Illness/Sickness: My Salamander Wont Eat anything :(

[alec127]

i got a Salamander about 4 days ago, and at first we didnt have anything for him to eat, and i tried feeding him turtle food, he didnt even try eating it, then i tried feeding it flightless living fruit flys, and he didnt even try either. all he does is sit in his tank in the same place and not move, he is alive though!!

but im afraid he wont be for very long ((

at first i had a small tank for him, that i filled about 2 and a half inches full with water, and put a rock into it for him to get out of the water.

now i have him in a larger aquariam, with a small dish filled with water, and some sand in the corner of the aquariam.

hes a spotted mole salamander, its a baby, only about 3 inches long.

 

[IanF]

Hello, I'm afraid I can't find a link for a caresheet anywhere, however I would recommend trying a wider variety of foods, maybe earthworms? Just take a look around the site for information on them. Since its a land salamander(right?) then you need to make sure its habitat is moist. Can you post a picture?

 

[Kaysie]

Spotted salamanders are completely terrestrial. Their care is similar to that of tiger salamanders.

I suggest trying a variety of foods: earthworms, waxworms, crickets, etc. Also, your animal will not eat unless it feels secure. So if you don't have enough proper hides, it probably won't eat.

 

[alec127]

Spotted salamanders are completely terrestrial. Their care is similar to that of tiger salamanders.

I suggest trying a variety of foods: earthworms, waxworms, crickets, etc. Also, your animal will not eat unless it feels secure. So if you don't have enough proper hides, it probably won't eat.

im really reeeeally afraid to feed him earthworms, or crickets, because frankly my sala is only 3 inches small, and those things are rather large for him to eat arent they??? could they eat there way out of his stomach or something completely awful like that??????

my friend said she had a tiger salamander and it ate 30 small salamander, and he was so full that his sides were splitting open... im sorry for the graphic images, but now im paranoid to feed him anything too big, i really care about him, and my friend is mean for scaring me so bad......

should i try feeding him the earthworms or crickets?

 

[spendday]

try chopping up the earthworms a bit they'll still squirm but be more manageable for your salamander. and hatching crickets are tiny

 

[slowfoot]

Another thing you could try are termites - they're very soft and slow moving. Just find a decaying log that has a colony in it (you may need to try a few out), then break off a piece and take it home. You can hold the piece of wood over a bowl to catch the termites while breaking it apart.

The termites will be too small to make a practical food for your salamander, but they might get him interested in eating. Also, you can dig for smaller earthworms, rather than just buying huge 'nightcrawlers'.

Good luck!