New to the hobby, just a few questions about fire salamander.

[peteyplants]

Hello, I recently bought a Fire slamander from my local pet shop. I have fond memories of searching for salamanders when I was a child, so I thought it might be fun to try and keep one. He is about 4" total length and nice and plump, as far as I can tell. I don't know much about the care. The temperature is right around 60 degrees F. right now, with slight fluctuations. I am using a product called eco-earth as a substrate. There is a shallow water dish on one side of the enclosure that I dug a hole underneath for hiding. There is also a cersmic plant pot on the other side of the enclosure that is buried in the substrate to create another hide. I taped up the sides of the enclosure to make it more dark inside to reduce stress. So far, he has not used either hide. He has also refused any food that I have offered. (meal worms & wax worms) I am owing this to stress. The pet shop where I bought him had just picked him up at a reptile expo the day before, so the little guy had done a lot of traveling. I was not able to obtain any information on where he was bred, what it had been feeding on, or whether it is male or female. Any comments on anything I may be doing wrong, or if anyone has any tricks to get the appetite going again would be greatly appreciated! I am a snake keeper but I couldn't resist this little guy's face and I want to be sure that I am doing everything properly to make him happy. Thanks for reading!

 

[Devalight]

I would try feeding him earthworms and crickets. I actually am getting a fire salamander tomorrow, so we can compare our experiences. The temperature sounds good.

Hopefully your salamander will start eating for you in a few days.

 

[peteyplants]

Thanks for the advice, Devalight! I tried an earthworm yesterday, but to no avail. I decided to move him into a warmer spot in the house. Where he is now is around 64-65 degrees F. There will also be less people traffic where he is now, but little to no light. I'll try feeding him some crickets later on and let you know how it goes! Thanks again for the reply, and good luck with yours!

 

[Devalight]

I have tried crickets with mine. Seemed to be some gone, but now doesn't seem to be eating after two weeks. Still hiding out of site and mostly half buried.

I am not surprised though, it takes a long time for a salamander to become acclimated and feel at home.

 

[Thorn]

I have heard that their appetite is less when they are kept under 70 degrees, I would definitely keep him warmer, and just cool it down at night. Hope he started eating!

 

[Devalight]

Please to report that my little guy is coming out and exploring the tank a bit, after I put some crickets in. I saw him go into to water dish and then out of it. Then he was walking around the tank for a bit after having been pretty much in one place for about a week.

I hope he is acclimating himself and getting comfortable. That seems to be the case, anyway.

Cute little fellow:

 

[Thorn]

Super cute