Complete beginner with one wild sallie egg

[liz]

Hi, folks. I found this page looking for info about salamander eggs. My daughter Ana, who is four, found some eggs and a couple of salamanders in a bucket of rain water at the neighbor's house. Apparently the salalmanders climb in there a alot this time of year as they are migrating to lay eggs and the house is right next to a wetland. Ana really wants to raise this one egg. We have it in a small mason jar with holes in the lid and are keeping it on the porch, as I thought it should be at outdoor temperature. Should we do anything for it? Change the water, add algae or plants? I'm thinking it may not be fertile as I don't know if there was a male in the bucket or two females.
How long will it take to hatch if it is?
Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks! LIZ

(Message approved by admin)

 

[liz]

Well,I was hoping to hear from someone out there! Oh, well, the egg is doing great. We have it in the house in a mason jar with some holes punched in the lid. I've been changing the water every couple of days. The little guy has GROWN, and we can now see the external gills and eyes and her little tail. The neighbors' eggs, which are still outside in the bucket, have not developed nearly as much, and are still round balls, though we can now see what looks like a little fold or slit opening on their sides. We are very excited, but I really want to know how/what to feed this little creature when it hatches...?

(Message approved by admin)

 

[sherri]

Wow...! That's great!

About the feeding, it all depends, but there's great resources out there that can give you exact specific info about feeding. I'd try your state's biological survey or wildlife and parks site (whatever it may be)--they'll obviously have the species you're rearing on their website. I fed my young salamanders mealworms but they still preferred earthworms cut in half.

What a great gift; hope they hatch! And good luck!!

 

[kaysie]

For feeding your new friend: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/foods.shtml

For setting up a new home (when it gets bigger): http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/setups.shtml

If you could say what the adults in the bucket looked like, I'm sure there will be a lot more help. Good luck!

 

[jennifer]

Liz, after it hatches you will need to provide tiny live food. See:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/microfoods.shtml
Also, see:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/raising.shtml
Your eggs is probably developing faster because it is indoors (warmer). It's OK to keep indoors, but try to keep it as cool as possible (no sun).

 

[liz]

Thanks for all the advice and info links! I've been learning a lot. Our first hatchling died after I added a bit of chopped earthworm to his jar and clouded the water. Ouch. One way to learn I guess. We have another egg ready to hatch and I plan to go out and harvest some pond creatures with a fine net and look for daphnia, etc. I often see small threadlike white worms in the pond water - are these "white worms" and would they make good food for little hatchlings? I think I will also try getting some brine shrimp. I'm pretty sure the salamander eggs I have are from long-toed salamanders. I live in western washington state, and the adults were brown with yellow-green stripes down their backs. Will the young want to live in a terrestrial habitat after metamorphasis or semi-terrestrial?
Thanks again from Ana and I - Liz

(Message approved by admin)

 

[liz]

Thought I'd give an update-
Our second egg hatched and we have been feeding the larva brine shrimp. He is healthy and growing little front feet!! Still very tiny, though.(half an inch long?)
We got this cool brine shrimp hatchery at the pet store. The bottom is a black box in which the brine and eggs are placed. On top is a space to put an inverted clear vial of fresh water. The shrimp swim up toward the light into the vial, which can then be removed and emptied into the tank for the fish or salamander to eat. The water in the vial stays fresh because salt water is heavier and stays in the box below. It works great ! Our sallie seems to like brine shrimp and often has a big pink stomach after feeding.

(Message approved by admin)

 

[pin-pin]

Hi Liz,

Congrats on hatching your egg. I just did this last year and it is the most time consuming (but rewarding) effort.

Pin-pin