Griemar
New member
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2016
- Messages
- 5
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- Location
- Minnesota
- Country
- United States
- Display Name
- Griemar
First off, let me say thank you to the mods and community for allowing me to join. I'm hoping to gain a ton of new knowledge from being here. Now please be patient, this may be slightly long winded.
About 2 months ago I was cleaning my basement when I was literally approached by a small lizard. Everywhere I moved to, it followed, all the way to the point that it walked up onto my boot. Now years ago I used to breed snakes, so naturally I was won over by this little fella. I picked him up and brought it upstairs. Never once did it try to run away, bite or anything. I did some brief research and decided that I had a Yellow spotted according to my States DNR website (Spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum): Minnesota DNR). I proceeded to create a small habitat from a large Tupperware bin and dirt from the field outside. Taking care to keep it dark and well moistened. It ate Canadian bait worms every 3 days and it even got to the point that the little fella started to eat right from my hand. Anyhow, after about 2 weeks, it stopped eating and would only burrow into the dirt and hide. That lasted up until 3 days ago. I bought a 10 gallon aquarium for a mud puppy I've recently saved from becoming bait. I placed about 10lbs of reptile sand on one end of the aquarium and filled it with about 3 inches of water, a filter and a log to climb on. My wife suggested I try and put the salamander in with the mud puppy. Well let's just say it's like night and day! I no sooner move the tank and it sees my fingers, and he's dancing on the glass to eat. Not to mention how extremely active it's also become now. So, here's my question. What do I need to do in order to keep my Sally and mud puppy happy? Do they require separate enclosures? I already know enough as for diet and not to use heat lamps ect. But a good setup, along with substrate ideas would be fantastic. I'll also post some pics soon, just in case my research is incorrect as for the species. Thanks in advance.
About 2 months ago I was cleaning my basement when I was literally approached by a small lizard. Everywhere I moved to, it followed, all the way to the point that it walked up onto my boot. Now years ago I used to breed snakes, so naturally I was won over by this little fella. I picked him up and brought it upstairs. Never once did it try to run away, bite or anything. I did some brief research and decided that I had a Yellow spotted according to my States DNR website (Spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum): Minnesota DNR). I proceeded to create a small habitat from a large Tupperware bin and dirt from the field outside. Taking care to keep it dark and well moistened. It ate Canadian bait worms every 3 days and it even got to the point that the little fella started to eat right from my hand. Anyhow, after about 2 weeks, it stopped eating and would only burrow into the dirt and hide. That lasted up until 3 days ago. I bought a 10 gallon aquarium for a mud puppy I've recently saved from becoming bait. I placed about 10lbs of reptile sand on one end of the aquarium and filled it with about 3 inches of water, a filter and a log to climb on. My wife suggested I try and put the salamander in with the mud puppy. Well let's just say it's like night and day! I no sooner move the tank and it sees my fingers, and he's dancing on the glass to eat. Not to mention how extremely active it's also become now. So, here's my question. What do I need to do in order to keep my Sally and mud puppy happy? Do they require separate enclosures? I already know enough as for diet and not to use heat lamps ect. But a good setup, along with substrate ideas would be fantastic. I'll also post some pics soon, just in case my research is incorrect as for the species. Thanks in advance.
