Blue spotted sals

[dane]

so it all started last year, memorial day weekend. I found some salamander larvae on my plot of land in northern wisconsin, I brought 21 home,
(larvae near morphing)

then they began to morph at 1.5-2 inches, it started with 2, then 5 and so on

they began to grow(along with my picture taking)

they got bigger

then they got bolder and began to beg for food

now these are pics of them from last night

I started with 21, one died as a larvae, I let some go when they were larvae(was running out of food) then I eventualy ended up with 5 morphed salamanders and 2 of them died due to unknown reasons and so im left with 3

they are about 3.5 inches long right now

 

[daniel]

i wish i could just stumble upon guys like those

, city life can really suck sometimes!

 

[dane]

yeah its fun

the pond was on the edge of a swampy area(i just actully discovered another little pond in the swampy area)

here are some pics of the pond I forgot to post, these were taken after a really heavy rainstorm so the water was really muddy looking

there were also greenfrogs and green frog tadpoles

(Message edited by dane_zu on February 17, 2007)

 

[john]

Great pic's.

 

[michelle]

Looks like you did a great job raising them they look healthy & cute. Your lucky to live so close to (exclude the mud) somewhere so cool! Must have been quite an experience. Can you get a shot of their tank? I have never seen blue spotted salamander before. Thnx for sharing.

 

[dane]

I dont really live close to this area, its around a 3.5 hour drive but i consider it my home away from home, I havnt done much herping by my house

I didnt mention my family and I were camping on the land aswell and then the huge rainstorm hit and we went to a friend's house to stay over night

its a 10 gallon, im gonna have to split them up soon(or move them into a bigger tank)

(Message edited by dane_zu on February 19, 2007)

(Message edited by dane_zu on February 19, 2007)

 

[michelle]

Hey Dane,
The tank looks good especially since they like to burrow. I could'nt find Ambystoma laterale (fancy word for Blue Spotted Salamander) in this site so I Googled it. I have to agree with you with you about moving them or splitting them up. Since you only have three left. Why not move the three to a bigger tank? From what I have read they really are not that aggressive as long as they have their own space,but isn't that any animal. Have they changed color yet at all when they may have gotten scared I guess they do that.
Take care of those little critters, they have become an endangered species in some areas.Not yours though I checked. Michelle

 

[dane]

I havnt noticed any aggression, and they are pretty tame(i guess is the word) so they do really get scared, and ther is about 7-8 hides so they have 2 per animal

 

[michelle]

Hey Dane.
Keep posting these little ones, they are interesting to see. I would love to see their new set up if you happen to get a different tank. I was going through old threads in this site looking at info on T.grans. I have to be biased they are my favourite, (probably because I own one too) and the Blue Spotted Salamander used to be listed, it may have been taken off because it is listed as an endangered species in at least 4 States that I read last night.
The point I was trying to make about them being scared is they'll change their color when they are to match their surroundings & I thought that was very cool. I also was wondering if you had seen this yet. I don't know how old they have to be for this to start happening though. Anyway,keep posting pics. and by the way you haven't posted any T.grans pictures lately. Please do.

 

[annmarie]

Hey nice find I love these guys. My parents back yard is filled with these guys. I have never caught/kept any, not even the newly morphed one we found under a tire after a rain. We don't like to take little monsters from the wild. I am very glad to see they are doing well for you and you made a great habitat for them. I love your pictures, I cannot wait to see you post more. They inspire me to survey my parents back yard and the wetland behind it, or jut lift the lid to the sprinkler system, have them living in there too.. Salamanders everywhere!
Your salamander pond looks just like the ones behind the parents. Ah, I cannot wait for the thaw now!

 

[dane]

you wanted more so here are a few i took a couple days ago, not the best quality but im learning and getting better(was playing around with a program so some of the photos might be different in some way)

side shot

 

[dane]

a couple more i found on my computer(i like the top one a lot)

 

[michelle]

Hey Dane.
I just found these guys in the pile of pics. people have been posting. Glad to see more of them. They look like they have grown,or put on some weight maybe? These are great pictures. I honestly don't think I would ever get tired of looking at these cute little ones. Is it the different program you are using or are their blue spots getting brighter? I see you still have the 3 of them together they look like they are very comfortable with their surroundings and each other, that is great. I have to agree the top pic. is cute. I also like the third one down in the same set. Some of these pictures look like they actually stopped and posed for you,or you have a lot of patience. Thanks for the treat! Hope to see more of these guys as they grow. Please let me know the answers to my questions and keep posting these little guys/girls.

 

[dane]

they got a little fatter, its true, some of the pics I posted in the latest post were a little old so the spots change in brightness, sometimes I have different settings on the camera, and sometimes the lighting is different

they dont move much from "begging' positon except for getting closer to me, those are usually the best time to take the pics

 

[kara]

Dane, are you keeping the lot of them, or would you trade/sell some?

 

[dane]

im keeping them