My dingo cage.. need suggestions..

[fritozdingo]

I've had my tiger sally, Dingo, for over a year now. When I got him, the lady told me he was aquatic. On this site, I have found that since he has morphed he should be terrestrial... is this true? He seems perfectly content. He is in 4-6 in. of water. If he needs to be switched, what do I need for him? I have no clue where to start...
Also, what should he be eating? I feed him salamander bites and he likes them..

 

[Bellabelloo]

He should indeed have a terrestrial set up. Have a read of this :-
Caudata Culture Species Entry - Tiger salamander

 

[Jan]

Tigers are fossorial or burrowing salamanders. Post metamorphosis they are terrestrial animals. He may appear content but actual just trying to survive in an aquatic environment. In nature tigers will only be found in shallow pools of water during breeding season - they spend the rest of their lives underground.

As a sole tiger, he needs to be placed in a habitat that has the equivalent surface area of a 10 gallon aquarium. Utilize a proper substrate and keep the environment moist but NOT wet. For substrates see this: Caudata Culture Articles - Vivarium Substrates. Also search this forum - there are many, many discussions on proper substrates for use with tiger sals.

Regarding feeding - feed live food not pellets. A staple diet of earthworms is best, crickets dusted with calcium/vitamins are also reasonably acceptable...and other foods should be offered periodically. See this for information on food for caudates: Caudata Culture Articles - Food Items for Captive Caudates

 

[fritozdingo]

thank you very much for the suggestions.. i have posted new pictures of his new home.. as for the worms, i'm not sure hes digging it.. im going to try again tomorrow, he may just be freaked out a little by the change..

 

[allegoriest]

He needs something like regular non fertilized organic soil or coconut fibre. So he can dig and play and frolic and such. Mine was mad at me when I changed him to a land setup, but now he's nice and happy. He has little logs of driftwood to hide under and a bowl of water for when he misses that aquatic feeling.


I've never had the problem, but maybe the worms you have taste gross to him. (I've always heard red wigglers taste bad to most.) I also have to wiggle them in front of mine so he'll eat them. If I throw them in, he doesn't notice. Just change his water and mist the palce a few times a day, and all should be well.

When I changed mine, I used a shallow plastic dish about half the size of his home, and got smaller until it was where I liked it. He'd have his head out of the water most the time, and had room to run around in the water, and eventually he was choosing land over the water on his own. I don't know if that actually helped, but that's what I did.