>>I was wondering if this is a female and lays a bunch of eggs what I should do? Is there any chance of succesfully raising the babies? Thanks,Kevin>>

These salamanders will not lay eggs unless they are in a pond. The male will do a courtship dance in front of the female. If she is receptive, he will eventually lay a packet of sperms on the tip of a spermatophore on the ground. Then he will lead the female to the sperm so she can pick up the sperm with her cloaca. Fertilization is internal. The eggs are laid in water after mating. I don't believe the female you have has mated. She may be on her way to the breeding pond when you picked her up or she may be just wandering about when it is raining at night. The eggs hatch out in water and the larvae are too tiny to eat anything but recently hatched brine shrimp or similar size life prey. The larvae will grow in the water until they are ready to transform. When they do transform, they will lose their external gills and look a little bit like the miniature of the adults, but not as pretty.

You may try looking for eggs and larvae in the pond near your house. Good luck.

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