Question: Can not find any Tiger Salamanders

CocoaAndTea

CocoaAndTea

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Hello, I've been thinking about getting one for awhile now, I can not find any in Illinois from stores(though I haven't heard amazing things about getting them from stores anyways). After calling around for awhile, someone told me that no one is selling them because of the fungal infection.

Is this true that I am not going to be able to find them? Should I herp for them outside, it's somewhat cold.

I am considering to buy one online? I've heard some bad stories, and some are quiet expensive.

Please let me know what you think,

thanks.
 
While a lot of Salamanders are covered under the USFWS interstate ban due to threat of Chytrid, Tiger Salamanders are not listed. Something else to keep in mind is that they are apparently hard to breed in captivity and a lot are wild caught to my understanding which is why they cost more. I'm personally up in the air myself as I am a wildlife biology major and don't really want to take away from native populations. Carolina, the biology supply company sells them though and some other places do. The upside to places like that can be they are former lab animals and your giving them a home.


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You could place a wanted add on here, someone may have a tiger salamander that they need to rehome or sell
 
blacknova said:
While a lot of Salamanders are covered under the USFWS interstate ban due to threat of Chytrid, Tiger Salamanders are not listed. Something else to keep in mind is that they are apparently hard to breed in captivity and a lot are wild caught to my understanding which is why they cost more. I'm personally up in the air myself as I am a wildlife biology major and don't really want to take away from native populations. Carolina, the biology supply company sells them though and some other places do. The upside to places like that can be they are former lab animals and your giving them a home.


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I have seen their site, but there is no way to know what species I'll get. I've seen mixed reviews.

"Land phase specimens (our choice). With instructions. Allow 2 to 4 weeks for delivery."

but they are cheap. Thank you for the tip though. I do feel bad about taking them from the wild, unless I find an injured or sick one... I might just have to find another salamander to get.
 
CocoaAndTea said:
I have seen their site, but there is no way to know what species I'll get. I've seen mixed reviews.

"Land phase specimens (our choice). With instructions. Allow 2 to 4 weeks for delivery."

but they are cheap. Thank you for the tip though. I do feel bad about taking them from the wild, unless I find an injured or sick one... I might just have to find another salamander to get.
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Carolina biological doesn't do tiger salamanders, they use whatever they can get, someone asked for A.maculatum and got either some Desmognathus or Eurycea species
 
If you do decide to collect your own, I would strongly recommend finding a breeding pool and collecting eggs rather than adults. Taking eggs would have the least effect on the population (while collecting breeding adults would have the greatest), and then you also have the added enjoyment of watching the development of embryo, larvae, and finally a terrestrial morph. Other benefit are knowing the age of your animal and not having to acclimate a wild caught adult to captive conditions.

HJ
 
Well I actually bought two tiger salamanders about 3 weeks ago and I live in illinios !

I bought them online from backwater reptiles and had to pay a shipping fee of $40

I am very happy with them so far despite the bad reviews about backwater reptiles
 
Springlizard said:
Well I actually bought two tiger salamanders about 3 weeks ago and I live in illinios !

I bought them online from backwater reptiles and had to pay a shipping fee of $40

I am very happy with them so far despite the bad reviews about backwater reptiles
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Oh wow! Where in Illinois do you live? I had looked at them as well and their reviews...

The shipping is a little steep. I think I have found someone in Oklahoma that I might adopt one from. It is also vet checked.

How are yours doing? How did you receive them in the mail, was there adequate packaging? Did you know the sex of them, do you already have names?
 
I live in northern Ill ( cook county)

i was worried about backwater because of the reviews, however I have been super happy with them so far. I have had them for around 2-3 weeks and they seem to be healthy and eat great. They don't seem to be fully grown however so I am guessing they are somewhat juvenile

The shipping fee was annoying, however it was worth it to me because I get a lot of enjoyment out of them. And since you pay the same shipping fee regardless of the number of animals, I decided to get two. I am lucky to have a large tank for them ( 40 gallon however)

The shipping was overnight on a ~25 degree day. The package arrived around 8 am and they were in a cardboard box with styrofoam to insulate. Each was in a separate cup with a paper towel .

Since you live in Illinois I think it is also legal to take from the wild if you are not selling it and have a fishing license , so if you waited another couple of months till they start breeding that's another option.

Or of course adoptimg is a good option to

if you like amphibians they are awesome pets !
 
For your other question, I ordered a male and female but since they don't seem full grown I haven't tried to check yet

Also, they don't have names yet, any suggestions?

I was holding off on naming them until they got situated but I think they are ready for names :)
 
Oh haha, I just noticed it said Chicago. I live in Arlington Heights.

I have now adopted one from https://www.facebook.com/VetCheckedReptiles/?rc=p

it was 65 for the shipping but nothing else. He will check about the weather, but since you said yours was shipped in 25 degree weather and they're doing fine I'm not worried. No idea if it's a female or male though. I really want to name it Cecil for some reason XD

If you take a pic of your two, I might be able to come up with some names.

I didn't want to take them from the wild because I'd have to get them in their egg stage. I heard they are pretty fragile and it's a bit more expensive to take care of them. I'm glad I found one now though :)

All the users are really nice here! Thank you for spending the time to help me.
 
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