Outdoor Salamanders

[ravenous]

they'll be in an air conditioned room, so I didn't thing a small black light would be able to add too much heat, whats the lowest temp that they can stand?

but yes other than that, how does the set up sound?

(Message edited by DeadIrishD on April 28, 2005)

 

[salamanderguy]

for the redbacks, they won't willingly enter water, they don't breed or live in it. As long as you keep the tank humid, and the soil damp, it would be fine. Remember, redbacks are lungless, so they need the humidity and moist area to breathe.

 

[nicki]

Thanks, that helps a lot.

 

[john]

Well thats pretty selfish. I meant that there are many types of sals that are bread in captivity. Your local pet shop might have one. I meant a person your size sitting in a 10'x10' room. Not a salamander, so it would suck a**. You took them out of the wild and you should put them back. Keeping them is just wrong. It sucks that we have to help you keep them alive now because we dont want them to die and you wont put them back. I hate supporting people like you. I will not help!

(Message edited by nuggular on April 28, 2005)

(Message edited by nuggular on April 28, 2005)

 

[benjamin]

I think a black light could kill a sal. UV rays can give humans skin cancer, imagine what they could do to an animal that's skin is so thin sometimes you can even see eggs through it? Also if your trying to replicate an underground environment then a black light is a bad idea, you don't find many UV rays underground.

It's not a bad Idea covering the tank with black construction paper. If you must have lighting you might want to consider getting a "moon" light or taking a normal flourescent tube and putting dark celephame over it so the light is very dim. You could keep the lights off most of the time and then when you feed or view them turn the lights on.

Also to keep out the heat, replace whatever lid you currently have with a screen one and make sure any lighting is located out side the tank.

If your animals want to dig, let them dig. Preventing your animals from digging (or more commonly people prevent their C.o.s from going on land or from going into water) by "press soil down really hard on the bottom" will only stress them.

 

[joan]

How many Jefferson-complex did you say you had? If you have 6, a 10 gallon is going to be WAY too small. I have a 20 gallon for my (probable) blue spotteds, and I only keep 3. And yes, they burrow. Mine come out once a week for food, and that's the only time I see them. Salamanders do not drink; their water comes from their surroundings. That's why it's important to mist the tank daily (or more). Mine rarely use their waterdish. It just breeds bugs.

 

[peter]

First of all, if you're taking animals out of the wild, it's far better to collect a few safely as you have done, than to get anything (aside from axololts, and sometimes s. salamandra, etc) from a pet store. There are almost no CB salamander species offered in regular pet stores; these are wild caught animals. So not only is every pet store animal (with few exceptions) taken from the wild, but it is also shipped, handled by multiple locations, stressed, frequently unfed, overheated, and crowded even before it gets to the pet store. The animal has many opportunities to pick up disease and other problems, and this doesn't even take into consideration the frequently terrible conditions animals are housed in pet stores. Getting animals from breeders is great, but this usually requires a good deal of forethought and planning.

As for the blue-spotted/jeffersonium, be sure to check with local regulations. These species are endangered/threatened in certain states, and if both occur in the same area, it is very difficult/impossible to determine whether it is either species or a triploid hybrid without genetic testing.

The redbacks and the blue spotted should not be kept together. Redbacks are territorial, and the blue spotted/Jeffs may eat the smaller redbacks.

Redbacks may breed in captivity, but 6 may be excessive, especially since they may prove difficult to feed. Six probably could live in a 10 gallon, but given their territoriality, it'd probably be best to reduce that number unless they are able to set up effective territories separate from each other. In the wild, it isn't uncommon to find two or three in an area half the size of a 10 gallon, but they're there by choice and are able to disperse to a new hiding spot if stressed. Be sure to provide cover objects similar to in the wild. Moss and/or leaf litter on top of soil or cocofiber (or other substrates) might be a good way to keep the enclosure from drying out so fast.

No light is necessary unless you have plants. They will do just fine in a room's ambient lighting or in near complete darkness. A light photoperiod would be useful in triggering breeding activity, but isn't necessary for the animals themselves.

The BS/Jeffs are currently breeding through much of their northern range, and it might be smarter to release them so they can do their thing, and then pick up a small egg mass or a few larvae if you don't want to take from local populations.

Regardless, you should try and read about the animal before you get it, so that you can be prepared with what habitat requirements it needs, possible restrictions from keeping in your state, and quantities properly housed in a given area.

Good luck with your animals.

 

[laryssa]

Hi Dan! I know it's been a while and you might not see this but I was wondering what you ended up doing and how successful you were. I am a beginner as well.

I did the same thing as you, I caught some sals but I am releasing them.

I might keep one of them. Because he's easy to take care of. I think what everyone is saying is that if 6 is kind of a lot for a 10 gallon and a beginner at once.

I have 3 blue spotted and I raised them from larva to adult in a 20 gallon.

True, they can get eaten in the wild, but in a tank, they are more likely to get hurt by accidents.

Drying out, not so good conditions (not caused by you, but by accidents, such as being fed a food that had fungus inside it like an earthworm or a bloodworm that was nasty). In a tank, they can't get away from mold if it grows in the soil from a particle that went wrong, etc. These things can happen and in a 10 gallon, that is pushing it.

There are dangers both in captivity and in the wild. But in the wild, the little guys can run or defend from predators (which there aren't that many). In captivity, they are stuck.

I think the person who was comparing rooms, meant the same thing. They have a whole FOREST out there, and now they have...a 10 gallon. They do not realize the difference other than they can't regulate their environment anymore. Only you know the difference.

Basically, you said you're willing to do everything possible for them and put them right, so no big deal. If I were you I would check the Department of Natural Resources of your state and see whether or not these are common species - if they aren't, I would let them go.

I would get 2 20 gallons if I were you, and keep 3 in each. Also, soil is cool but you won't be able to tell if they are eating and getting them to eath is hard. Mine are all kept on gravel right now, with peat moss and logs. I can find them all and they have little "burrowing pits" that fill with water. They are kept cool.

The lighting is not a real issue with these guys - I just leave a little light on around them, so they have a tiny inkling of light to see at night.

I have a moonlight, I use that instead of a blacklight. It is better because it mimics the moon, and not so strong...but yes, it does create heat. Thus, I stopped using it.

As long as you get a bigger tank than the 10 gallon, you are all set.