Starved young one...

[HMontross]

I rescued a larval tiger salamander from my sister-in-law this week. He is about 2.5" long, and very thin. She got two of them from school about five months ago, rarely fed them, and one has died. The little guy still has gills, but is gulping air. His tail has not yet begun to shrink. I have been feeding him twice a day, and his body is starting to fill out.
This being my first time with a caudate morph, would it be wise to lower the water level and provide a land area since he is surfacing to breathe? Or should I wait until I see a change in gills and tail? His gills seem to be short in comparison to my axolotl's when he was this size (if I can even use that as a comparison...).
I have no idea how old this salamander is. I was told that some of his tank mates were morphing when he was brought home. What effects can starvation have on morphing? Could it be a possible cause for neoteny? Or just a drawn out transformation?

 

[Bellabelloo]

Could you maybe add a photo so we can see?

I would not worry yet about providing a land area, wait until you see more marked changes like the fin and gill shrinking and limbs bulking out. I would then lower the water and add something or it to haul out onto. Tiger salamander larva tend to be bottomless pits with regards to food. Twice daily feeding is good

 

[Tasha H]

Caudata.org - Member Galleries - 20130816_044217.jpg

Caudata.org - Member Galleries - Squishy

They can bounce back don't give up. How is he eating? i would say give him a small amount of land and see what he does.

 

[HMontross]

I was having some technical difficulties yesterday when trying to take pictures

He is very voracious, but seems to have difficulty swallowing his food. I have never seen a salamander chew, but his eating technique resembles that motion, because the food sits at the front of his mouth. I am feeding him very small pieces of rehydrated and dusted crickets, bits of/baby red wigglers, and bloodworms.

He is also 3.5" long, not 2.5" as I typed before...

I have added a slope to a small landing out of water, but I did not lower the water level ( which is about 7" deep).

He is definitely going to be ok, and I'm anxious to see his transformation!