If you owned/raised redback salamanders come here

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keithp

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Keith Petrosky
I have a few questions about them in captivity.

1. What substrate do you keep them on?
2. What do you feed them?
3. Are they territorial/aggressive?
4. Will adults cannibalize small juveniles?
5. How long do they live?
6. How do you tell male from female?
 
hi keith...i keep and breed them...so
1..i keep them on a layer of earth topped with leaf litter and moss on the top of that with regular spraying with de chlorinated water.
2 ...any insect i can find small enough but mainly crickets and live blood worm.
3...the males are territorial.
4...the females guard the eggs until they hatch but i remove them anyway.
5...dont know
6...patience and a big magnifying glass to look for nasal grooves.

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HI Keith,
Are you going to raise some too? I posted (asked) the other day about the cannibalization and the territorialism...
Here's the link:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50864
I decided to let the small ones go again, because how many tanks of newts do I really need?
I'm hoping to have more alpie babies in the spring, so I need to leave some room down there (in the basement).

Ian, your success inspired me to try to keep them.
 
Ian, live blood worms? Are you collecting them yourself? Also, how often do you feed your adults?
 
Jarid...most pet shops over here that sell fish also sell live blood worm, the adults have access to food all the time and i just keep topping the viv up. I do this so i don't disturb them too often and feel this is one of the reasons i had success in breeding them.
 
Wow, you're lucky. They don't sell live blood worms as far as I know anywhere over here. By blood worms we are talking about red midge larvae, correct? Around here you can only get live black worms and on occasion tubifex. I WISH they sold live midge larvae here. Especially back when I was breeding fish years ago.
 
Dawn I was asking for you just so you know about their care ahead of time.

So I hope this thread helps you!

Ian, so they also like small earthworms,springtails,and fruit flies?
 
yes keith anything small enough they'll eat it.
 
I was looking at the picture of the Nasolabial groove (to sex them), is that the "moustache-like" part? And do both sexes have that?
 
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keithp- I've fed them termites with good success. I've also kept them in live moss from the area I found them in but that was only for a short time.

Also, if that picture isn't yours (which I'd guess it isnt judging by the copyright) don't post it. You'll probably get a moderator to tell you that too. Just thought I'd give you a heads up.
 
Ok well I still need information on the grooves to tell male from female.
 
I think only males have the nasolabial grooves (in order to 'smell' female pheromones), but don't quote me.
 
hello im wonder the same thing! but mostly how do u clean there type of cage????
 
I keep redbacks too. I am no expert but I keep them in a naturalistic rubbermaid container. I have live moss, some dirt from the woods(chemical free), springtails, whiteworms, woodlice, land snails, slugs, and whatever else came in with the live soil from the forest. With this setup and how small redbacks are, I almost never change the soil. Once in a while I take out a little and put in some fresh soil, but that is all the upkeep needed if you use live soil and have critters to break down waste and whatnot.
 
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