Barfing tiger?

[K9skennel]

He acts hungry, attacks fingers, hose, tweezers, etc so we went ahead and fed him.
I know he's opportunistic.
Then we find 2 hunks of worm barfed up in his water and a blob of slime and dirt.
We took it out and threw it away. While watching him dig, we see another hunk of worm.
My questions are twofold. 1) did he barf it up and try to bury it for a rainy day?
Is it bad for him to be barfing it back up? Was he overful and that's why he barfed?
Disconcerting.....

Thanks.

K9

 

[Kaysie]

How big are the worms, and how big is the tiger?

You say he 'acts hungry', but that's the nature of an opportunistic feeder. When "The Bringer of Food" shows up, they will go into a feeding response in anticipation they may actually be provided food.

This 'begging' does not mean they NEED food, but only that they are prepared to eat if the occasion arises. They will throw up food if they've eaten more than can be digested quickly, or if stressed just after eating. They don't bury their food for a rainy day like a dog or a mouse might.

 

[pete]

Agreed, they will throw up food if you overfeed them. Also sometimes if you give them a particularly large and lively worm and the salamander has a particularly full belly, the struggling worm, which doesn't immediately die after being eaten, can work his way out of of the salamander and eventually get out alive. This could explain the situation in your soil. The worms can be alive, but are often terribly tattered after a temporary tour in a tiger's tight tummy. After which they would bury themselves (as is their nature) and die shortly there after. Presto: Buried Barf.

 

[K9skennel]

thanks for the reply and the answer.
its hard NOT to feed him...but its good to know its from overfeeding and not from being ill.
he's probably 6 or 7 inches by now.
the worms were probably 1 - 1 1/2 sections. he's eaten pieces that big before thats why it seemed odd.
we are feeding him troutworms right now.

K9

 

[Kaysie]

I feed mine (one's 7 inches, one's 9-10 inches) two to three times a week, 1 piece about 2 inches long (1/2 a nightcrawler).