New tiger setup

[CheeseyDean]

I've finally gotten a 20 gallon long tank for my tiger salamander, and I'd just like to check with you guys to make sure it's alright. I put the paper towels there because I didn't want to just toss him onto a completely new substrate. I'll remove them in a few days after he's gotten used to the coco fiber.

 

[CheeseyDean]

Oh, and the towels are there to block out some of the light in the room.

 

[Azhael]

How deep is the substrate?
I would add several hides and some leave-litter and moss. Otherwise the food will get coated with the coco fiber.

 

[CheeseyDean]

The substrate is about 2 inches deep. I'm planning on getting some moss.

About the hides.. I'm not sure what to get. It would have to be a pretty big hide for him to fit inside of it.

 

[Bellabelloo]

My tigers have a plastic dog bowl, which rather conveniently has a handy hole in the side ( I suspect its so you can lift it up easily of the floor). They tend to lurk under this rather than the hide I bought for them.

 

[jewett]

I would deepen the substrate - I keep my tiger in about 4-5 inches of coco fiber. And I would second Azhael's recommendation on adding leaf litter. I have used sunken PVC pipe as hides, as well as cork bark on the surface (my tiger has dug out the areas under the bark and I think it uses these areas more than the PVC tubes). I would also try and make a moisture gradient: add water to one end of the tank so that end is fairly moist. The water will wick to the other side and your animal can choose what level of moisture it wants. Use aged water to do this, and repeat when the wettest side has dried out some.
Heather

 

[CheeseyDean]

Where would I go about getting safe leaf litter? Couldn't there be parasites in it if I get it from a forest? And thanks for the tips everyone.

He definitely loves his new setup. He was soaking in his water bowl last night, and when I got up today he was buried in the substrate with only his head and part of his tail showing.

 

[Jan]

In my opinion, leaf litter is optional and I don't use it. I agree with everything else that Heather said. If your municipality uses chloramine instead of chlorine in the water, aging won't help and the water should be treated chemically to remove the chloramine...or use spring water.

With regard to hides, like humans they seem to differ on preference. Some like to burrow under a heavy water dish like the one you have and others prefer a hide on the surface - like commercially available caves (where substrate is the floor) or like what bellabello said.

I do not have trouble with coco-fiber sticking to prey as I hand feed to understand how much food they actually receive.

 

[CheeseyDean]

Yeah, I use an aquarium dechlorinator on his water. I always have, and it's always worked well. I hand feed him as well.

If he burrowed under that water dish, it would hurt him. It's pretty heavy, which is why I have it flat against the bottom of the tank and not on top of the substrate. I understand though, that if the substrate was deeper that wouldn't be a problem. I'll get a large piece of corkbark and work on deepening the substrate.

 

[Kaysie]

I've got a water dish that size. They make a burrow under it, and so the dish just 'bridges' the tunnel. It doesn't put any weight on them. That's why you should have 4-5" of substrate so they don't try to burrow under things like that and get hurt.

 

[Linus]

It makes the substrate deeper.
/Buffalo Bill

This setup will give him more of a moisture gradient to choose from and may help his recent shedding issues. Good job.

 

[CheeseyDean]

One thing I've been wondering about the deeper substrate.. how would I find him to feed him? The coco fiber's consistency isn't very good for making burrows. It just falls apart.

 

[Kaysie]

Mix coco fiber 50/50 with plain ol' dirt. Holds burrows well, holds moisture fantastically.

As far as feeding, they usually sit with their head poking out of a burrow, or you'll be reasonably sure which burrow it's in. Tigers are pretty good beggers, so they usually come out when it's time to eat. If mine haven't come out for a week or two, I dig 'em up (just run your hands through the soil until you find it).

 

[Linus]

They'll come up when they need food. They know you equal food. I see mine about every 3 days sitting in his water dish begging as soon as I'm in the room. Misting the substrate will often cause him to come up also, and then beg. Longest I've seen him stay down was almost 2 weeks, but that was when I'd just received him and he was settling in.

 

[Linus]

The eco earth jungle bedding is 50/50 coco/soil. He seems to pave a new path every time he goes under the water dish, as long as they can dig they're happy. You don't have to worry about the tunnels collapsing or anything. ;]