Tiger Salamander Climbing on Glass

[Shadowtail117]

Hello all,

My tiger salamander has gotten nicely acclimated to his home, and he seems to recognize me (or at least my movements), walking up to the glass and following me around if I walk up to his vivarium. He also has a healthy appetite and has even made a sort of burrow for himself in the substrate, which I think is a good sign.

However, ever since I got him, he occasionally tries very hard to climb up the glass walls of the tank, usually in the same two corners (one of them facing the room and the other toward the wall). Occasionally when trying to follow me he will put a hand or two on the glass, but in these cases he will start climbing on top of things and get on his hind legs to climb up to the top. I have heard of bearded dragons doing this if they want attention, are hungry, or don't like the tank setup, and I am wondering if this applies to my salamander as well.

He has a 15-gallon tank (I want to upgrade to 20 when I have the funds) with Eco-Earth substrate, and the thermometer/hygrometer that I have in the center-ish of the tank reports between about 70%-85% RH (depending on when I last refilled his water dish/misted the enclosure) and about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. To my knowledge, these are acceptable parameters, so I am not sure what is causing this behavior or if it is something to worry about at all. Maybe he just still hasn't figured out what glass is. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Attached is a video of one of his most energetic attempts, if it helps at all.

 

[amphibianfiend]

It’s normal for them to try and climb the glass when looking for food. My tanks always have dried dirt up the sides from them trying to climb up it. Every time one of my tigers see me they try to climb the glass towards me. If it was in pain it would be moving more erratically, and if it didn’t like the conditions it is in they would be in the dirt or wouldn’t eat.

 

[Shadowtail117]

It’s normal for them to try and climb the glass when looking for food.

After making this post, I put some tweezers in to pick up some of his feces, and out of nowhere, he lunged at them, which he's never done before. Even though I fed him 5 crickets and 2 waxworms last night, he seemed to still be hungry, so I put some more in, and he ended up eating 5 more crickets just now. He seems to be a lot more mellow now and is chilling on the substrate surface.

I have yet to find any information on how much exactly to feed a tiger salamander other than "feed them until they stop eating and use that as the baseline." I figured that amount of food would have been sufficient for him until I fed him tomorrow, but it seems he was still very hungry?

 

[amphibianfiend]

After making this post, I put some tweezers in to pick up some of his feces, and out of nowhere, he lunged at them, which he's never done before. Even though I fed him 5 crickets and 2 waxworms last night, he seemed to still be hungry, so I put some more in, and he ended up eating 5 more crickets just now. He seems to be a lot more mellow now and is chilling on the substrate surface.

I have yet to find any information on how much exactly to feed a tiger salamander other than "feed them until they stop eating and use that as the baseline." I figured that amount of food would have been sufficient for him until I fed him tomorrow, but it seems he was still very hungry?

The information on exactly how much to have them eat isn’t there because it doesn’t exist. It depends on many different things such as size, or time of year. Letting them eat till they settle down is a good tactic at the beginning but if they start becoming overweight decrease the amount of food. If they look particularly hungry feed them more.
That does seem like a lot of food, perhaps try and distribute the food across more days rather than all at once to aid digestion. They are very hardy amphibians and feeding them a little too much or too little will not harm them. It’ll take time to learn the appetite for each tiger. If it’s eating there’s nothing major to worry about.

 

[Shadowtail117]

The information on exactly how much to have them eat isn’t there because it doesn’t exist. It depends on many different things such as size, or time of year. Letting them eat till they settle down is a good tactic at the beginning but if they start becoming overweight decrease the amount of food. If they look particularly hungry feed them more.
That does seem like a lot of food, perhaps try and distribute the food across more days rather than all at once to aid digestion. They are very hardy amphibians and feeding them a little too much or too little will not harm them. It’ll take time to learn the appetite for each tiger. If it’s eating there’s nothing major to worry about.

I suppose. Currently, I am on a schedule of 2 to 3-day intervals, feeding him on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. They do seem hardy, but I am still riding the loss of my first salamander a couple of weeks ago, so I am hyper-conscious about making sure I am not doing anything wrong. Perhaps I am just worrying myself too much.
I've only had him for about a week, and I have deliberately held back on feeding him until he is absolutely full to prevent any electrolyte imbalance in case he was susceptible to that. Right now, he seems to be at an adequate weight, with the thickest part of his body about as wide as his head. Next time I feed him, I'll give him as much as he wants and compare that to what I've been feeding him in the past. Of course, he could also just be begging for food without actually being hungry since tigers seem to like to do that...

 

[amphibianfiend]

Sorry to hear about your previous salamander, almost every tiger is wild caught which comes with its whole range of issues. I wouldn’t worry if it’s eating, but just get in the habit of paying attention.

 

[Shadowtail117]

As an update, tonight was one of his normal feeding days, and he ate an astonishing 7 medium crickets and 9 varied waxworms (after I ran out of living crickets and switched to them as a backup). He was going on his 10th worm but couldn't decide if he really wanted it or not, so I removed it. He was field-caught, so I don't know his age, but he is definitely a full-grown adult, and to me, that's an insane amount of food for one salamander. Although he does seem rather pleased with himself. My only guess is that he wanted/needed more food these past few days and was feeling a little starved up until tonight since I don't think an appetite this large is normal for a tiger salamander.
(Nb. I know I shouldn't feed him waxworms often, especially not in this quantity, but they were the only other live food I had for him. I'll be getting more crickets and a larger pen for them tomorrow so I won't run into this problem again.)

 

[Creekratt]

Hello all,

My tiger salamander has gotten nicely acclimated to his home, and he seems to recognize me (or at least my movements), walking up to the glass and following me around if I walk up to his vivarium. He also has a healthy appetite and has even made a sort of burrow for himself in the substrate, which I think is a good sign.

However, ever since I got him, he occasionally tries very hard to climb up the glass walls of the tank, usually in the same two corners (one of them facing the room and the other toward the wall). Occasionally when trying to follow me he will put a hand or two on the glass, but in these cases he will start climbing on top of things and get on his hind legs to climb up to the top. I have heard of bearded dragons doing this if they want attention, are hungry, or don't like the tank setup, and I am wondering if this applies to my salamander as well.

He has a 15-gallon tank (I want to upgrade to 20 when I have the funds) with Eco-Earth substrate, and the thermometer/hygrometer that I have in the center-ish of the tank reports between about 70%-85% RH (depending on when I last refilled his water dish/misted the enclosure) and about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. To my knowledge, these are acceptable parameters, so I am not sure what is causing this behavior or if it is something to worry about at all. Maybe he just still hasn't figured out what glass is. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Attached is a video of one of his most energetic attempts, if it helps at all.
View attachment 93540

If your not aware already, eco earth aka coir, coco fiber can have salt residues. They're saying to be on safe side rinse. Its probably not the issue with your sallie. Just thought I'd pass it on and to be nosey. What species of tiger is he/ she? Didn't know they could use their tail like that.