Illness/Sickness: Rescued Salamander and a newbie

[gguillot]

Hello All…I found a salamander yesterday morning on the sidewalk of our local library. Initially, I thought it was dead and picked it up to show my 6 year old when she got home from school because I am that type of Mom. However, once I got it to the car it started to wiggle a little(it was a chilly, rainy day)…clearly it is injured near the mouth area…and I thought perhaps the warmth of my hand perked it up as well as the fear of being picked up by a human. The question is…how do I care for it while it is ill, is there any hope for this poor creature and if euthanasia is the best option to avoid suffering. We have a couple of well established freshwater tanks(although one has a large blue crayfish and another large community fish fish heavily planted)and couple of hospital tanks that aren’t being used at the moment and I could use for this little guy if necessary. So far, I have it in a container (draped for darkness) with fresh grass and moss from our yard and water under the grass and moss from one of the fish tanks. I gave it a quick dip in Melafix highly diluted with fish tank water which I hope it’s not a problem(I did read it was a safe treatment on Axolotls.org). It seems more active today and I am not sure that I will be able to bathe it again without causing harm…is one time enough or should I make a mist to spray on it? Aside from that, I am using the loving neglect approach and checking it every 4-6 hours….don’t want to stress it more the necessary. BTW, I only use Seachem products in all my tanks and use a charcoal/crushed coral filters. I am not certain what species this creature is either…and I have looked extensively and the closest I would say would be the garden slender salamander(but we live in NJ and they are found in the CA and Mexico). It is no more than 3inch long and nearly solid dark gray black except for its sides which have a bluish gray very tiny speckled pattern. I will post a picture. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[gguillot]

photos

 

[Kaysie]

It looks like a fat, atypically colored lead back phase red back salamander, Plethodon cinereus.

I dont know the exact rule for this species, but New Jersey has some of the more stringent collection laws on the books. Your best bet is to let it go in the nearest wooded area to where you found it, as long as it wasn't exposed to any exotic species.

Salamanders are masters at healing, and most wounds are usually overcome without any issue.

 

[gguillot]

Thanks for the advise and the identification...although the former CVT in me has a very hard time putting a wounded creature back in the wild, I will. I understand why and can appreciate the reasoning behind the laws made to protect these guys...it just stinks for those that are wounded and being rescued as opposed to being removed for sake of being made a pet. My intention was to release as soon as it was healed....we have enough pets in this house as it is.

He is still not mobile and will only move his back legs when I open the tank...basically, in the same position as I put him. My daughter will be so disappointed! She was looking forward to "helping" this little guy.

So, the only exposure the Salamander has had is to the water from our freshwater community tank. We don't have amphibians or snails in the tank. We have an Angelfish, Raphael Catfish/,Platydoras armatulus, Tetras-mixed variety, a Betta, Corydoras(cory catfish), Ghost Shrimp, Danios mixed variety, Otocinclus, and Clown Pleco/Panagolus maccus. This tank has been exposed(fish tranferred from) to the tank with the blue Crayfish(however this crayfish was captive bred). So is this acceptable exposure?

Thanks again.

 

[Kaysie]

Fish and salamanders (especially terrestrial species) don't usually have much crossover. But you should consult with your local Department of Fish and Game office. They should be able to tell you if that's acceptable based on local regulations.

 

[Kauveh]

I had a crayfish and it bit everything even bigger than it so don't put them together. Looks like this salamander lives more on land. This might not be a red-back. Maybe feed it flightless fruit fly if they sell those around were you live. If they don't have much, feed it small crickets.

 

[geron]

This thread was from 2012. >.>