Tiger salamander

[Citrus]

Hey guys. I've had nipper for like 3-4 years now. I got him when he was aquatic. There are some concerns I want to address.
When he was aquatic I fed him mainly bloodworms and when he move to land it has basically been crickets as a staple. I've been reading about his care a bit an have come to feel that crickets are no good. I fed him a super worm but only one because of the shell, and then a week or two later a hornworm but it was somewhat large. I really want to feed earthworms or night crawlers but they are not sold locally except in bait shops. What would you guys recommend for a better diet than crickets? He also seems to be always hungry and whenever I'm in the room he comes to the edge of the vivarium. Is this because of poor nutrition? I generally feed him 2-3 crickets every few days. I'm also about to feed him his first pinky this week... Mostly because I feel bad about his diet.
Also, I found that if I just put the crickets in his vivarium he will not eat them and they will burrow in his dirt. I've always finger fed him and now it seems to be the only way he can eat. He always goes to the same corner of the cage and waits to be fed. Is this bad? It's quite cute but still.


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[Teeglor]

Tiger salamanders have a ferocious apatite. They pretty much always think they are hungry lol. He will survive. It may be hard to say no, but they are prone to obesity so don't give in (okay, maybe give in sometimes --- how can you not?).

I feed mine night crawlers, red wigglers, shrimp (not at all often), pill bugs, wax worms (which he loves but I have to limit because of how fatty they are) and beetle grubs.

I feed my sweet lil guy one large thing or two small things every 3 days.

I also hand feed my guy too much. He's forgotten how to hunt worms it seems lol but he has no trouble hunting waxies, the little pooper lol. He also has no issues getting the pill bugs. Worms though, unless you put it in front of his face he will play with but not eat.

 

[Citrus]

Thank you! I thought him being always hungry meant I have done poorly.
Since my backyard is sprayed, do you think if I went to a nature preserve and collected worms that would be alright?
Also I can just picture a tiger sal playing with his food! Sounds adorable!

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[Teeglor]

It's safest to get food from a pet store, as you can be confident they have not been exposed to chemicals that can harm your sallie. They are more sensitive than us. There's always risk with feeding wild insects to sallies in a city because a lot of pesticides are being sprayed around to kill bugs and weeds. If you are confident the surrounding area isn't being contaminated then go for it. I get my pill bugs wild.

 

[Teeglor]

And it is rather cute when he plays with his food lol