Question: Heated Rock Cave for my chilly Salamander?

[FragileCorpse]

Hey everyone, just want a little advice. Its 55 - 60 Fahrenheit in my Yellow Spotted Salamanders tank. Hes curled up and trying to bury himself, Im assuming hes too cold. I was wondering if he would benefit from a heated rock cave (since he LOVES his cave) that I could set on low? I NEVER see him curled up and trying to bury himself unless his tank sits at 63 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. So I am assuming hes a little uncomfortable.He also seems a little sluggish, again, assuming hes cold. Having heating trouble with the new house right now. What do we think? Was thinking of grabbing this for him since its got very low, medium, and higher medium heat settings that exude heat downward inside the rock cave but ALSO exudes it UPWARDS outside of the rock cave, effectively keeping the tank itself a little warm. Seems like it miiiight be a little small for him though, my guy is about 7 inches from tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. What do we think? Here is the link to what I am specifically looking at: https://www.amazon.com/Reptile-Simulation-Adjustable-Temperature-Tortoise/dp/B0CH1DPGBCI notice in the "wide application" product description it does NOT list that this is for use with Salamanders. It lists essentially every other reptile/amphibian that may need heat though. So again, just wondering if this is safe for my little dude, or if we think its even needed. Inserted pic of the product description im talking about. (Edited this to add in breed of Salamander and corrected celcius to Fahrenheit)

 

[michael]

Hey everyone, just want a little advice. Its 55 - 60 celcius in my Salamanders tank. Hes curled up and trying to bury himself, Im assuming hes too cold. I was wondering if he would benefit from a heated rock cave (since he LOVES his cave) that I could set on low? I NEVER see him curled up and trying to bury himself unless his tank sits at 63 degrees celcius or lower.

No. What kind of salamander is it? Generally it is bad to use any extra heat in a salamander set up. To cold they slow down. To hot they die.

 

[FragileCorpse]

No. What kind of salamander is it? Generally it is bad to use any extra heat in a salamander set up. To cold they slow down. To hot they die.

Yellow Spotted Salamander, Basically only looking to get his cage temp upto 65 or higher. 70 absolute max. It fluctuates between 55 - 63 right now, and i feel hes finding that a little chilly since hes all curled up, trying to bury himself etc. He is a little sluggish, so I feel hes a little too cold.

 

[Herpin Man]

I’m assuming that you mean 55-60 Fahrenheit, as 55 Celsius equals 131 Fahrenheit, which would be instantly fatal.
55-60 is perfect for a spotted salamander. There is no need to provide supplemental heat.

 

[FragileCorpse]

I’m assuming that you mean 55-60 Fahrenheit, as 55 Celsius equals 131 Fahrenheit, which would be instantly fatal.
55-60 is perfect for a spotted salamander. There is no need to provide supplemental heat.

LOL right. Yes sorry im a moron, I do indeed mean Fahrenheit. Alright so 55-60 isnt what hes used to though, hes used to sitting around 67-68, but Im assuming everything is okay then? He'll just wanna bury himself and be a little sluggish and slow? Made the question because this behaviour is abnormal for him. But if this is just normal and the temp is totally fine then thats good news.

 

[Herpin Man]

Spotted salamanders are in the mole salamander family, so named due to their propensity to burrow.
Your salamander is behaving normally.

 

[FragileCorpse]

Spotted salamanders are in the mole salamander family, so named due to their propensity to burrow.
Your salamander is behaving normally.

Yeah for sure I totally feel you on that, he just typically doesnt do that. If that is simply normal behaviour and perhaps I just havent SEEN him do it then thats fine and I thank you for the reassurance

He stayed buried for 3 days, I typically feed him on every 4th day (otherwise he gets quite fat I find hahahaha) so I had to unbury him a little bit so he'd wake up and come out in order to eat. Should I have like...NOT done that? I dont feel he has like....gorged enough to hibernate or stay buried? Should I let HIM decide when its time to unbury himself and come up for food? Do Yellow Spotted Salamanders even NEED to "gorge" first before hibernation or burying itself similar to how a bear would fatten up first before hibernation? (Obviously two completely different creatures, I had just sort of assumed the salamander would need a fair bit of nutrients stocked up in order to stay down and miss feedings essentially.) I've never seen him ultra curled with a full spiralled curled tail like that, normally the little dude plops right out straight as an arrow with feeties out like a star hahahha. Its cute. Usually only has his head peeking out from his hidey rock when he sleeps.

I know it kinda sounds like I know absolutely nothing but I was kinda thrown into this. I saved this guy from death back in 2022 and rehabbed him back to health so now that hes doing some different stuff I just want to be sure I have the correct knowledge about it. So hes been my little buddy ever since. Wanna make sure he's good and happy. I did try to release him back into the wild once he was strong but id let him go near where I found him, i'd back off a lot, he'd wander around and would make his way back towards me in the end every single time after about 10 minutes. So I just assumed that he was like "screw this shit you've been feeding me and things have been good bud pick me back up" hahahah. He was essentially skeletal. I fed him and housed him for a couple weeks and he fattened up good and became energetic and thats when I tried a few separate times to let him get back to the wild cuz the internet says hes endangered where I live. Love him way too much to let him go again now though, and I really think he'd still just crawl back my way for the 4th time anyway. So I guess the decision has been made that he's gonna be my little bud for life Lol. Wanna make sure Im doing things correctly.

Sorry if all that is simply just way too much unnecessary info. Just trying to get properly educated and reassured.

 

[Herpin Man]

The salamander isn’t going to hibernate at 55-60f. There is no need to dig it up to feed it. Just toss in some earthworms, and let the salamander find them on its own. You are overthinking this.

 

[FragileCorpse]

The salamander isn’t going to hibernate at 55-60f. There is no need to dig it up to feed it. Just toss in some earthworms, and let the salamander find them on its own. You are overthinking this.

Yes I have rampant borderline personality disorder, generalized anxiety PLUS panic disorder, AND complex PTSD. (funnily enough im also a mental health professional) Yes, my emotions and small fears can CERTAINLY run away with me entirely sometimes. Which is EXACTLY why I am here asking more knowledgable people. Again, if things are fine then thats great. I just want to be clear with what I have going on, what Im seeing, what I have and have not experienced before with this little dude, cuz lets face it, I love this thing way too much.

Hes super cute and brings me infinite joy, likely because of my BPD and the extremely intense influx of instantaneous super intense emotions that happen with BPD. When I am happy I am extremely overjoyed, and sammy does that to me. I dont have a lot of joy in my life so yes, I would simply like to know I am taking at LEAST adequate care of my Salamander. Again, Slammy Sammy was a half dead rescue I found half dead outside frozen. Would be hands down fully dead had I not snatched him up, warmed him up, fed him and gave him a pace to live. (hes got a massive terrarium but never wants to go anywhere in it, ALWAYS just wants to be under his rock cave. I assumed he would want space. Guess not. His cage is like 1 meter long by like 1 and a half feet wide.)

He NEVER buries himself (Im staring at him like 10 times daily. Im certainly not missing him burying himself, as when he does come up from very rarely burying himself, hes always got a silly dirt hat on so I know hes gone under haha) and I was simply wondering why he wouldnt come up for food once buried. Cant afford earthworms (13 frickin dollars for a thing of them and theyre MASSSSSIVE. And keep in mind im selling 4$ bags of sawdust to put food on the table bud. We JUST keep our house and theres like ketchup in the fridge and thats it bud. However, if I ever felt he was being inadequately housed or looked after, I would surrender him to Hope for Wildlife or another Salamander owner whom I have vetted or has been vetted. NS is serious about its Salamanders, as they are endangered here.) I am doing the best I can here. Somedays all Sammy gets is potato bugs/sal bugs. Cuz I simply dont have 8 bucks for his mealworms, which is conveniently ONLY SOLD THREE TOWNS AWAY. So thats a 27 dollar round trip for his food. Which just pupates before I can use them all anyway so Im constanly fucked LOL. And he seems too small to eat them anyway. Has a hard enough time trying to swallow the larger mealworms. (Normal size mealworms, NOT the giant ones, but obviously some get bigger.) He can only succesfully eat the small ones in one bite. Otherwise hes flinging his head all around and smoking his face off the ground trying to push the rest of the worm in his mouth or get it out cuz I ASSUME its biting him. And I cant leave mealworms in there with him cuz I tried that already and they just bit the ever loving shit right out of him. So yes, I may be overthinking, but im overthinking because hes doing things out of the norm and this was a guy from outside, not store bought and hand reared etc etc. He is NOT used to this temperature at all, the heat is busted in the house right now so the temps are STUPID low. Its Canadian Winter here. Lol.

So since youre super confident that I dont need to dig him up to feed him....how long can I leave him buried like that? He usually wants around 4-6 small mealworms once every 3-5 days. So youre telling me if hes buried for like 2 weeks hes just gonna be fine? Even though he hasnt like, "gorged" on anything like a bear would do to initiate and stay okay during hibernation? (yes Im aware theyre totally different animals and ones a mammal and ones an amphibian, I get that. Simply ASSUMING something in hibernation would need a greater amount of food storage is all. If Im wrong Im wrong and that is fantastic honestly.) Am I even feeding this thing a diverse enough diet??? Hes mostly only getting mealworms...seems unable to digest the soldier fly larva as he poops them out still alive and they crawl away......like...that was SO fucked up....is my dude okay? :s Hes got some white dots that have appeared on him since Ive caged him. I feel he had a more diverse diet outside before he got trapped by th wood pile/tarp/hard hard ground.

Yes yes I know everyone will see this and go "HOOOLY SHIT LADY. TLDR MUCH?????" (Too Long, Didn't Read) Yes yes I know. Now that we have the insults out of the way, lets get crackin on some answers here. Constantly told I talk too much, about shit people dont care about, I flit from idea to idea very fast, talk/type fast, and am extremely often accused of WAY overthinking things. Ys. I did intdeed say I have BPD and multiple other mental illnesses. Now that we are all aware, lets stop pointing it out and just get some answers going so yall dont have to TLDR me and say Im overthinking/overtyping 24/7. Win Win for everyone!

I appreciate anyone who bothered to read and respond kindly/patiently to anything ive written in here. People simply wont talk to me, Im too annoying. So I appreciate your info. Thanks.

 

[Herpin Man]

For a good feeder that you can culture at home, I suggest you read up on European night crawlers. They are the perfect size for your salamander. Dump a few in the enclosure, and your salamander will encounter them even when it’s buried.
I’m not going to tell you whether your salamander will or won’t be ok buried for several weeks; I’ll only tell you that it’s normal behavior.
I have a few blue spotted salamanders, which are a related species that exhibit similar behavior. They are in a densely planted vivarium with lots of hiding places. I almost never see them. I simply keep adding worms and insects, filling the water bowl, etc. Two or three times a year, I dig them up- and they are always fat and healthy. What I’m saying is, if you keep your salamander fed, cool, and in a moderately moist environment with places to hide, you have no real reason to worry.