Help with New Tiger Sallie

[Jackulwulf]

I recently just got an adult tiger salamander. My brother found it on his lawn in the city and since he couldn't take care of it, I took it in. I have a temporary aquarium set up for him with paper towel lining the bottom of the cage and I have a water dish provided for him and I've sprayed down the paper towel a few times. Its only a small tank, 5 gallons but I am looking into getting a bigger cage for him. I have some questions however, since I've never owned an amphibian before.

The water dish I got is about an inch or so high and I wanted to make sure that isn't too high for him to climb in and out of. I've read that they can climb so I didn't think it would be too high for him but he hasn't used it.

Also, do they eat even if they aren't hungry? Or do they only eat when they are hungry. I put in a couple crickets to see if he would eat them but he hasn't really made any attempt to do so, not even if they are right in front of his face. Is he not hungry?

Thanks for reading.

 

[SludgeMunkey]

Check out the link to Caudata Culture at the top of the page...this will help you identify the specis, and direct you to all kinds of useful caresheets and instructions.

 

[Jackulwulf]

Ok, I've looked up a lot of information about Tigers and I believe he is a blotched tiger salamander. I have upgraded his cage to a 10 gallon tank and I've used reptile bark as a substrate because they said at the pet store that that would be good for him. He hasn't eaten since I brought him home which was two days ago, he does kind of look at the crickets but he doesn't do anything other then that, but I'm not too worried because he is probably stressed out from being moved around so much these past few days. So I'm gonna give him time to settle in.

I've noticed though that he makes no effort to burrow into his substrate. He moves around the tank a bit but that's it. I will be getting some tubing to put in his tank for him to hide out in as well as some fake plants. Perhaps the substrate isn't moist or soft enough? I layered it along the bottom so that its about an inch and a half to two inches thick. I've also noticed that he hasn't pooped at all in the past two days either. I don't know if its because he hasn't eaten or not, but he doesn't seem sick or anything. He seems to move around quite a bit.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Jan]

'Reptile bark' is a pretty generic description - make sure that it doesn't contain pine or cedar bark...the volatile oils are harmful to salamanders. The goal for tigers is to provide a moist not wet substrate, i.e., the substrate has to be moisture retentive or the enclosure has to be sprayed with water to maintain moisture (not humidity - there must be adequate air ventillation). Bark, if the chunk variety, might also be ingested when lunging for food and cause impaction - I would not use for this reason.

Common substrates used by many keepers on this forum for burrowing species are: top soil without any additives or coco-fiber blocks that are reconstituted with water, or a mix of both. A depth of 4" provides for burrowing. If the depth is only 1-2", you need to provide hides for the animal. You can purchase commercially available hides that look like little huts or make your own.

Don't be too concerned that he hasn't eaten in 2 days, nor that he hasn't pooped (which you may or may not see). Give him a chance to settle in and de-stress. Sounds like he has been moved around quite a bit. If you haven't already, please read this care sheet from our Caudata Culture section:

http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Ambystoma/A_tigrinum.shtml

 

[Jackulwulf]

Alright, thanks very much for your help and I have read the care sheet and quite a few others thank you ^.^ . I did however wake up this morning and found him buried nicely into his bark. I also checked the bag to see what kind of bark it is and it says its 100% fir bark. It also says its moisture retentive and I sprayed down the tank yesterday and when I woke up this morning it was still moist.
I am kind of worried about him ingesting the bark however, but I don't want to mess with him anymore now that he seems to be settling in a bit. I going to switch it out for top soil instead. Do you think it would be best to wait till I change out his tank to clean it to avoid stressing him out more, or should I change it right away? He has been moved around so much in the past couple days. Is there perhaps a way I can feed him that will limit the chance of him ingesting it? Like by hand or something once he starts eating.

Thanks.

 

[Jan]

If you want to switch to top soil I might wait awhile because as you stated, he has been moved around quite a bit.

Regarding feeding, tigers will easily adapt to being hand fed. If he doesn't accept food from your hand, try using forceps or a long wooden skewer to condition him. If you haven't seen these two articles on food items for caudates, you may find them beneficial:

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/foods.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/foods2.shtml

 

[Jackulwulf]

I've tried feeding him the worms and crickets with a pair of tweezers and the worms by hand but he doesn't take them. Though he hasn't been using his hide either. I put a piece of piping in the tank for him to crawl into and hide but he doesn't use it. He just sits on top of the bark and moves around the tank a bit. And at times, mostly in the evening, he climbs at the sides of his cage quite a bit.

 

[jbherpin]

My suggestion is give him time to get a meal, then switch to topsoil mixed with moss or coco-fiber. Tigers are very hardy and it may take him a week or more to come around to food. I advise that you feed at night, and try to use a small dish to contain the worms as the bark will hide them too much. Try halved nightcrawlers and Waxworms. If the waxies don't stimulate feeding within a week, i don't know.... All large sals love waxies to my knowledge. Limit the number offered if he takes them as they are fatty, and not to be used as a staple food.

Good luck, and keep us posted...

-jbherpin-

 

[jbherpin]

I'm sorry, but i would look to remove the bark chips asap. It is a rough substrate, and serves little good for salamanders or newts. The only way it may be ok is to mix like 1 part bark bits, and 3 parts topsoil. Again, best of luck!

-jbherpin-

 

[Jackulwulf]

Thanks for the info, I bought some soil today that I'm going to layer over the top of the bark for now until I change out his entire tank. I don't know if I'll be able to get ahold of anything other then crickets or earthworms for food as I live in a smaller town with a very limited pet store. So I'll keep trying with the crickets and earthworms and see what happens in the next week.

Edit: The soil I bought is Organic Soil with no additives so I believe it will be good for him.

 

[Jackulwulf]

I come baring good news I believe my little Tiger has eaten. I put four crickets in his tank last night and then went to bed. I checked on him this morning and it looked like there were only two crickets in there but I didn't look all that thoroughly. However when I came after work a few minutes ago, I searched his tank and I didn't find any crickets (they can't burrow into soil can they?). So he must have finally de-stressed and eaten them. I'm glad, its a real load off of my mind to know that he's eating. And once he's eating steadily, I'm going to try and feed him by hand ^.^

So now, what is the average amount an 8-inch long Tiger can eat? I put another three crickets in to see if he still needs more to eat so I'll check in the morning if they are still in there. The temperature of his tank is in between 20 and 22 degrees celsius, I think more towards the 20 degrees mark since our thermometer isn't really great.