HELP PLEASE! morphing tiger

[jlbarrett2]

Hi all! I'm new here. My daughter acquired what we thought were 3 "baby dinodaurs" or axolotls. Apparently they are tiger salamanders as I posted on the axolotl forum for help and did some research and then this morning went in to find Mike was morphing! I was so not prepared for this! I was prepared to have axolotls! They are in a tank with river pebbles on the bottom and one small area of rock sticking up out of the water. The other two, Spike and Cougar do not appear to have morphed yet but I believe Spike may be getting ready to as he is the same size as Mike. Cougar is much smaller. I only have one 20 gallon tank and am unsure what I need to do. Can Mike stay in the water or does he become "land locked". What do I need to do with the tank so he can be happy and safe while Spike and Cougar are morphing?

Any help you can give will be greatly appreaciated.

Lynn

 

[Nathan050793]

Don't panic. Place rocks or other objects in the tank that protrude from the water allowing "Mike" to climb out when he needs to. As he approaches metamorphosis, he will leave the water and spend the majority of his time on the rock. At this point, it may be a good idea to invest in another tank, as he will need to be terrestrial while the others are still morphing.If another tank is out of the question, plastic storage bins with tight locking lids work well temporarily. Use a substrate of cocofiber and/or organic top soil. Good luck!

 

[Kaysie]

http://caudata.org/cc/species/Ambystoma/A_tigrinum.shtml This article may help you as well.

 

[Amanda001]

Hi, I also have 2 tigers that are morphing. I wonder if the same guy sold us those tigers because I live Oklahoma also... and I was told they were "baby dinosaurs" also...and I was not told they would morph... I was led to believe they were going to stay in water their whole life. I got them at the mall. I'm sure your tigers have already morphed but if not, I have completely taken all of the water out of the tank and placed jungle moss as the bottom then placed a large bowl of water in the center that way the water is easily changed and both of the tigers can sit in the bowl comfortably. They spend most time out of water now so I have a smaller dish but big enough for both of them to fit. Hope this helped.

 

[jlbarrett2]

Thanks Amanda! I bet it was the same guy...we bought ours at Quail Springs Mall. Anyway, Spike and Mike are both fully "on land" and loving it! Cougar is still aquatic and doesn't show any signs of morphing yet but he was considerable smaller than the rest. My sister had gotten 6 originally and unfortunately is now down to 4. They are all still aquatic and getting huge. I think it is interesting that 2 of mine have morphed and none of hers have begun to morph. We got them at the same time!

 

[Kaysie]

Lynn, in a controlled environment (your house), they're usually slower to morph. In the wild, they're forced to morph because their puddles usually dry up. But in captivity, they've got better food and a better habitat, so they're slower and less pressured to morph. I'm glad to hear your animals are doing well.