Yellow Spotted Sal?

H

heather

Guest
I found this salamander last December stuck in our sump pump pipe. We were getting an ice storm that day so we brought it in the house and its been here since. We feed it mostly crickets and sometimes earthworms.
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If anyone knows a better way to set up the tank, please give me suggestions. Right now the rocks slope down into the water and some moss is spread on the rocks. I was thinking to re-do the tank but not sure exactly what to do.
 
It is a Tiger salamander, you can make the setup like mine
 
Tigers don't really need a place to swim. A fully terrestrial setup with maybe a small water dish is adequate. It's also easier to keep clean. I just use plain topsoil for my setups.
 
I use TREX Forrest bedding, its coconut fibre, works pretty well to stay moist and not be muddy like topsoil/dirt. A small dish of water, say 1" deep and maybe 4x10" or 6x10" in width/length will do, just make sure its easier to get out of.

Definitly looks like a very nice Ambystoma tigrinum(Eastern Tiger Salamander) to me
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**Edit: I forgot to mention, this is a burrowing specie, that is why they like stuff like the forrest bedding so much
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(Message edited by tlh_warscootman on December 01, 2005)
 
Thank you for helping identify "Sal". Do you know if there is a way to tell how old it is?
 
<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>Heather Bugner wrote on Friday, 02 December, 2005 - 14:14 :</font>

"Do you know if there is a way to tell how old it is?"<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

Cut 'em in half and count the growth rings!
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In all seriousness, once it's full grown it's pretty much impossible.
 
A friend was telling me of an experiement where they would actually do just that Jeff.... not in half, but if you toe clip tigers, you can actually count the rings like you would on a tree. When tigers hibernate in the winter, their growth slows, and then speeds up again in summer, creating "rings".

From what my friend tells me, the study was looking at how paedeomorphic (ones which stay in larval form their whole lives) tiger salamanders live longer and grow larger than terrestrial tigers, and they were finding the age by using the toe clipping method.

If anyone has heard, seen, or know where to find this study, I'd be very interested in reading it. Sorry I cannot back the story up with a source of my own.
 
Heather, nice tiger! Here are some links with photos of tiger salamander setups. Also, a caresheet.
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Ambystoma/A_tigrinum.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/setups3.shtml

Where you able to find the photos that Christian is referring to? He posted some really nice ones on other threads of this forum. If you didn't see them, maybe he can post the links.

I agree that it doesn't need the water. And soil and/or coco fiber would be a better substrate than gravel.
 
A lot of good information Jen, thanks!

I liked Christians setup too.

Does it make a difference what plants are used in the setup? Is there any that I shouldn't use?
 
Any plants are fine, but they have to tolerate low light, and they could be "dug up" by the sal. Try to avoid using the soil that comes with commercial potted plants, as it is always loaded with fertilizer and may also contain pesticides, etc. I try to use cuttings from various easily-rooted houseplants.
 
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