Amphibian shops near Detroit?

[jeremy]

if anyone from the Detroit area knows a good place to buy newts and salamanders will you please let me know. thanks

jeremy

 

[benjamin]

When I was visiting my family in Michigan I came across a petshop in Lansing called Pruce, which, though it did not have the newts you are looking for (it may have them now), It had several other salamander species kept in species tanks and under the right conditions, I myself was amazed.

 

[jeremy]

hey thanks Ben i'll look for that place.

jeremy

 

[kaysie]

Pruess's can order pretty much anything you want. They're an EXCELLENT shop (not a pet shop, but an animal house). However, if you really want Notos, I suggest going out and finding them yourself, they're usually much healthier than pet-shop newts. I'm currently trying to get a job there, so put in a good word for me

 

[kaysie]

Second Thought: Kee's Aquatics in the Mount Clemens/ Utica area is a pretty good shop. I've only ever seen them keep JFB, but I'm sure they would order things for you. Thats where I got all my pet supplies when I was living with the boyfriend. They cater mostly to fish, but have a good supply of everything (equipment, food, tanks).

 

[jeremy]

thanks
hey do you think they will be more up north because my grandma lives in West Branch and i have seen blue-spotted salamanders there before. does anyone know any areas that might have these guys? i dont think i really know any places by me that have still water although there is a ditch by an air base near my house that had a lot of tadpoles last year. or should i look for the efts? any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kaysie]

Look in wet places. But note that its now getting pretty cold (suppose to warm up this weekend). Make sure the ditch isnt ON Selfridge property (as thats the only airbase I can think of in Michigan). Look for efts under leafmatter.

 

[jeremy]

well im not sure me and my friends always go under the highway and the ditch runs right along the barbed wire fence. you can actually see the planes taking off. theres always alot of frogs and a lot of little bug things (daphnia, etc.) in the water.

thanks

jeremy

by the way it is selfridge i hope no one here works there!

 

[kaysie]

lol, as long as you're on the outside of the fence, its cool. A frog would do well in your setup. Maybe you should get yourself a leopard and keep that, then you can upgrade to Notos when you find some (easier to find in the spring)

 

[jeremy]

ok that is actually the frog that i always see over there.

thanks

jeremy

 

[mark]

I would guess that blue-spotted salamanders or red-spotted newts would be easier to take care of than leopard frogs. Those frogs seem to be big jumpers, and can really get some distance on those jumps, so it would seem they need a pretty big tank.
I have have kept both the blue-spotted sals and the newts (not in the eft stage) as pets, and they are fairly easy to care for. The blue spotteds (A. laterale) become fairly tame and will come out when they see your hand if they think food is involved.
If you are near Selfridge, you are probably fairly close to a population of those salamanders. I myself have found them in Macomb, St. Clair, and Oakland counties. Any good woodland habitat in the area would be a good place to start, and they are often easy to find even in semi-rural backyards under garden rocks, etc until late october.
In fact, I would often see them most in October in the woods in St. Clair.
By the way, I live in Utica, and their are not really any good pet shops in the area that carry any newts or sals. I often see warty newts, cfb's, and taricha newts, but most stores dont keep them well at all.
There is one exception that often has fairly healthy warty newts, but I dont know if you are interested in those. I think one or two of those (not a lot; aggressive) might not be bad as a beginner newt. I can give you more info if they interest you.

 

[jeremy]

well i went to the ditch by selfridge today and it was all dried up

i also tried looking under logs and leaves but i didnt find anything.

i think i'll pass on the frogs. my tank is a little small but the main reason is that i dont even have the tank set up and dont really want to start setting it up until Thanksgiving break. i have a unheated ten gal literally overflowing with those Saggitaria hybrid bulbs they sell at Walmart. (they reproduce alot mainly by runners and seedlings.) i think i may just get a few White CLouds and try to breed them. that will probably keep me content for a while. my 55 gallon is falling apart i cant wait till Christmas (

money

) so i can redo it. i just got lazy and let algae take over the tank. i want to start over and try an asian or south american biotope tank hopefully.

hey Mark thanks but i think im going to stick with the easterns.

and you know what there is a park on Gratiot that has a huge pond (full of bugs) right next to the Clinton River that always has baby toads. i'll go there next time to look for some caudates
!!!yay!!! i bet there will be a ton its the perfect habitat for amphibians.

next time it rains im there baby! wooooo!

wish me luck

thanks to everyone who has/will post a message

jeremy

 

[jeremy]

o i forgot to add i plan to use those saggitaria hybrids in the eastern tank. is that ok? thay have floating leaves but also alot of flowers. will the pollen affect them?

jeremy

 

[nicholas]

Hey Mark, whereabouts in St. Clair County? Ever look in the Algonac area?