What do i have?

[clint]

i purchased this Salamander about 18 months ago.

I keep him (i think its male because he has a huge sack behind his legs) in a 4 foot tank, he loves the water and doesnt come on land. i feed him Meal worms, crickets, steak, ham and whatever i can find really, he loves anything i give him. I also hand feed him.

I dont keep much in his tank beacuse he loves to swim.

I am looking at getting more because i have such a big tank but they are quite expensive and rare in australia.

Can anyone tell me what kind of Salamnder i have and any info on it would be great.

Thanks

 

[russ]

It's a tiger, probably originally from the inter-mountain west (Utah, Montana or Idaho). They vary a lot in that region and tend to lack yellow. Though depending on how long ago it morphed its pattern may change.

 

[clint]

Thanks russ though i dont live in those regions. im from australia and we dont have wild ones.

Do you have any idea how to put more photos on, it only lets me put that 1 on.

 

[leanne]

Definitely an ambystoma (meaning "cup-mouthed") of some sort (but I am an amateur hobbyist, so this is my best guess)---like Russ said, it appears to be a tiger salamander, in which case it should be loving the land more than it appears to be (they are burrowing animals in their adult years, and you have an adult). What kind of substrate are you using for land? How much land does he have in his tank? He's really cool-looking!!

For my tiger salamander I use a substrate readily available in pet stores called Bed-a-Beast...it retains water really well and is not overly acidic so it doesn't bother Fatboy's skin.

Oh, here's a link that might help, too:

http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Ambystoma/A_tigrinum.shtml

 

[leanne]

Hey what-do-I-have, to post more than one photo, just highlight this with your cursor:

then right click your mouse, select "copy" and then wherever you want a photo inserted into your message, right click again and select "paste". After you finish your message and press the "Preview/Post Message", it will allow you to review your message, and what you selected for photos will just be squares saying "Your Image Here". Go ahead and click "Post Message" and then you will have the option to get your photos onto your message----just follow the instructions at that point.

Here is my Fatboy (who is actually a female, but very much a tomboy)

(Message edited by jennewt on September 08, 2005)

 

[clint]

(Message edited by jennewt on September 08, 2005)

 

[clint]

Thanks Leanne, He actually doesnt like the land very much at all, i put him on it occasionally but he quickly goes back into the water. He loves to swim, that pretty much what he does all day swim back and forth at the front of the tank.

 

[leanne]

On my post, I meant to highlight the thingy it has in the photo section and then copy and paste

 

[leanne]

The substrate you are using might be toxic to his skin, since he should be basically a land animal at this point. Your little guy might be the exception to the rule, but just in case, check the pH level of your soil, make sure it doesn't have fertilizer in it (most potting soils you buy contain this) or vermiculite. Just keep giving him the option of land in case he gets in the burrowing mood!

http://www.caudata.org/cc/faq/FAQhou.shtml

 

[clint]

we use 100% gravel.

He burrows the gravel from under the water.

 

[leanne]

I dare you to try soil or bed-a-beast for one day.

I bet you...um....50 cents that he will want to spend more time on land than in the water.

Check out some of the setups for ambystomas in the photo section......

 

[jennifer]

I agree with Leanne, you should really try a soil-type setup for any tiger salamander. He's staying in water because his instinct is to stay covered (out on a rock, he's exposed). But he'd probably rather be covered by soil or a shelter on land. Swimming back and forth at the front of the tank does not sound to me like the bahavior of a happy contented tiger sal.