First time Salamander Owner

[MNRising]

Figured I'd start off with a basic intro and some of my questions.

I'll start off saying I've never owned a Salamander - I had two Japanese Fire-Bellied Newts when I was 12, mum didn't tell my da, da doesn't like creepy crawlies and I never saw them again.

I currently have (wild 'rescued' from my fiance's coworker who thought they were snakes and wanted to kill them at the office) what I believe to be two barred tiger salamanders

This is their current set up: with Eco Earth Loose coconut fiber substrate at the base, natural soil at the top - all fauna is live and came from the same soil that is being used as the top layer. Water is either distilled or rain water (depending on the weather)

I pre-made the burrows and lined them in soil as well (I believe they're about 4 - 6 inches long/deep) because the coconut substrate seemed too dry; and maybe I'm just a worry-wart but I didn't want them taking a mouthful of that if they were chasing crickets down there. The water is in a plastic container, approx 1 - 1.5 inches deep, which is 'nested' into the soil and substrate for easy cleaning and to prevent them from getting stuck or caught or hurt on the plastic edge. The water is cleaned every other day.

They've been hunting the earthworms and some of the other little bugs and worms and the occasional grub or two that came with the soil and plant life, as well as supplemented with live feeder crickets.

Some of my questions:
- How do I 'gender' them? And if I have more than 1, do I have to be concerned with them being territorial?
They're about the same size (length, girth) if that helps any.
- How much should I feed them?
I've been feeding two medium sized crickets to each of them daily and not monitoring their 'hunting' as much.
- I mist the entire thing 2 - 4 times daily, depending on how dry everything seems, is this too much or is there a better way to keep it moist/humid in there?
- With winter approaching are there any certain things I should do differently than I currently am?
I have them under a 'natural light' bulb during normal day light hours (when it's light outside I keep the light on, once the sunsets I turn the light off) and I leave them at room temperature (which is slightly cooler than most average homes, according to anyone who visits).
- How often should I change the water, and what's the approximate temperature I should keep it at?
I've been changing it every other day; and usually use cool/cold (not frigid) water.

I tried asking at some of the local 'pet stores' and didn't get anyone too knowledgeable about them so they couldn't give me much advice (except for trying to sell me a few geckos).

Hoping to learn a lot here on the forums! Thanks!

 

[Allistor]

This will help you for sure:
Caudata Culture Species Entry - Tiger salamander

 

[MNRising]

Thank you Allistor. I've already read through it many many times; and the questions I'm asking are ones I didn't particularly find the answer I wanted.

I guess I could elaborate more on my feeding questions:
- Are my salamanders at a healthy weight or should I be feeding them more or less than I am?
Out of the two one is a much better hunter than the other - I placed approx 20 small crickets in and watched one catch more than half of them, the other wasn't as motivated and maybe caught 5 with a 'oh, well, since you just walked into my mouth I guess I can eat you' look to him. Should I perhaps move him to a smaller enclosure and feed him/her? separately?

 

[pete]

I think the tiger look to be a very healthy weight and nice colors, too.

Yes, if you have one that eats more than the other you may want to watch how you feed them. Just dumping the crickets in can result in one becoming more obese than the other while the other is under fed.

 

[MNRising]

Thank you Pete!

I've been trying to direct the crickets, but, well, they're crickets - and that seems to about sum up those efforts.

I started just feeding two at a time because I was worried about that (one becoming more obese) happening. Guess I'll have to work on that for feeding time today, perhaps moving the more active feeder to my larger enclosure and let him do more of his 'hunting' as he seems to enjoy chasing some down more than going after the ones I drop right in front of him.

Also, the better hunter appears to be more active than the other [the first one pictured is my active tiger]. Is this just because he's eating more and has more energy; or is it possible that the second one just has a 'lazy personality'?

 

[pete]

In my experiences with tigers. It's more of their personality. Some are pigs and some are shy eaters. Actually, most are pigs, but a few are shy eaters. It can be annoying when one is more greedy than the other. I always switched to worms if I could, because it was easier to control how much each salamander got.

 

[MNRising]

Thanks Pete.

I've just started feeding them separately which makes it easier to monitor. Glad to hear it's hopefully just personality - The second spends a bit more time in the burrows anyways, so I'm guessing he's just a bit more shy than the other - who's gotten in the habit of begging anytime I'm sitting within his sight (and when I come to turn the light on in the morning!).