Question: Larval tiger not eating

[marcharer]

Hello,

I caught two larval tiger salamanders about a month ago. One of them is about six inches long and seems very happy and healthy. He eats earth worms and night crawlers very readily, but the other one still has not eaten. The larger one is over eight inches long and has not eaten any worms since I have had him. He may have eaten a few guppies that I had in the same tank with them for a while, (I have since removed them after realizing that the fish like to nip at the salamanders' gills) but I never actually witnessed him eating any fish. I am not sure if the larger one is morphing or not; his gills seems to be getting smaller, but it is taking a very long time. Just two days ago I noticed the smaller one's gills beginning to shrink, and they are already the same size as the larger one's gills. The smaller one is also much more active than the big one.

Sorry for the long post, but I would appreciate any ideas as to why the big one is not eating anything.

 

[Bellabelloo]

Could you post a picture of them ans their current set up please.

 

[marcharer]

I will post some pictures when I get home from work today.

 

[marcharer]

Ok here are some pictures of my salamanders and the tank they are in. The big one is named Creeper, and the smaller one is named Gilligan.

The bottom two pictures are Gilligan, and the two above that are Creeper.

It was hard to get a picture with a better angle, but Creeper's gills are actually longer on his left than on his right.

 

[marcharer]

Update: I just got Creeper to eat a decapitated meal worm! I was reading some other posts about how someone's tiger salamander did not like earthworms, so I decided to see if Creeper would eat something else. He ate the meal worm straight away, so I plan on feeding him some more. I am not going to feed him too much though, because I have read that if a salamander hasn't eaten much for a while, you should give them a little bit to start with.

 

[Jennewt]

If the problem is truly that he doesn't like earthworms, you could try frozen bloodworms. Or crickets or pieces of whole fish offered from feeding tongs. Personally, I'm not a fan of mealworms, particularly not as a staple food.

 

[Kaysie]

Refeeding syndrome is only a problem with severely malnourished animals. I don't think you'll have much to worry about; your tigers look plump and healthy.

 

[marcharer]

Oh good! Thanks for letting me know.