New tiger salamader substrate / feeding care

[amphibianstudy]

Hi,
Yesterday I got two tiger salamander from pet store. They were present in a fish tank with gravel sloped to one side. The tapered end had water with filtration.
After reading the discussions on this forum, when I went home, I used garden soil and a plastic container for water for them to soak themselves in when needed. Is that ok? Do I need anything else? Am planning to get coco fiber today also but wanted to make sure that this subtrate will be better in the long run, than the gravel one used in the store.

Also they asked me to feed salamander bites. Should I change it to worms or crickets?

Thanks.

 

[Jackulwulf]

Coco fiber is a good choice, definitely better then gravel. Gravel is a big no no, if its small enough it can be ingested and cause blockages which could kill them. What type of garden soil did you get? You have to be careful to make sure it has no fertilizers in it or vermiculite. If you gathered soil from outside then just make sure that its chemical and pesticide free. I personally am a little wary to use soil from outside because even though we don't use pesticides..the neighbors could and it can drift in with the wind, so I use strictly coco fiber substrate in my tank, but that's just me.

As for food, salamander bites are not a good choice and most adult tigers won't even accept them. They hunt by movement so live food is the best choice for them. Earthworms or nightcrawlers are the ideal staple food for them and you can feed them crickets as a treat.

Just make sure that the water container isn't too deep that they can't get out of it, they can drown if they can't get themselves out of the water. And make sure that your soil is moist but not soaking wet and they like to burrow under it so a good four or five inches of it is ideal, especially if you don't have any hides for them to go into.

 

[amphibianstudy]

Hi,
The gardensoil is Scott gardensoil.
Also guy at pet sop said those salamanders are 8month babies. Not sure if he is correct since they are around 6 inches long. Is live food still good then? Thanks.
Will get some cocofiber today.

 

[FRANCOIS]

Hi,
Yesterday I got two tiger salamander from pet store. They were present in a fish tank with gravel sloped to one side. The tapered end had water with filtration.
After reading the discussions on this forum, when I went home, I used garden soil and a plastic container for water for them to soak themselves in when needed. Is that ok? Do I need anything else? Am planning to get coco fiber today also but wanted to make sure that this subtrate will be better in the long run, than the gravel one used in the store.

Also they asked me to feed salamander bites. Should I change it to worms or crickets?

Thanks.

I would move the salamanders in a temporary tank with a few hides and coconut substrate. Meanwhile get their permanent set-up ready, as it seems you got the animals before the set-up was ready which is NOT the best way to proceed but we learn as we go.... This will prevent unnessary stress to the animals.
I have used in the past regular soil sold in stores (no pesticide / no fertilizer in it) and mixed it 50/50 with coconut fiber, works just fine. Garden dirt is more risky in my experience / opinion.
Best of luck!
Francois

 

[Jackulwulf]

Yes, they are likely pretty young since they are 6 inches long. When they are adults they can get to be about a foot long, sometimes 13 inches. And yes live food is always best for tigers and basically any salamander. Since they are small still, smaller earthworms are best and feed them as much as they can eat in about 15 minutes, that's what I've heard is the rule of thumb. And they only need to be fed about 2 to 3 times a week. Make sure that their temperatures stay fairly low as well, they do well at cooler temperatures. Read this page Caudata Culture Species Entry - Tiger salamander it has some good info on taking care of your salamander. In the future you should always make sure you research on the animal you are getting before you get it to make sure your ready to take care of it and have everything set up. As Francois stated, it will reduce the stress on the animal and lessen the chance that it will die on you. Pet store salamanders are usually poorly taken care of because the staff don't know how to take care of the animals or don't care and it can result in stressed or sickly animals. So its best that they can come home to a place already set up where they can de-stress. Please don't think I'm trying to nag at you though, we all start out somewhere and learn by making mistakes ^.^
As for the garden soil, just check the bag and make sure it doesn't say it has any manure and fertilizers in it and it should be fine. Don't be fooled by anything that says organic on it as those can still have fertilizers and such in it.
Also don't be alarmed if your salamanders won't eat at first, since they are likely stressed they may not eat right away. When I first got mine, he wouldn't eat for at least a week.
Once you have everything set up, it would be really great if you could post some pics of them ^.^ its always great to see pics of some great looking tigers.