Shadowtail117
New member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2022
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- 15
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- Location
- USA
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- United States
- Display Name
- Shadow
Hi all,
I got my pet tiger salamander a new water dish today since the old one had a leaking(?) problem, where the water inside would drain out within a minute of refilling it. Once I placed the dish down and filled it, I led him over to it with my finger so he would notice it. I think he likes it since he's spending some time in it ever since (even right now he's immersed himself in it), though I noticed that at first he seemed to be almost drinking the water.
From everything I've read online, salamanders don't drink water; they absorb it into their skin. So his behavior of dipping his snout in the water and making little popping noises confused me. I'm sure it's benign but I'm interested to see if anyone else knows what he was doing. I will admit, he hasn't had access to standing water because of the problem with his old dish, but I've been making sure to mist the enclosure at least every other day to keep it moist, so I don't think he's dehydrated. My other theory is that maybe he got excited by his reflection, since this dish is a lot shinier than his old one.
P.S. This isn't the point of my post, but I've been a little worried about if he is at a safe weight or not. I've never weighed him since getting him and I've just gone off of how thick his midsection looks. He seems normal to me, but a friend of mine who has tigers of his own got concerned when I showed pictures. I think he looks wider whenever he's resting on the ground or climbing on something which squishes his belly, but again, I'd like a second opinion if anyone else would like to comment on it. Thanks!
I got my pet tiger salamander a new water dish today since the old one had a leaking(?) problem, where the water inside would drain out within a minute of refilling it. Once I placed the dish down and filled it, I led him over to it with my finger so he would notice it. I think he likes it since he's spending some time in it ever since (even right now he's immersed himself in it), though I noticed that at first he seemed to be almost drinking the water.
From everything I've read online, salamanders don't drink water; they absorb it into their skin. So his behavior of dipping his snout in the water and making little popping noises confused me. I'm sure it's benign but I'm interested to see if anyone else knows what he was doing. I will admit, he hasn't had access to standing water because of the problem with his old dish, but I've been making sure to mist the enclosure at least every other day to keep it moist, so I don't think he's dehydrated. My other theory is that maybe he got excited by his reflection, since this dish is a lot shinier than his old one.
P.S. This isn't the point of my post, but I've been a little worried about if he is at a safe weight or not. I've never weighed him since getting him and I've just gone off of how thick his midsection looks. He seems normal to me, but a friend of mine who has tigers of his own got concerned when I showed pictures. I think he looks wider whenever he's resting on the ground or climbing on something which squishes his belly, but again, I'd like a second opinion if anyone else would like to comment on it. Thanks!