41°F. Many salamander owners let their pets hibernate in a fridge, tucked away in a tupperware container because it has just the right temperature. Check on it once in a while to make sure there's no mold in the container and to let in fresh air, but otherwise leave it alone until March/April. Around that time it's warm enough for the salamander to wake up, so you can put it back outside. Just put the open container somewhere in a shrubbery, where it's a bit hidden and any predators won't find it. The salamander will wake up and you may even find it in your pond again.
Here's some more info on newts/salamanders as pets
http://www.anapsid.org/sallies.html
I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer