Hatchling Aneides lugubris enclosure

[russ]

I just built this for the sole survivor of a clutch of A.lububris eggs from last season; it's 8x8x12.

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[jennifer]

That's really cute! Did you build the whole thing yourself from glass plates?

 

[kieron]

have u got a pic of the A.lububris

 

[russ]

No, my son bought it at Frog Day at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens last year, but it didn't prove to be large enough. Some outfit out of FL was selling them. Perfect for a little guy though.

Kieron, look here:

http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Aneides/A_lugubris.shtml

 

[kieron]

o cool thanx there look pretty cool love the ripple affect the body makes lol

 

[joseph]

Whats the plant at the bottom? Also, do I see mushrooms on the corkbark(?)?

 

[russ]

There are two different plants at the bottom, but their names elude me. They're the plants sold at nurseries to plant between stepping stones. I'll have to see if I still have the tags somewhere. The "cork bark" is actually a piece of branch I found in the woods while looking for caudates. There is a myriad of things growing on it (bracket fungi, lichens, ect.). The bare area in the center is actually holes made by a woodpecker or flicker. I've seen quite a few animals (tiny slugs,land snails, insects) appear over the week that probably came from it.

 

[joseph]

Wow...that branch is awesome! It would be amazing if that life would continue to grow on it. I wonder if it would be possible to, say, root oyster mushrooms or similar into driftwood or whatnot in our tanks.

I was thinking maybe terrestrial baby's tears fro the plant but wasn't sure.

 

[russ]

You're right about the plants, I found the tags. They are Baby Tears and Blue Star Creeper. I'm hoping the stuff on the branch continues to grow. You could collect spores from probably any kind of mushroom and get them to start. A lot of times you will get "volunteers" just by bringing in cover items and stuff from the field.

The lugubris was at the top of the branch yesterday afternoon chasing fruit flies, so it is utilizing it.

 

[adam]

I have often wondered about the long term effects of fungal spores on salamander health, that being based on the strict safety procedures for breathing equipment needed when picking mushrooms commercially in farms in britain.

 

[russ]

I would doubt there much in a general term. Look at the array of mold and fungi under the rotting logs and bark where you find a lot of caudates.