Salamander Questions

[Dreamtheory]

Hi there guys and gals, I got some questions for you about my Spotted Salamander.

1. Should we be feeding wall-e (our salamander) anything other than just crickets?
2. Can we have multiple Spotted Salamanders in the same aquarium?
3. What other creatures can you put in the same aquarium with them?
4. Whats the best material to use as the base (earth)?
----We are currently using Coconut husk
5. Do Salamanders swim? Could i have a set up with newts & lots of water?
6. How can we keep it humid in his aquarium for him?
----We just set some magazines over 80% of the top.

This is a pic of him after we first bought him.

he has grown a ton since we got him, he apeares to be healthy (to my untrained eye)

Here is his aquarium we have for him.

it doesn't look nearly as good as it does in person, and we don't normally keep him near the window, i only put him there to try and get a decent picture to post, he is normally in a darker corner away from the window.


thanks so much for the help, My GF and I much appreciate it.

 

[misslyss]

1. Should we be feeding wall-e (our salamander) anything other than just crickets?
- Crickets are an O.K. diet, but he would benefit most if you feed him a base diet of earthworms with crickets and wax worms on the side. He looks skinny in one of the above pictures, wax worms will help with that.
2. Can we have multiple Spotted Salamanders in the same aquarium?
-Yes, as long as the aquarium size permits it and there are plenty of sight barriers and hides.
3. What other creatures can you put in the same aquarium with them?
-You can get away with shrimp and snails with aquatic newts, but terrestrial newts only do well with other newts of the same species. See this site: Caudata Culture Articles - Species Mixing Disasters
4. What's the best material to use as the base (earth)?
- Coconut fiber is a great substrate to use as long as its the soft fiber and not the chunky mulch. I personally use 50% coco-fiber and 50% organic top soil.
5. Do Salamanders swim? Could i have a set up with newts & lots of water?
-Yes, and many newts are fully aquatic, but your spotted salamander is absolutely not. If I were you, I would take out the water area all together and replace it with a small shallow dish of dechlorinated water.
6. How can we keep it humid in his aquarium for him?
-By the looks of the set up you have now, I would be more worried about having too much humidity. If your set up is marshy and wet your salamander could end up with a mean fungal infection. Also, salamanders need lots of ventilation, so take off the magazines and let him breathe!!

Questions I have for you:

Why is the substrate at a slope? If I were you I would disperse the substrate evenly, add some organic top soil, a shallow water dish, a cave or some type of hide for him to crawl under, and a thermometer. What temperature are you keeping him at?

 

[shmifty5]

as the spotted salamander is an ambystomatid, i would recomend that you read the following caresheet as most ambystomas are cared for in very similiar ways

Caudata Culture Species Entry - Tiger salamander

now onto your main questions-

1. he should definately be fed earthworms with crickets being a filler, most bugs are acceptable as well as pinky mice being fed as an occasional treat (high fat), ambystomatids love to eat and they will eat anything as long as it moves.

2. if the tank is of a large enough size and there are multiple hiding places i don't see why not, there might be a small scuffle if they are both males but nothing serious.

3. i wouldn't recomend that you mix species as this is nothing but for show, you can keep certain scavenger bugs as they clean up the tank and provide food but most any other critter would only be either food or a nuisance.

4. substrate and possible set-ups if you want some ideas
Caudata Culture Articles - Vivarium Substrates + Caudata Culture Articles - Setups Terrestrial

5. no, most salamanders are terrestrial and only use a water source as a toilet, they are in general bad swimmers and few would look at smaller newts as anything but a tricky treat.

6. use a plastic wrap cover that covers 80-85 percent of the top with a gap to allow air-movement, you could also use a plexi-glass or glass plate with the appropriate air-holes or a couple "slots" to keep the air from becoming stale.

i hope i helped you out.

 

[Dreamtheory]

1. Should we be feeding wall-e (our salamander) anything other than just crickets?
- Crickets are an O.K. diet, but he would benefit most if you feed him a base diet of earthworms with crickets and wax worms on the side. He looks skinny in one of the above pictures, wax worms will help with that.
==didn't know that, the guy at the store said just crickets would be fine when we bought, ill be sure to pick him up some earthworms this afternoon.
2. Can we have multiple Spotted Salamanders in the same aquarium?
-Yes, as long as the aquarium size permits it and there are plenty of sight barriers and hides.
==well when we decide to get a bigger aquarium, ill be sure to buy another =) we always wanted to have wall-e and eve =P
3. What other creatures can you put in the same aquarium with them?
-You can get away with shrimp and snails with aquatic newts, but terrestrial newts only do well with other newts of the same species. See this site: Caudata Culture Articles - Species Mixing Disasters
==Alright we will stay away from mixing species.
4. What's the best material to use as the base (earth)?
- Coconut fiber is a great substrate to use as long as its the soft fiber and not the chunky mulch. I personally use 50% coco-fiber and 50% organic top soil.
==ill look into top soil this weekend, any brand you prefere?
5. Do Salamanders swim? Could i have a set up with newts & lots of water?
-Yes, and many newts are fully aquatic, but your spotted salamander is absolutely not. If I were you, I would take out the water area all together and replace it with a small shallow dish of dechlorinated water.
==i got a small shadow "water dish" in there now
6. How can we keep it humid in his aquarium for him?
-By the looks of the set up you have now, I would be more worried about having too much humidity. If your set up is marshy and wet your salamander could end up with a mean fungal infection. Also, salamanders need lots of ventilation, so take off the magazines and let him breathe!!
==i dont think it gets to humid i think it was more so the image that made it more humid than it is, and the temp is usually around 80 degree's

tyvm for ur awesome responce =)

 

[Mark]

Woah, 80F is far too high for your salamander. It won't survive for long at a constant 80F. It needs to be kept cool - 60-70F in the summer, less in the winter.

 

[Dreamtheory]

well he has been going up and down 75-80 for the past 6-7 months, i do my best to try and keep it cool, but idk what else to do, maybe i can buy a far to have blowing the air out of it?

 

[Azhael]

It may have survived this long, but believe me, those temps are incredibly inapropriate and will cause problems sooner or later. High temps debilitate the inmune system of caudates, leaving them defenseless against infections, parasites, etc...Too high a temp is in fact, lethal.

A fan won´t do because it will dramatically decrease the humidity levels and dry everything up quickly. I would recommend placing the tank in a basement if at all possible, or if not, on the floor in the coolest place available. You might also want to consider fridging it during the hotter months if other solutions are not an option.