Tiger Behavior -- Need Advice

[sammy4tbts]

I found my tiger, Sammy, about four years ago when he was very small and nearly dead. In fact, I thought it was a rubber toy in the road until I bent to pick it up and it moved very slightly. This was in a very dry area of Eastern Colorado and I don't know where it came from, but it surely would have been road kill had I not walked by when I did. I've taken good care of Sammy and he's (undetermined gender) grown quite a bit and seems content (?) most of the time. Every so often I'll see him standing up in the corners of the tank acting as if he's trying to escape. Is he unhappy? Is he having a Mr. Spock moment (for those of you familiar with the Star Trek episode when the usually inscrutable Spock suddenly has an overwhelming urge to mate)? Is this similar to when cats suddenly go crazy and run around the house like their tails are on fire? Is he just exercising?

My dilemma is whether to keep him or to set him free. I am always happy when I see his smiling face, but if he'd be better off in the wild, I'd sadly let him go. He was tiny when I found him, so I don' know if his natural survival skills would serve him well. I live in a rural area near several streams and marshy areas where I'd feel he'd be safe from humans. Or do I keep him captive and alone? I've read that tigers can live up to 20 years.

Please advise; this is becoming a moral/ethical problem for me.

Thanks.

 

[trincan]

I really don't think you are supposed to release an animal that has been taken in to captivity. Maybe Sammy was just meant to be your lifelong friend!

 

[Jan]

I would not recommend releasing an animal that has been in a controlled environment for 4 years..there are many concerns including pathogen transmission to native populations. Tigers are solitary animals, do not worry about him being 'alone.'

Regarding his behavior, this could be a sign of stress as tigers tend to spend their time underground. I noticed from another thread that you had posted the following regarding Sammy's enclosure:

"The tank is in a western exposed window and gets quite warm when the sun shines. I use a 60 watt light bulb over the tank on cloudy days and after dark."

Could these conditions be causing stress? Yes. Tigers' enclosures should not be in direct sunlight nor should a light bulb be used - heat and light are not needed and can be harmful. These animals are nocturnal so at night, especially, light is not desirable. Best temperatures are less than 72 degrees F. They can easily tolerate temps of 50-60 degrees F (which you mentioned in your post was the temp of your home).

I would recommend that you consider moving the enclosure away from the window (especially one that has a Western exposure) and getting rid of the light bulb over his tank. Keep his coco-fiber substrate moist but not wet and change it every 2-3 months with spot cleaning a few times a week. Change the water in his dish 2-3 times a week or more frequently if soiled. From his behavior, he may well be trying to escape his conditions caused by stress.

Tigers sometimes try to climb the walls of their enclosure when 'excited'. Some of my tigers come out of hiding when I approach their enclosures as they hope to be fed. This climbing is a form of begging which after being fed, ceases. In your case, I would definitely modify Sammy's environment.

What do you feed Sammy?

 

[sammy4tbts]

LOL, in 20 years I'll be that weird, eccentric old lady who has keeps a salamander! Sammy may end up living longer than I do. Should I put him in my will?

Anyway, Jan, I explained the tank/window/light bulb situation in the other post (in "Tiger Hibernating" thread). The warmth/light bulb is really for the cricket tank. Sammy's tank is not in the window most of the year, but since my house gets quite cold in the winter (as low as 40 sometimes,brrrr), I put his tank next to the cricket tank until the season changes.

Sammy eats crickets. I've tried to feed him meal worms and other insects, but he just turns his head away. (I feed the crickets Fluker's Cricket Feed and use the calcium fortified Cricket Quencher along with occasional potatoe or fruit, so they should give Sammy some other nutrients).

I change his water bowl every few days with spring water (label says it is). He has a half-log to hide under when he feels like it.

Sammy seems to be one happy Tiger except for the infrequent standing up straight in the corner routine.

So, the consensus is that I should NOT turn him loose for his own benefit. OK... unless someone thinks otherwise.

 

[pete]

Walking at the corners is normal. I find that my tigers like to explore at night. I upgraded to a larger tank and put logs and plants for them to crawl on, and they still sometimes try to climb at the corners. I wouldn't worry too much about it. You said you initially found him nearly dead on the road. He had probably went exploring that night and chose a poor route. Just because he's walking at the glass doesn't mean releasing him would be the best thing for him. Quite likely after his 4 year captive life, he could end up dying quickly in the wild.

 

[aliceinwl]

Maybe Sammy's begging?

In our tiger salamander (Geronimo), when he's standing against the glass he wants food. We hand feed him and he knows that a person standing by his tank might mean he's going to get fed. He will either stare straight up or stand against the glass staring up when anyone shows interest in his tank (he stares up because he knows food comes from above ).

Sometimes, we'll be looking for him when he's buried and he must get a glimpse of us because in no time the earth will start moving and he'll emerge to go stand at the glass and beg. He also seems to know that when the lights come on in the office, his people are there so he emerges from the earth and often spends most of the day on the surface in plain vew.

The only drawback is if we have to pick him up or do any cage maintenance we're liable to end up with a salamander clamped onto a finger. He really caught onto the forceps fast, he'll pretty much eat anything dangled in front of him.

-Alice

P.S. He does get small daily meals, and is a healthy weight. If we fed him as often as he'd like to eat, he'd be morbidly obese

 

[sammy4tbts]

Hi Alice,

How cute!!:tongue: Geronimo is certainly a well trained Tiger. I rarely hand feed Sammy so he doesn't really beg. He responds to a tap on the tank, but he likes to stalk and lunge at the crickets. If I start feeding him worms or dusting the crickets, as I'm being advised to do by the more knowledgeable members here, I guess I will have to feed him that way at least some of the time. Then we'll see how many tricks Sammy can learn!

 

[LauraMartin]

one of my tigers does this all the time too, i used to have the mealworms on top of the tanks and so he would try to climb up because he could hear them moving, now i have moved them he still does this, and only in the corner where the plant hangs, again i think he can hear slight movement of the leaves, and tries to see if its food. my other salamander, in the same tank burrows a lot, i really think its a lot to do with personality, this one who climbs, is very greedy and always looking for food, he just spends all day walking round biting at leaves etc. they are both very well fed, he is just a greedy boy. if your tank has 4 inches of soil/substrate, clean water and at least one hiding area like a cave, i doubt its stress, he is probably just hungry or greedy.

 

[sammy4tbts]

Thanks, Laura. This is the only salamander I've ever had so have nothing to compare the behavior to. The tank does have plenty of coconut fiber for burrowing, a water bowl that gets changed every few days, a half log cave. Everything I think my Tiger needs. No plants, though. Yours will eat meal worms? I ordered the minimum amount of those once, which was like 12 small cups full, and it was a waste of money. Crickets are the desired food. I just posted in the food forum about worms because I'm trying to give him more nutritional variety. Tried twice before and those ended up in the garden. This time, the worm dropped into the tank accidentally so I posted questions about that. Maybe I should get some wax worms. I sure wish he would eat dead stuff.

 

[LauraMartin]

well your set up sounds fine, he is probably just greedy. wax worms are good, but very fattening so you have to limit the amount of those. crickets are the best for them, and they love them. if you dont use any supliments you should look into getting some. i would recommend Nutrobal Calcium & Vitamin Dust to be used once every one or two weeks and calypso calcium for every feed. you can also feed salamanders cockroaches, but i wouldnt have them anywhere near my house.