I want an exotic pet and they sound reasonably easy to keep but I don't know how much it will cost in total and whether they are friendly pets that you can hold.
nope, no newts like to be handled, the natural salts on our hands hurt the newt, also an adult fire bellied newt is almost entirely aquatic, so needs to be left in the water. No amphibians are really suitable as a pet that you can hold, but rather are interesting to watch.