Advice needed- northern red-backed salamander

[Mrs Embers]

If anyone has any advice to offer, I'd really appreciate it!

I was cleaning my basement last night and found a red-back(ed) salamander under some cardboard. I couldn't put him outside in the snow, so he's now living in a terrarium I put together back in the summer- there's soil, local mosses, and a few stones in there with him right now. (pictures attached)



I've done as much reading on the species and general terrestrial salamander care as there is available on this site, but I still have a few questions:

-he seemed very sluggish when I found him, I assume because it's winter and rather cold. Should I try keeping the terrarium in the basement over the winter to preserve that temperature? He perked up a bit over night while upstairs (upstairs is still under 20 degrees C). If he's in the cold basement, will he eat less?

-he was also surprisingly dry- any salamanders I've seen outside were moist/slimy-looking. Is a moist terrarium environment enough to help with this, or do I need a tiny water dish?

- in the past I've only watered (misted) terrariums once every few weeks, as the mosses seemed to do well with that. Should I keep up that schedule, or mist more frequently now that there's a guest in there?

-Does this little guy need more space?

- last question (I think): assuming I can hunt down suitable food for this little guy and keep him alive over the winter, should we release him back into the wild, or assume that he'll be used to getting fed?

Like I said, any advice would be much appreciated. We love having animals around, but have never had a pet salamander before.

Thanks!

 

[Greatwtehunter]

-he seemed very sluggish when I found him, I assume because it's winter and rather cold. Should I try keeping the terrarium in the basement over the winter to preserve that temperature? He perked up a bit over night while upstairs (upstairs is still under 20 degrees C). If he's in the cold basement, will he eat less?

You could keep him upstairs if you have a reliable source for food. Otherwise I'd keep him in the basement to reduce the amount of feedings it will need.

-he was also surprisingly dry- any salamanders I've seen outside were moist/slimy-looking. Is a moist terrarium environment enough to help with this, or do I need a tiny water dish?

A water dish wouldn't be a bad idea. Also misting two or three times a week will help.

- in the past I've only watered (misted) terrariums once every few weeks, as the mosses seemed to do well with that. Should I keep up that schedule, or mist more frequently now that there's a guest in there?

See above.

-Does this little guy need more space?

More than likely, more space never hurts. Also I don't see a lid? It will definitely climb out of that without one.

- last question (I think): assuming I can hunt down suitable food for this little guy and keep him alive over the winter, should we release him back into the wild, or assume that he'll be used to getting fed?

Don't release him. Once they are in captivity for awhile they can pick up diseases and other pathogens and spread them back to native wildlife. It's also against the law in many states after you have had it in your possesion for a certain amount of time, here in VA it is 30 days.

 

[Mrs Embers]

Thanks so much! That helps a lot. We're still trying to track down live food (closest source we know of is an hour away and we couldn't get there before they closed yesterday), but otherwise, so far, so good. We'll probably move the little guy downstairs for the time being.

We won't mind keeping him as a long-term thing- we'll arrange a bigger living space.

 

[Mrs Embers]

OK, so I have ONE more question:

I've put the salamander in the moss terrarium in the basement. My question (as I continue to try to hunt down food for it) is this: how do I know if he's sluggish because he's hibernating (or whatever they do), or because he's not going to make it? If he's hibernating, how do I feed him? Or do I?

So new at this... thanks for the help!

 

[Greatwtehunter]

He's sluggish cause he's cold, that's why he perked up when you brought him inside and he warmed up. All you'll have to do is throw the food in with it once or at most twice a week. It'll hunt it down on it's own time. They are more active at night and this is more than likely when it will eat.