Is it okay if my salamander swallows some moss?

[Mrpk86]

I've been tweezer-feeding my salamander ever since he morphed. I've tried weening him off it but he doesn't seem to see the bugs right in front of his face. I think there's something wrong with his sight . Anyway, I used to feed him cut hunks of earthworms but when I moved into an apartment, a worm farm wasn't ideal and now I buy meal worms. He doesn't like the actual meal worms but he will eat the beetles. The problem is the beetles have a hard shell which makes them hard to grab on to so I don't squish them too much (because he doesn't seem to like them once they're dead) or so they won't get away. I have to wait until he snaps at it and if he gets it, let go or else he'll tug and let go. Sometimes this results in me dropping the beetles in his moss which he then goes after and meanwhile it's trying to burrow away and he gets a mouthful of moss. He doesn't spit it out and I can try to take it away but he swallows some. I can image in the wild they must be gets bits of lots of stuff stuck to their food which they then swallow but I'm worried it'll hurt him. I got it from a pet store from a lady who said her brother uses it for his salamander. It just says "forest moss" on the packet. I have a plan to try to get him to at least move away from the moss when I feed him (his enclosure is half moss, half dirt).

 

[Neil C]

I'm sure as you said Salamanders must swallow all sorts of stuff when they are trying to eat prey but I would still try and keep it to a minimum. Could you have an area clear of moss where you try and feed it?

Also I'm not sure that mealworm beetles would be the best food long term so you should try and vary it's diet. Could you get some earthworms from the bait shop and just keep them in their tub until they are used up. I'm sure a cricket or two would be most appreciated as well to vary it's diet.

Regards Neil

 

[Azhael]

Try to avoid it as much as possible. A layer of leaf-litter should help. There is some risk of impaction and other intestinal issues when vegetable matter is ingested.
The mealworms are definitly not suitable, much less as a staple or the only food. You need earthworms or at the very least dusted crickets/cockroaches.

 

[Mrpk86]

I've only been feeding him meal worm beetles for about 2 or 3 months. It was the only thing he'd eat. He wouldn't touch the earthworms after I moved into the apartment, that's why I got rid of them. Would he eat grasshoppers? I was trying for months in the spring and early summer to get earthworms but could only find one place that sells them and whenever I go there they're always out of them. It's very frustrating.
I do have a system I am going to try to put into place to get him to stop eating moss. He doesn't eat moss all that often I'm just worried that this last one was a bigger bite. I have a water dish in his enclosure that has nothing, no dirt or moss under it. I am going to try to feed him by luring him to there and just letting the beetle run around in front him.
Anyway, thank you for the information. The people at the pet store said that meal worms were suitable food, as I'm new to caring for a salamander I figured they knew what they were talking about. Maybe if I can buy some worms he'll eat them now that he's had beetles for a while. Would it be okay if I went back and forth like that every few months? Buy the meal worms and feed him earth worms while the meal worms morph into beetles and then feed him beetles until they are gone and then go buy some more earthworms after? I don't really have the room to set up a feeding system for crickets, if they ever got loose my boyfriend would kill me.