Italian crested newt
When newts are inactive or in oxygen-rich environments, respiration can be done through their skin which accounts for 74% of the cutaneous respiration. However, oxygen-poor environments, such as stagnant ponds, pose a threat to the survival of larval newts. This is because oxygen molecules do not readily dissolve in water, and as "T. carnifex" is an immobile animal, extracting oxygen from water is difficult. Newts consequently have external gills at birth that persist until metamorphosis, which assists survival in low-oxygen conditions.
Italian crested newt
Temperature plays a key role in the osmoregulation of the newt. Not only do the changing seasons drive "T. carnifex" either into the water or onto land, it also regulates the release of certain hormones in accordance with the osmotic permeability of the newts' epidermis. Osmotic permeability is dependent on the release of hormones such as prolactin, vasotocin, as well as other thyroidal and internal hormones. Brown et al. experimented on a close relative of "T. carnifex" to determine the effects different environmental conditions have on the newts osmoregulatory systems.