First try at a Tiger Salamander habitat?

[Dow]

OKay, so, until I get my 20g resealed and collaborate some more caves and coconut fiber substrate, my young tiger is in a 10g tank with a small sandwich tupperware sized pool.

I put him directly in the pool and he hopped right out and went onto the coconut fiber.
I've been trying to feed him some worms that I was told to get at the bait shop and he won't eat them. I would like to know if the substrate I have him in is bad? I've heard of mixtures of coco fibers and something else.

Is there anything I can do to get him to eat?

Are there any modifications I need?

This is Kujo six days ago, the day I brought him home.

This is him as of now

As you can see he's thin... I've tried chopped guppies, worms, night crawlers... I haven't tried crickets yet...? Any guidance?

 

[Jennewt]

Keep trying with chopped nightcrawlers. Keep trying with a cricket, but don't leave more than one or two crickets in the tank, as they can bite/irritate the sal.

The setup seems OK basically, but needs more hiding places.

 

[Dow]

I know. I'm currently smoothing out some PVC halves to burry but in a 10g, with what all I currently have, it'll be kinda hard. I'm going to make some out of tupperware for the time being. (Don't tell my parents!) But I have the right idea, right? The substrate won't be bad if he ingests some?

 

[shmifty5]

How about I tell you exactly what I have and maybe you can use that to help yourself.

I have him in a 20 gal-long, with a coco-fibre + 'frog moss' substrate, he has very little for decorations and he uses a big exo-terra cave rather than burrows (he does make small burrows under the cave but he uses these like second exits...), he gets misted every now and then and the moss seems to stop all that nasty mold growth (my step-brother has mold actively growing in his room (clump in corner, won't die no matter what he tries) and the mold spreads everywhere whenever it can) and no he doesn't have a pool or water bowl, he is fed every other day with either crickets, superwoms, or earthworms (no calcium supplimentation unless he hasn't had earthworms within a week of the feeding).

My tiger is currently slightly obese so I have him on a limited feed diet, your set-up looks perfect and could use a hide, don't worry about the 'I can escape if I crawl against the wall' behaviour (it will pass), just basically give the guy some water/humidity and a place to live and he should do fine.

I have seen my tiger snap up a worm with a mouthful of coco-fibre and I have seen him eat some moss by mistake, he has had no problems from consuming either.

Oh, and make sure that the food is moving, my guy wouldn't touch anything that didn't move until he got used to hand feeding, he now eats anything I hand to him (he trusts me I suppose), I haven't tried many large animals for feeding (such as fish or mice) but the only fish my guy has ever eaten was a recently deceased Betta female and he had no issues with eating it (he just had issues getting his mouth open wide enough to eat her).

 

[Jan]

Coco-fiber makes a fine substrate and won't harm the salamander if small quantities are ingested when lunging for food. Keep it moist but not wet. The 'something else' that coco-fiber is often mixed with is top-soil that has no additives (not typcial potting soil where fertilizers, perlite, etc., have been added).

With the limited space of a 10 gallon aquarium, you might consider not burying his water dish. You can make a hide and have a water dish by using a shallow heavy container for the water - there are many commercial varieties. Make a deep depression in the coco-fiber (make a hole), sit the water dish on top of the hole with a little depression in the substrate leading into the hole. He can use this as a hide.

If you are going to use tupperware or other items as hides, make sure they provide a hide that is dark, i.e., don't use clear plastic. Darkness provides a comfortable environment for tigers.

From the pix, I cannot tell the depth of the substrate, but it should be 3 -4 inches deep.

As Jen said regarding feeding, keep trying worms but also try appropriately sized crickets (smaller than the sal's head). The movement of crickets can elicit a feeding response that sometimes may not be generated with chopped worms. Worms are the best food but I have found they take some 'training' on the tiger's part to be easily accepted as food.