Please help me identify species newbie here

[OpCode90]

im sorry to have to ask this but ive tried google and have found no pics close to determine the species of this lil critter. its been warm and rainy here with alot of flooding and i found this lil guy out in my yard.

and this is a view of its bottom side

any clues as to what species this thing is would be greatly appreciated...
also if anyone could give me tips for setting up a aquarium to keep it healthy and what do you feed them?
sorry if i am asking alot but i just dont have a clue...

THANK YOU!

 

[OpCode90]

the area i live in only has 11 known species' of salamanders.
after researching these 11 types. i still dont have a 100% certainty of what it is.
it looks alot like and matches the description of a species called : "Ozark HellBender"
which is a brown/black color with well defined wringles on its sides. but these "HellBenders" are very very rare. endangered actually. and grow to sizes of up to 30 lbs or more. massive to say the least. but if thats the case the one i found is a very young one.

 

[RobM]

It looks like an Ambystoma species to me, where are you located?
Have you taken this from the wild? If yes, please return it.
If you would like to join the newt hobby, then you can get many species, captive bred, they will genuinely be much healthier and easier to care for (while also being more ethical).

 

[Azhael]

Definitely not a hellbender. It´s an ambystomatid for sure, but they really are not my area xD
Could it be Ambystoma texanum? It certainly resembles that species.
I agree with Rob, the ideal thing to do would be to allow that individual to be part of the wild, as it was meant to be, and start out with a nice, easy, CB species, which will make things easier for you.

As long as the law says it´s legal, you can keep it, but i really think it´s a pitty. That animal has survived to adulthood in the wild, and its genes should be passed down to future generations. If you keep it, you will prevent it from playing its part.

Aside from that, you yourself admit you don´t know what to do. The responsible thing to do is always to get informed and make sure everything is ready before getting an animal, which is another reason why personally i think you´d be better off starting with CB animals that you could get properly informed about in advance, rather than with a WC animal which you are not yet prepared to offer adequate care for (nobody is born knowing) and that could be problematic regarding feeding, adaptation to captivity, parasites, etc. It would be a pitty if something should go wrong while you are still learning and getting informed about the basics, because it´s the poor animal who will pay the price.

 

[OpCode90]

ok the little guy has been released back into the wild. i was just interested because i havent ever seen one before

 

[Jennewt]

I agree that it looks like Ambystoma texanum
Caudata Culture Species Entry - Ambystoma texanum

 

[OpCode90]

yea thats deffinatly what it is.