salamandra salamandra fautosa

[marco]

up until now ive always kept my fire sals in RuB's or other containers of a similar nature but im about to recieve a 2 part viv stack , two 30x18x15 wooden vivs. one of these will be used as a snake tank, but the other i would like to use as a set up for my fire salamanders, ive had a quick browse through the threads but the only thread i saw on low lighting plants is for aquatic newts. im wondering what sort of plants are compatible with fire salamanders, and also, to all the english caudate keepers out there, you know when you take a strole through the woods and you see that short moss that just grows absolutely everywere >>> http://www-pe.pbs.org/wgbh/victoryg...gardens/gardenwoods/green_moss_lg_2.jpg?Log=0 (not my picture) <<< how do you establish it in a vivarium? would definitely like to have a bed of that on top of the substrate. besides that im also a fan or ferns, is it possible to establish them in a low light vivarium or do they need to photosynthesise quite a bit?

sorry if this thread sounds a bit repetetive, thanks for reading and any help would be great.

marco.

 

[Daym]

mosses n ferns

ferns need very little light so they should dont fine in a viv and i have mosses from my local wood in my S.S. terristis tank and keep them moist and patch them on the substrate they just do their own thing only problem is my sals like hiding under it so parts havent establishedi have leaf litter in mine too to provide a dry retreat. pm me if you have any more Qu's i try my best to answer them hope that helps

 

[marco]

thanks for the help, will go mainly with mosses and a few ferns.

 

[benw]

hi marco

i keep my salamanders on moss from the woods, and like an earlier reply they live underneath it during the day, under the moss is asheet of plastic to stop the viv from rotting!!

i have my animal lights on a timer which is set up with the sunrise/ sunset in my area, before that a weak light comes on in the room so ther eis no shock when the tank/viv light comes on, reversed in the evening so you can see the salamanders out, the moss gets its light from a small gro lux tube, tank is sprayed every other day, water in bowl changed every day.

hope that helps, feel free to pm me for more info, sunrise sunset tables can be downloaded off the web

Ben

 

[marco]

another idea i have is that, if salamanders like it cold, and vivs keep in heat, then would placing a sheet of metal under all the subrate be a good idea? because metal seems to always be cool at best so it might help to regulate heat levels in the viv. the only problem is what metal should i use? i dont want to use anything that rusts or lets out anything into the soil...

thanks benw for the info, i will look into gro lux lighting.

 

[Daniel]

Hi marco,

the metal plate won't help you. It just feels cold to your skin (so to say it drains the warmth from your skin...) but actually has the same temperature as the room it is in. I would not introduce any metal to a vivarium due to the metal ions it may shed.

 

[marco]

damn... im really concious about room temperature with my salamandra's, is there any rational way of keeping a viv cool without having to resort to electrical chillers? and also, what the best kind of bulb for plant growth that doesnt give off too much heat?

thanks, marco.

 

[benw]

marco
the Gro Lux tube is for plant growth, the bube i use is about 200mm long, very little heat as its a flourescent tube, the starter unit gives out heat but is situated away from the viv.

i can e mail you a pic of the set up if you wish, send me a pm

Ben

 

[marco]

in england you can get hold of basil plants in plastic pots in stores like asda and sainsburys, is basil ok for use in a salamander vivarium and also, they probabaly use insecticides on there plants so whats a good way of removing the insecticide?

i was thinking rinse away all the soil from the plant and leave it standing in water over night?

also cress, can get that planted in the same manner too and i cant see any problem with cress... kinda just like grass so i could probabaly use that as well eh?

thanks once again,

marco.

 

[TristanH]

Marco,

Basil and cress are both highly unsuitable for vivariums, as they like plenty of light and not too much humidity.

You would be much better off going to your local garden centre and seeing what they have in the way of indoor ferns etc. Garden centres often sell things like maidenhair ferns, mind-your-own-business, tropical clubmosses etc in the houseplant section. Any of these will do well in a terrarium and don't need too much light (so compatible with salamanders).

You could also try talking to any grandmothers, aunts etc to see if they have any spare houseplants growing on somewhere like a north windowsill...

Whatever you plant, give it a good rinse first with clean water in case it has been sprayed with pesticides.

Tristan