Question: Burrowed Tiger Salamander

[kfar]

How long and how deep do they burrow? I did not see my Little Foot at all yesterday. I looked in on him before work and once I was home, I had the light on and he never showed, not even the top of his head. This morning I looked again, I even checked inside the log he has, but the dirt is pretty high in there so I know he has pulled some dirt in. I know he didn't get out. It just seems I should see some trace of him.

 

[Linus]

How long have you had your tiger? They'll burrow anywhere from a day up to weeks at a time, it's nothing to worry about. If you recently got him he may hide for a while while he acclimates to the new setup.

 

[kfar]

How long have you had your tiger? They'll burrow anywhere from a day up to weeks at a time, it's nothing to worry about. If you recently got him he may hide for a while while he acclimates to the new setup.

Thanks. I've had him since February 20, I just put him in his terrestrial habitat on Saturday. He burrowed right away, but I could see his eyes and mouth. I cannot see any sign of him at all right now - or at least not last night or this morning.

 

[Linus]

He'll come right out when he's hungry :]
I just put a new morph terrestrial too and he has completely buried himself. He's okay down there!

 

[RPM]

Yesterday, I cleaned one of my tanks in my cellar and dug one out that I haven't seen since late January. I overwintered 9 tigers in my garage and recently awakened them after they were burrowed since late November. They burrow longer in the winter and with cooler temperatures. Some individuals are more visible than others even at ordinary room temperature.

 

[kfar]

OK Little Foot showed his head - actually his whole body. He is very hungry. So how many meal worms should I feed him. He has had 1 cricket and I think 4 or 5 worms, but he is acting like he wants more.

 

[Linus]

try earthworms cut in half.

 

[froggy]

Don't feed mealworms. They are terrible nutriton-wise and will lead to various nutritonal disorders if used as a staple food. Earthworms are the best food to use, as Mogwai suggested.

C

 

[kfar]

Are trout worms as good for them as earthworms? I really do not want to cut a worm in half. I will if I have too, but would prefer not too. Also, I have seen on other posts, people put earthworms in the habitat and their Sal can get them whenever. Is this OK to do? Yesterday is the first time that he has had the meal worms, so I will not use them again. How many worms or worm halves should he get at one time. I've read some things that say as mush as they can eat in 10 minutes or in one sitting. Last night, he could have eaten 15 worms in one sitting. When he is looking at me through the glass, it is very hard to resist giving him something. I need a low calorie snack for him. LOL

 

[JessKB]

Troutworms are an earthworm that also goes by the name "red wiggler" they're a great worm to use, but they secrete a foul tasting slime that some salamanders dislike. Some of my salamanders will eat them, some won't.

Earthworms are the absolute best food for your tiger. If it won't eat the trout worms, you should get some Canadian night crawlers from the bait store or Walmart and cut them in half. The other option would be to go out and find your own wild worms. This is perfectly fine to do as long as you don't use ferilizers/pesticides.

 

[Linus]

HAHA! I know what you mean. Yes trout worms are okay.

 

[kfar]

I hate to keep pounding on this, but what is too big for him to eat. I know that the earthworms come in different lengths. How do I know what is too big for him?

 

[Linus]

If it's too big he won't be able to eat it, he'll try and end up spitting it back out. I prefer to cut them in half because it's easier for them to manage the task of eating it, less of a struggle for your tiger, and probably digests a LOT better.

 

[kfar]

I bought some red wigglers. The Petco I went to did not have earthworms. These wigglers are long. Anyway, since everyone talks about the bad taste if they're cut, I dangled it whole. He yanked it off of the forceps, which broke it, I picked it back up and he grabbed it and shook his head back and forth - like a dog playing with a sock. He ate it as he shook is head. I watched him, he didn't spit it out. I fed him 2, he ate them both, but the second one a little slower - but still shook it. I didn't want to feed him too much since I fed him last night. I'll probably skip tomorrow. He's just so cute when he's eating.