Outdoor Salamanders

N

nicki

Guest
My boyfriend and I went out today and were searching for bugs, he came across 2 salamanders. I was wondering if it's a bad thing to keep salamanders you find from in the woods, incase we don't take great care of them, or if we do keep them, what is the best way to take care of them without killing them? We aren't 100% sure of what type of Salamanders they are, but we believe they are Northern 2 striped or something. But they seem to be right now kind of grayish colored with a copper color stripe up the back.
thanks for any information you can give.
 
Sounds like they may be red-back sals. The biggest challenges are (1) being able to provide live food that is small enough for them and (2) keeping them cool enough indoors in summer. See the FAQ and caresheet at:
www.caudata.org/cc
 
Thats the EXACT same one
happy.gif
(Nicki's boyfriend)
 
YOu definitely have redback salamanders. They eat fruit flies and earthworms that are small. You need to mist them daily and feed them every third day.
 
so pin heads would be a bad idea?
 
I would say to get a fruit fly culture. They are inexpensive and easy to continue making your own cultures after you buy the first one, hense you never have to pay for food again.
 
needless to say, I had two when I first posted and now have 6 of them, and either 3 blue spotted or 3 jeffersons salamanders (has little spots like jeffersons, but has dark skin like blue spotted, could it be a hybrid?

also what can you tell me as to their maximum sizes? and any other information, or any links to get info.
 
hybrids are around, and fairly prevalent. I'm not sure about your area, though. Blue spotted salamanders are about 4 inches in length (these are so not 'scientific' measurements, but what I've observed). Jeffersons are significantly bigger, upwards of 6 or 7 inches in length. They're both mole salamanders and will spend their time underground. If these are not the type of animal you'd like, I'd put them back and let them continue their wild life. There are lots of interactive animals available (especially axolotls or Taricha species) that are more visible than mole salamanders.
 
I would recommend you stop taking them from the wild. There are plenty of stores and breeders you can get salamanders from. Would you want to be taken and put in a 10" by 10" room for the rest of your life. Probably not.

(Message edited by nuggular on April 26, 2005)
 
Well, first off, about the fruit flies, what if they got all over the house? That would be disgusting.
Second, It depends on if you are talking about us being the size of the salamander in that size room. Cus honestly, sometimes I really wish I could be locked into a room, to avoid anything bad that would happen to me, HAHA
So for all we know, they may like it, they may not, I feel bad, but at least we're taking very good care of them.
Thanks for your replies
 
If you feel bad, put them back. There's no need to keep 6 of them. They will not breed in captivity (if they're ambystomids) with 'casual' keepers. 2 is plenty.
 
so let me get this straight, a home where theres no preditors, and where they are very well taking care of always being able to eat, and everything is actually worse than being near preditors and such? thats odd.....

actually if there were many breeders and pet stores in my area, I would have went there before I even went through the trouble catching them, but unfortunately there arnt any that I know of.

and that would actually be a 20" by 10" by 13"

hmm... if I were the size of a salamander, and lived in a 10" by 10" thing that wouldn't be that bad since I'd be able to chill out eat some food and not have to worry about being stepped on, or caught by an ignorant little kid who won't take care of me properly so I'll be left there to die, or even eaten by preditors.... and yeah.

if you can tell me how it would be bad, and where some breeders or pet stores around me that has salamanders around it, I'll actually think about letting these go.
 
It's bad because:
1) You're taking them away from the breeding pool.
2) When you took them, you had no idea of the species, so you weren't aware as to if they were an endangered species or not.


With that being said: They are now in your captive care and it's your responsibility to keep them within the boundaries of what they require to survive in captivity. Good Luck!
 
and also don't forget that you are anthropomorphising the animals by saying what you would want if you were in their situation, how can you possibly say what they "think". as it is the size of the tank is not usually the problem, but the stress involved for the animals should be considered.
 
About a month ago I let 5 of my salamanders go back in the wild because i didn't want to keep too many, i just wanted to because they were fun to have and watch. I think having six is too many, unless you are breeding them. I'd let some go and keep 2-3. Because it reduces stress on you and them.
 
your right I messed up and really shouldn't have taken them out of the wild, as of now I will no longer get anymore wild salamanders.

now from here will you help me take care of them the best I can? (I work at petco so I'm near ALOT of animal supplies.)

can someone tell me the ideal set up for six redbacked salamanders? if I can set it up properly and keep them alive and happy (after the stress factor decreases.) I will keep them, if not I will let them go.

also what would I need to keep 2 blue spotted/jeffersons hybrids happy and alive if I cannot keep them happy, I will not keep them.
 
The most important thing to take into consideration with redbacks is temperature. If you can't keep them well below 75 degrees F (65 is probably ideal) over the summer, then it would be best to release them, because they are quite intolerant to anything higher.

Please check out the Caudata Culture caresheet for redbacks here, and decide:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Plethodon/P_cinereus.shtml
 
I was thinking!

what if I add a black light to the top of a 10 gallon tank, press soil down really hard on the bottom and cover all of the sides but the front with black construction paper to mimic it being under ground? and than add some drift wood and other things for them to chill in? (for both the redbacks, and the blue spotted/jeffersons one. (two diffrent cages one for redbacks and one for blue spotted/jeffersons.) I'll add two small water dishes to each tank (not for them to swim in but incase they get thirsty?)
 
The black light would probably add too much heat to the ten gallon tank. Again, I can't stress how important it is to keep redback salamanders COOL! Anything above 75 for redbacks is going to lead death. Even 75 is pushing the envelope, they really need to be kept in at least the high 60's.

You need to be thinking of ice packs and/or Air conditioning, and not heat-producing lights if you intend to keep them alive during the summer.

(Message edited by tmarmoratus on April 27, 2005)
 
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