Marbled salamander help

[lori]

Have 3 wild caught marbled salamanders. 2 have morphed, one about 2-3 weeks ago. He still won't eat much, hasn't eaten in about a week and then only ate 2 maggots. Am offering chopped earthworms daily, but he hasn't eaten them. I know they don't eat for awhile after morphing, but how long will it be. The only thing I have gotten him to eat is maggots, and those I have to let crawl on him so that he gets upset and then grabs them. Are there any good resources on raising and maintaining these guys?

 

[jennifer]

I also had some trouble getting my marbled sals to eat after they morphed. They were (and still are) shy. What I found works is to remove the cover from the tub, place several chunks of wiggling worm pieces in front of each one, and put the cover back on them. When I check back later, all the worm bits are gone. I never SEE them eat, but they're growing and the food's disappearing! I also give them a few small crickets every couple of weeks. Those magically disappear too. (But be careful not to over-feed with crickets, as uneaten crickets can attack the sals.) Maggots are good too, I feed them the same way as with the worm bits.

 

[lori]

My marbled sals are very small, probably not even 2 inches with the tail. Are they exceptionally small, or is this normal. They haven't grown any from the size they were before they morphed. It seems that chopping worms small enough for them to ingest makes the worms stop wiggling pretty quick. Am I chopping them to small? I have tried feeding them with tweezers, but he just turns away. The worms that I have left in there don't get eaten.

 

[jennifer]

Mine also refused to feed from a tweezers. And mine were small, probably around 2 inches. I would say you should continue feeding them with the maggots, but close the lid and/or turn off the light so they don't feel they are watched. Also try some very small crickets that they can hunt down in privacy.

 

[russ]

I've raised them before strictly on crickets after morphing. You just have to make sure you use the proper size, starting with 1/8in.

RUSS

 

[s.t.]

Isn't it funny how they don't like being "watched"? All of my larvae have eaten in front of me before, but as soon as they morph they get shy! I usually don't even try to watch them anymore. But I keep hoping that one day I will be able to sneak up on them!

 

[TJ]

Same goes for my P.hongkongensis, which almost never eat in front of me but are growing nevertheless on pinheads and flightless flies. As for chopping up earthworms

...don't think I'll ever become able to do that!

Jen, I was recently told that maggots are a bit extreme for newly morphed larvae -- something about how they don't die easily after being swallowed and can cause trouble down there before expiring. Any truth to this?

 

[russ]

I fed newly morphed A.texanums maggots for about two months without any ill side effects. Back then (~1979) there just wasn't any access to other prey items like pinhead crickets or fruitflies. And my mother was so pleased with my harvesting method. I placed several slices of bologna on the north side of the house and kept them slightly damp. The flies loved it.

RUSS

 

[jennifer]

I have heard such rumors about maggots, but have personally had no trouble with them. Both my marbled and spotted sals were given maggots when they were very young.