New Ambystoma opacum

[evut]

I fished her out today and she seemed more pear-shaped so I think it was just food. They have quite large earthworms in the vivarium so she may have caught one of them.
I will will keep an eye on her and take her out to see what she's like in a couple of days again. Hopefully she's ok.

 

[Azhael]

The "bump" in the forepart of the body is typical of heavy meals. If it disappears it´s just that the cause is being diggested. If that´s what´s happening, it´s great news. Keep us posted

 

[evut]

As I said in a separate thread, this salamander was bloated and died. It was a very upsetting experience for me. It has been a while but I am only now starting to have a good feeling about the remaining two.

Following the death, I cleaned the vivarium decor, replaced the substrate and moved the tank into a different room. The two salamanders didn't appreciate this. This week, finally, they seem settled in again as both have found nice comfy permanent hiding places. The male took a couple of crickets from tweezers and the female ate a waxworm yesterday. It is a huge relief because they didn't show any interest in food at all since the move. They may have eaten worms but wouldn't take anything from me or while I was watching, which was very frustrating because I'd already established a good hand feeding raport with them. I am hoping they will do well now.

 

[froggy]

I missed that thread, sorry to hear that the sal died. It's so strange as you had had them for quite a while. Glad the other two have settled back down now.

My three are still doing OK. I had to change the soil as it had become a little too wet, and now have a layer of hydroleca underneath the substrate, separated by some weed fabric. I also relandscaped at the same time to incorporate a 'low bowl' so that they get used to it there over the Spring/Summer in case they feel like breeding in the Autumn. All three of them stay underneath one hiding place, despite there being lots of others, which are all practically identical and in a variety of spots. I don't see them feed, but I prepare a pile of chopped earthworm, lift up the hiding place (the bottom of a flowerpot overturned wioth moss covering the drainage holes) and dump the food amongst them. It all disappears and they are all looking an OK weight, so we'll see.

Does anyone know when females of this species start to look gravid?

Again, sorry for your loss, Eva, and I hope the others continue to do well.

C

 

[Bellabelloo]

I am really pleased to read that your have got them to hand feed again.
I have just looked in on mine and they are looking much fuller in size. I had been worried that they where rather slim. I think they have also gained a little in length too.
Two of the females have made shallow burrows, I catch a reasonable glimpse of them before they slink in to hide. Mine are generally found in the area that I made as the shallow bowl like section, they have all ways preferred this spot. It is covered by a piece of cork bark.
I feed them twice a week small earthworms, approx 2 to 3 cm long , they where less inclined to feed on cut worm. I also chuck in wood lice and slugs when ever I find them in the garden, I rarely find these the next day.
I am wondering if I should keep my males separate from the females now, I think I read that somewhere that the females mate with un-familiar males..I'll see if I can find the information later.

 

[evut]

I am definitely not going to worry about them reproducing now, I think my female looks very young. I hope you both succeed :happy:

Chris, I would be interested to see your new set-up, do you think you could take some photos?

I have removed the drainage layer I had in the vivarium originally - it didn't seem to work. It was broken flower pots covered with landscaping fabric. Now it's just the substrate and I'm keeping it drier.

 

[froggy]

No problem, will post the pics in the next few days. The hydroleca took a while to start working as the weed fabric had to slowly become saturated before any water would be absorbed by the hydroleca itself. It's mainly there in case of a flood! The sals all stay towards the higher end of the tank. They show no inclination to burrow, other than if they are majorly disturbed. If this happens they will generally bury themselves anywhere, without a tunnel until I dig them up.

C

 

[froggy]

Here are some pics of my opacum setup. The water dish needs refilling...I'm paranoid that it's leaking (it ought not to, it's an exo-terra purpose-made water bowl!).

The round hide at the back left of the tank is where all three are always to be found. I don't know if they come out at night, but I have never seen them doing it, Perhaps now the temperatures are a bit milder they will wander for a bit. I didn't take any pictures of the sals themselves as they try to scatter quickly if I move the hide.

C

 

[froggy]

The first pic does work if you click on the thumbnail.

 

[evut]

That looks very good. My biggest tortoise has the same dish (slightly different shape but also from Exoterra) and it definitely doesn't leak. I even boiled it for hours before using it as it was second hand.
Did you give them a dish for breeding purposes? I think I'll give them one as well, just to make sure there is a wet place if they feel too dry.

I am going to change my vivarium again... hopefully without disturbing the animals too much. I have to remove the nice decorative root, because when I want to see the salamanders and one of them happens to be hiding under it, I have to move them because the root is heavy and I don't want to risk squashing them with it.

 

[froggy]

Hi Eva

Thanks! It must be evaporating, then. I have put the dish in now just in case they try to breed in the Autumn. I don't have much hope for it happening this year, but thought it was better to put the dish in early while the animals were less active and while I was chnaging the substrate anyway, so I don't disturb them later. If they ever come out of hiding, this way they can pick up the lay of the land before breeding, too.

C

 

[froggy]

Here are a couple of photos from today of my three. The bowl seems to have been emptying somehow, in the end, as my drainage layer was completely full of water and the bottom of the substrate was sitting in water in places, so I changed the substrate today and took some pics while they were out. I felt quite bad as one of them had dug a long, permanent tunnel for itself. I will try to recreate in in the new setup (the hydroleca is drying in the oven at the moment).

I am replacing the expensive exo-terra bowl with a large plant saucer, now, and will add some bark hides and leaves to the dish as nesting sites, just in case.

C

 

[Bellabelloo]

They look really well fed Chris. I looked at mine last night while adding more food. One of the females seems to have made a tunnel in one corner...luckily this is at the front of the box and I can just see her lurking inside. I have three that regularly hang out under a piece of cork together. One of the other females tends to live under a piece of moss, but seems to spend half her time under the cork , socialising with the others. As a group they seem to be getting slightly larger in size, certainly their girth has increased. I am finding with time they are quite interesting little animals.

 

[froggy]

Yes, they are lovely. The shop where these came from have now got three more in, at high temperature in waterlogged condtions....if they weren't so expensive .....

Glad yours are doing well. Lets hope for some breeding!

C

 

[evut]

Chris, your sals are really plump. What are you feeding them?
Very strange about your dish. I never had a problem with it. Can I also ask what substrate you have?

Mine have gone off crickets now (at least wouldn't accept them from tweezers) which not so bad, I hate having them in the house. I also heard that crickets can be a source of disease (???). And they are not so nutritious anyway. I was still worried about my two after the third died so I added some waxworms to their diet and the smaller (girl) loves them so much she doesn't mind if I lift the rock she lives underneath and look, she just goes for them. The boy doesn't seem to like them at all, he might eat one once in a while but I keep finding his the next day which wouldn't happen with the girl. I will fish the salamanders out and check what shape they are today or tomorrow. They have earthworms in the tank and I hope they catch some once in a while.

 

[froggy]

I feed them chopped lobworms. About 2-3 times a week I chop up a lobworm and put a chunk or two in front of each sal by lifting the hide. The one that made a tunnel didn't get a feed from me for a couple for weeks until I found his entrance, and then I dropped the chunks in. They also get waxworms very occasionally and there are woodlice, worms and whiteworms in the tank, although they don't seem to eat the woodlice. I used to have crickets in the tank, but their number didn't seem to go down and they started eating the plants.

Weirdly with the dish, I left it out on the worktop full with water and it is still full....I have no luck with water dishes - they always flood my terrestrial tanks!

The substrate is a mixture of coco-fibre, garden soil, leaf litter, orchid bark (small and large grade) and compost. The proportions are not exact and vary with what is available. Having changed it, it is a lot dryer than in that picture, as it was partially water logged just before.


C

 

[Bellabelloo]

I don't have a water dish in with mine. I am now wondering if I should. This may be one of my daft questions, but what is the purpose of them having one?
Julia

 

[froggy]

In case they want to breed in the Autumn. I want them to learn where water is now (when the pools would be full in the wild) so that in the Autumn they might nest there. I need to add some hides in it, thoughMost of it will end up under shelters, I think, but that should be OK....I am just following the way they were bred by ?Justin? in the other thread.

C

 

[Bellabelloo]

Thanks Chris, good point and I should have realised that.

 

[Aneides]

Marbleds are true beauties .

Keep up the good work,
Aneides