Question: How to feed a tiger salamander?

[Shadowtail117]

Hi all,

I got a tiger salamander for my enclosure yesterday (8/15) morning. He seems to like his habitat, as he had no problem burrowing down almost to the bottom of the substrate, but I have yet to feed him successfully. There was an ordeal with shipping him to me (UPS delayed the package by 3 days when it was meant to be overnight -- I was honestly worried he might not survive), so I think that, plus needing to get used to his new habitat has made him uninterested in food for the time being. However, since he has theoretically not eaten for at least 4 days since arriving, I am beginning to grow worried. I have tried three times to feed him, once at about noon, once in the evening, and once in the early morning, and the last two times, I have had to dig him out of the substrate to try to feed him with no dice.
That said, I will never forgive myself if he ends up dying because I didn't try hard enough to make him eat. Currently, I have only tried medium-size mealworms and dangled them in front of his face to no effect (he only lunged twice, one time making me drop the mealworm by accident and the other time eating a mouthful of dirt). I am apprehensive about leaving them in a dish or with him overnight since I don't want the mealworms to crawl into the dirt and metamorphize if that's even a concern I should have. But if the problem is that he just doesn't like mealworms, I might try crickets or earthworms instead.
I am hoping that if he gets hungry enough, his instincts will kick in, and he will surface in search of food, at which point I can more easily feed him. Hopefully, once he gets more settled in and I establish a regular feeding schedule, he will spend more time on the surface and eat more readily. That said, is there any advice on how I can help feed him so he doesn't starve? Thanks.

EDIT: Here is a picture of him soaking in his water dish shortly after arriving. I don't have the experience to tell if his weight/thickness is "healthy", but maybe it would help you?

 

[Herpin Man]

Mealworms are not a great choice for tigers. I would suggest that first, stop digging it up or trying to handle it. That will only make it more reluctant to eat. I would mist the enclosure right at lights out, and drop a few crickets in, and let it hunt overnight. In the morning you will be able to tell if it’s eaten by how many crickets are left. Earthworms (not red wrigglers) are also an excellent prey choice.
Tiger salamanders that are kept and fed properly are nearly always going to eat well.

 

[Shadowtail117]

I would mist the enclosure right at lights out, and drop a few crickets in, and let it hunt overnight.

I read that if crickets are left for too long they'll start biting the salamander and hurt it, so I am reluctant to leave them alone with him for more than a few hours. That said, I bought some earlier today (as well as some waxworms in case he likes those too) so I'll try dropping a few in and see if he takes notice.

 

[Herpin Man]

I also have read that crickets will bite herps if left in with them too long. However, having fed off hundreds of thousands of crickets in my lifetime, I’ve never actually had a reptile or amphibian injured by a cricket. I think that the risk has been overstated. I suppose it’s conceivable, but seems very unlikely.
Start with just a few cricket, until you get a good idea that it’s eating. Once you have a good idea as to how many it will eat at a time, you can adjust as necessary.

 

[Shadowtail117]

As an update, he no longer even seems interested in crickets. He ate one (of four I put in his habitat) two days ago, and I am trying to feed him this morning. He ignores them if I hold them in front of his face with tweezers (even if they are wiggling like crazy) and seems completely uninterested if they are just walking by. In fact, I've seen the crickets walk onto his face a couple of times, and he seems more annoyed than anything and just walks away. Unless there is a secret black market of food under the substrate, this means he has eaten only one cricket in four days and is not interested in eating more, which I do not think is healthy by any standards.

On top of this, I have noticed that the top of his skin appears dry (no longer shiny), and even if I directly mist him with water, the skin dries back up after a few minutes. He's spent the last 11 hours on the surface, presumably in search of food, despite not even attempting to eat it whether the lights in the room are on or off (I thought he might prefer hunting in darkness).

I am running out of options before I become really worried, and I'm considering attempting to force-feed him by forcing his mouth open and shoving a cricket or worm inside. I'm trying to get a hold of an exotic vet for a checkup in case he is ill, but otherwise, I don't know what to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

In case it is relevant at all, the thermometer/hygrometer reports 70.6 degrees Fahreneheit and an RH of about 76%.

 

[amphibianfiend]

As an update, he no longer even seems interested in crickets. He ate one (of four I put in his habitat) two days ago, and I am trying to feed him this morning. He ignores them if I hold them in front of his face with tweezers (even if they are wiggling like crazy) and seems completely uninterested if they are just walking by. In fact, I've seen the crickets walk onto his face a couple of times, and he seems more annoyed than anything and just walks away. Unless there is a secret black market of food under the substrate, this means he has eaten only one cricket in four days and is not interested in eating more, which I do not think is healthy by any standards.

On top of this, I have noticed that the top of his skin appears dry (no longer shiny), and even if I directly mist him with water, the skin dries back up after a few minutes. He's spent the last 11 hours on the surface, presumably in search of food, despite not even attempting to eat it whether the lights in the room are on or off (I thought he might prefer hunting in darkness).

I am running out of options before I become really worried, and I'm considering attempting to force-feed him by forcing his mouth open and shoving a cricket or worm inside. I'm trying to get a hold of an exotic vet for a checkup in case he is ill, but otherwise, I don't know what to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

In case it is relevant at all, the thermometer/hygrometer reports 70.6 degrees Fahreneheit and an RH of about 76%.

In the picture it didn’t look particularly skinny. They can go a long time without eating, especially after a traumatic event, like being shipped. It shouldn’t be drying up, but tigers might not look shiny all the time if they are covered in substrate. Is your soil moist and what kind of water are you using? It is important to use water that has been filtered and dechlorinated. To reduce potential stress for a tiger I would use an especially moist tank with nothing in it expect a water dish and a deep layer of substrate (about 6 inches). Note, it should not be so wet that water pools at the bottom. I would make sure to keep it in almost no light and leave a cup of wax worms (should not be a permanent food source). They are slow moving and fatty, so they taste good and are easy to catch. It sounds like the salamander doesn’t associate people with food yet. So, I would recommend not bothering it, that will just stress it out more.