Question: Eggs on land! What are they?

I'd do the same... Maybe just keep soaking the grass they're on?!
 
I would personally put them in water. Because when they hatch they will need the water to breath whilst in the larval state. What I would do, if you don't put them in water, is put them next to a water area, so that when they hatch, they can wiggle into the water. But again, it would be safer to put them in water. Just my two cents :p
 
They are not slug eggs, they are the eggs of Northwester salamanders - Ambystoma gracile - I can tell you for certain. Slugs eggs look like the picture attached. I have seen well over a hundred A. gracile eggs, and can tell you that they are indeed A. gracile. Also, they must have water when they hatch. If they don't, they will die. I would recommend putting them in water now, while they are still in the later development stages.
Putting them next to a water area probably wouldn't do you any good. They are very weak when they first hatch, thus, wiggling to a water area might not be possible.

Slug eggs slug eggs - Bing Images
-Seth
 
Oh.. I didn't really think they were slug eggs! And I agree with you about the water.They are moving around and don't have legs so if they hatch they will need water. We're moving them this evening. we want to put them into a contained (mini pond) area, just so we can see what they look like when they hatch, but then they will go right into the pond. I don't know if you can close up on the photo I sent yesterday but they look very salamanderish already! Just no legs. Today's photo I won't bother with. Too much sun glare and I must have jiggled the camera.
 
We took a shovel and moved the earth as well as the eggs to a plastic bin. We added pond water and put the egg mass at a slant so the little salamanders will find it hard not to fall into the water, but there is land/grass there too. We did that yesterday, no change today, but they are still wiggling!
 
Don't worry about salamanders, they'll be larvae (tadpoles) for several months before metamorphosis.
 
tcbemis, unless they are the variety that is born with legs and not in water. As I've read, they go from egg to land as tiny salamanders with legs! Since these were laid on land, and that variety does live in our area, that is a consideration.
 
Annie12345 said:
tcbemis, unless they are the variety that is born with legs and not in water. As I've read, they go from egg to land as tiny salamanders with legs! Since these were laid on land, and that variety does live in our area, that is a consideration.
Click to expand...

No, this is not that variety. A. gracile larvae are aquatic, and will stay aquatic until they morph next year, or may become adults while still in their aquatic stage ( neoteny ).
The variety that lay eggs on land do not lay eggs that look like this, they hide their eggs, and usually occur in forests or talus environments. I will attach two pictures, one of A. gracile eggs, and one of Plethodon eggs ( which look very similar to Plethodon species eggs that occur around your area ). I will also attach a link to a great website with a page for A. gracile, it has more pictures of the egg masses, larvae, adults, range maps, and also some info.

terrestrial salamander eggs - Bing Images
Northwestern Salamander - Ambystoma gracile
 

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Seth, I think you're right! Sure look like 'our' eggs! And I'd think if they were going to grow legs and be terrestial before they hatch, they'd have to stay in the eggs a lot longer. But I'm just guessing.
 
Our wigglies are hatching! I'd take a photo, but they really look the same as in the last picture, just without the transparent egg around them. And they disappear into the muck at the bottom of the pond.
 
We're thinking now we might move some of the wigglies (are they really called larvae? tadpoles?) to an aquarium just so we can watch them for a while longer. We've got a ten gallon aquarium. Any suggestions what to put in it? Since we have a largish outdoor pond (where the horses drink) with a stream running into it we're thinking we would just take pond mud for the bottom, pond water and make sure we get a little of the plant life if there is any this time of year. It's not going to be a permanent home for them, eventually we'll move them out to the pond to live.

How long do they stay legless? Assuming they are Northwestern Salamanders.

What would we feed them?

We'd love some advice!!!
 
They are larvae, aren't they adorable?

Definitely put in pond water, they're adorable jumping at the daphnia! I'd toss in some plant life from the pond as well so they can hide around/in it too. When you notice the daphnia nearly gone (they just look like tiny critters "hopping" in the water), just top off with more pond water. But if you don't see any life in the water, they won't have anything to eat... In that case, a good scoop of the mud at the bottom worked for us. Just let it settle out and dump in the water, hopefully with some tasty treats in it.
Last summer we changed out the water completely maybe one a week, but that'll depend on how many are in there. We found ours didn't need "pristine" (no deaths and we released hundreds!), but I've heard otherwise. Ours were spotted salamanders, but I'm thinking they're very similar in larval-type needs.
I'd love to see pics once you get them settled!
(I just reread and realized I said exactly what you'd said anyway lol... So... I agree! ;)
 
They will get their front legs first, probably in a few weeks, then a few weeks after that they will get their back legs. After that they will just continue to grow, until the larvae morph at about 3.5 inches in length, but some may also stay aquatic and become neotenic.
 
How many types of salamanders have the potential to remain neotenic?
 
tcbemis said:
How many types of salamanders have the potential to remain neotenic?
Click to expand...

Uh.....I have no idea actually. A lot. Many species within the genus Ambystoma can become neotenic, I know some Ichthyosaura can be neotenic, I am not sure what else can. But just in those two genus there are many species and subspecies that could be neotenic. For instance, all the subspecies of A. tigrinum. Also, you have axolotls and some similar Mexican salamanders, all neotenic. Please don't ask for a list of species names xD
 
Do the larva get tadpole shaped?? We've had the wiggly guys in a tank now for a few days and have been fascinated seeing them occasionally wiggle past the glass. But this morning what looks like a tadpole is there! It's somewhat larger than I think our salamander wigglies should be. If it is a tadpole I must have scooped it up in the pond water but I'm surprised because the water looked free of anything that big.

If it's a tadpole will it eat my little salamanders?
 
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