My Little Opacums :)

[Tatl]

First and foremost, hello fellow Ambystomatid & Caudata keepers!
New here (first post!) Just thought I'd start off by sharing some pics of my little opacums



I've had the one little girl on the left for about a month now and the one on the right is new as of this week.
Not 100% sure of the sexes, both are still pretty small. (about 3")

The enclosure setup is pretty basic. Will most likely upgrade in size now that I've taken on the two. Exo-terra plantation substrate (coco-fiber). Maple leaves, and a coconut shell which they usually are always under. Removed it for this pic and as usual there they were! Humidity is a little high, around 60-70%.

Curious to what everyone uses for their substrate mix? I feel coco fiber is a little plain and would love to get some dry maple leaves soon to perhaps mix within, a more compost feel perhaps? Something a little more suitable for burrowing anyways. Fiber is sticky.

I have them feeding on waxworms & small roaches. Both are excellent hand feeders. And have not yet refused a meal. I've been feeding about every other day one meal item. (Let me know your feedback if this is too much)

Really loving these little guys & look forward to participating in the community!

 

[Bellabelloo]

I am reasonably new to keeping Opacum. I keep mine on a mixed substrate of coco fiber, garden soil and orchid bark. There is a layer of leaves, some cork bark, a rock and some moss. Mine generally lurk under the cork bark, though every now and then one or two move to under the rock or moss. My substrate is not too damp, looking at your picture yours may be a little too damp. I also have a drier area which is where the rock is. I did have a dish of water, but I feel this may be unnecessary.
My opacum may be a similar size to yours. I feed / offer small earthworms, mine didn't seem to like them cut up . They also get woodlice and small slugs chucked in when I find them in the garden. As there tends to be quite a lot of food wandering around their box, I usually only feed once a week. I find mine are rather nervous, so I tend only look for them every couple of weeks to check that they are not getting too fat or thin. Having said that, they don't tend to sprint for cover so much now, so maybe they are getting used to me at last.

 

[Jan]

Curious to what everyone uses for their substrate mix? I feel coco fiber is a little plain and would love to get some dry maple leaves soon to perhaps mix within, a more compost feel perhaps? Something a little more suitable for burrowing anyways. Fiber is sticky.

I have them feeding on waxworms & small roaches. Both are excellent hand feeders. And have not yet refused a meal. I've been feeding about every other day one meal item. (Let me know your feedback if this is too much)

Many Ambystoma keepers here use either coco fiber or topsoil (without any additives) alone or a combination of both as their substrate. In my observation, marbled sals are not the aggresive burrowers that some other Ambystoma species are. Although coco fiber can adhere to the skin, it does not appear to harm the animal and is easily passed through the gut if consumed while lunging for food...in that you are hand feeding, this is not of great concern. With any substrate, assure that it remains moist...but not wet.

In terms of space, your enclosure looks fine for two adult A. opacums.

Regarding feeding, have you tried small earthworms or pieces of nightcrawlers? These worms are the 'perfect' food item. Waxworms are high in fat in usually reserved as a treat instead of a staple in the diet - be careful of obesity as marbleds tend to get fat. With regards to frequency of feeding, a general rule of thumb is to feed 2-3 times per week as much as the animal will eat in 10minutes or so.

 

[Jan]

Beat me to it Julia

 

[tonymontanaflows]

i kept a group of 4 wild caught for about 3years before they all mysteriously got ill.
i believe i have a 66qt tub. substrate is composed of a maybe 1in layer of sand, 1cm layer of charcoal, and 1in layer of packed topsoil. the topsoil acts as a floor which a loose layer of cocofiber, crumbled leaf mulch, cypress mulch provides borrowing and ease of replacement.
add some capped PVC pipes for hides, a fake log tunnel and the rocks on each side are more for for the isopods to hide, breed, and grow. the mix of substrate also meant the ispods were everywhere eating some of it so the opacums had a god chance to get a meal whether roaming, in a hide, or burrowed.

i too kept my tank somewhat drier than most and no waterbowl. my group was shy but i could tweezer feed full redworms, waxworms, slugs, soldier fly larvae(and wing clipped soldier flys if they morphed), and crickets( way too fast for these guy to catch).

same setup for my CB tylo which sadly died after 2 years

 

[Tatl]

Hihi It took me a bit to realize my thread had been moved?

Anyways, nice setups! & thanks for the shared input. I've dropped the humidity in the bin and allowed the substrate to dry out a bit more. I misted just before so I could get a nice photo of the pair.

Jan, I will try earthworms. You suggest 2-3 times a week which sounds reasonable or close to what I am currently doing. The most the can consume in 10 minutes though? Seems a bit too much as my little guys are NOT shy. They would probably eat too much in that time! I keep it at one food item per sal, every few days. And like I said, they have never refused a hand held food item. I have a few little random food items running about within the bin. At least if they haven't yet been eaten up...

Thanks I am gonna try my luck at a mixed substrate!

 

[Tatl]

Update! - The Opacums still doing very well Both are a little bigger and still eating like champs. Just wanted to post an updated picture of one of my little ones. Hope all is well.