Question: Feeding Newly Morphed spotted salamanders

[iatenemoagain]

I have about 20 newly morphed (4 weeks) spotted salamanders and i dont know if they are eating. I have been giving them small crickets, phoenix worms (started today) and small pillbugs. I have not seen them eat a thing and feeding with tweezers does not seem to work. There substrate is long fiber sphagnum moss.
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[SludgeMunkey]

Have you tried fruit flies? Small slugs and small worms work very well too. Mine appear to prefer small woodlice and slugs.

What is the average temperature at night in the tank? What is your lighting schedule like?

Ambystoma maculatum likes to stay well hidden during the day. Try letting the food loose in their enclosure just before the lights go out. You will know if they are eating by their fat bellies the next day.

Another option you have is to remove the moss and replace it with damp, unbleached (brown) paper towels, just until you are certain they are eating.

 

[iatenemoagain]

Yea, well i just got in some small phoenix worms and decided to feed each sal. individually so i can know who is eating and who is not. a lot of work but it is worth it. The temp in the tank is about the same it is outside, maybe a little warmer so about 65

 

[Jennewt]

Divide the sals into several separate enclosures. To each enclosure, add the same number of crickets as there are sals. Next morning, count the remaining crickets. Even if you don't take my suggestion about dividing the group, be careful to never add more crickets than there are animals; uneaten crickets can chew on sals.

Chopped nightcrawlers offered on a small plastic cap (or in a pile on a clear area of the bottom of the container) will also allow you to see (by the missing pieces) if they are eating at night.

 

[katebutton]

I recently had new spotty morphs and small chopped up worms have worked best for me. I had to chop them pretty small at first because of the size of the sals, but it seems that even if they aren't wiggling they still get gobbled up. Good luck, there's nothing more fun than seeing them grow and develop their spots!