About my salamander

[Ritzieann]

Hello. I've got a salamander that I've had for about a year. I found it actually, outside in Washington State when we were rolling up our rubber boat. I've had "her" ever since.

It did live in a 40 gallon tank with 3 tree frogs (one I almost ran over, and one my horse almost ate)

Anyway, the frogs have since died, and the salamander moved to a 3 gallon tank. It was living on aquarium gravel with a pool of water, and live plants, but I got it some bark stuff.

I think it's a long toed salamander? It's black and has a yellowish stripe on its back, from head to tail.

Is this living arrangement alright? the bark stuff is like dirt kind of. It came in a brick, and I had to soak it. "Sally" started rubbing her face in it, so I think she likes it??

(It's bigger than this now- that was taken last year I think, and, no, I do'nt usually hold it- I know it probably hurts)

 

[Jennewt]

Yes, it's a lovely long-toed salamander, Ambystoma macrodactylum. See:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Ambystoma/A_macrodactylum.shtml

The coco-fiber substrate is fine. My only complaint about it is that it sometimes sticks too much to salamander skin. If this is a problem, mixing it with plain top soil improves it substantially. Either way, it's much better than aquarium gravel.

 

[Ritzieann]

ooh. Nice pictures in the link. Thanks. Any other ideas on what I can do for it? It seemed pretty happy in what I DID have it it, before I moved, and had to leave the tank behind.

It used to live in this...

With NON fertilized potting soil. I never saw it in the dirt though, and I ended up removing it because it got too wet. (far back right corner) All of the other plants were live, living in rocks and water. This salamander and the 3 tree frogs lived in it nicely, and through 3 moves.

Anyway, I'll take a picture of what it's in now. Is there any way of telling if it's a boy or girl? I was totally unoriginal and called it Sally because it's a salamander.

Oh- and it eats crickets. I tried for a meal worm while I was cleaning out the cage and switching to the fibers as bedding- but Sally had no interest in it.


Edit for pictures...

 

[hcq33]

How long/big is Sally now? I have the same type that were "hatched" in my classroom. One has begun to morph and the other three are thinking about it. You said you feed it crickets, what size crickets?
hcq