Fire Salamander during wintertime

[Andrew23]

Hello, my name is Andrew, I'm from Romania, I'm 21. This spring, on 29th of April I found a fire salamander larva, i took care of it until it has turned into a nice juvenile, i have a terrarium for it filled with moss and hiding places, but my question is.. What should I do when the winter comes?Is it ok to keep it inside, in its terrarium and not feed it? will it survive like this? I don't want to put his life in danger by making a wrong choice.. I heard if you don't let it "hibernate" it will affect its life.. Help!

 

[Jensino]

I guess it's around 20 °C warm in the terrarium, so the salamander will still be active and needs feeding even during winter. It's life cycle is not endogenously determined like in other animals, but affected by temperature and humidity.
For hibernation the temperature must be around 5 °C, then the salamander becomes inactive and won't need food. A hibernation period of at least 8 weeks is recommended for long term health. But some breeders shorten or skip the first hibernation at all, because juveniles are somewhat delicate. Older specimen can be hibernated without any troubles for even longer periods (16 weeks).

You can search this forum for more information about how to hibernate a salamander.

 

[Andrew23]

is there a proble if the temperature drops below 5 degrees C? for example if it's -5 or so?

 

[Jensino]

Temperatures below zero are deadly, you must ensure a frost free environment at all times.

Temperatures just above zero are possible, but your salamander will be completely rigid.