Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Noticed you said you were raising a juvie Ambystoma Maculatum, I'm thinking about doing the same. Have you found them to be pretty easy to take care of? I thought I would start it on pin head crickets and follow the same basic care instructions that I would for a Tiger Salamander. Do you have any tips to add to that, anything specific to be aware of about Spotteds? If you want to reply, you can do so here or via e-mail. Thanks for your help---

Zane
zanerwilliams@yahoo.com

I currently am raising some maculatum larva. I've raised them right from eggs. They are doing quite well and are quite hardy. I think if you take care of them like a tiger and offer small enough live food items (pinhead crickets, fruit flies, white worms, etc) they should do well.

Rob

>>Noticed you said you were raising a juvie Ambystoma Maculatum, I'm thinking about doing the same. Have you found them to be pretty easy to take care of? I thought I would start it on pin head crickets and follow the same basic care instructions that I would for a Tiger Salamander. Do you have any tips to add to that, anything specific to be aware of about Spotteds? If you want to reply, you can do so here or via e-mail. Thanks for your help---
>>
>>Zane
>>zanerwilliams@yahoo.com
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Hope my opinions help,
Rob

They're pretty simple, especially if you're starting with morphed animals. I start them on pinheads and just progressively go up. I lightly dust the crickets once a month. The main thing they need is moisture and cover. I use clay pot bottoms (upside down) that have an entrance chipped out. We have one that we raised from some eggs found last year that's over 3in now.

Rust

What substrate are you using for the metamorphosed salamander? The pet store sold me some reptile/amphibian stuff made from finely crushed coconut husks, but now that I've got it in the terrarium it seems like it would really stick to the salamander, and I'm afraid that would suffocate it. Do you mind telling me what you use? Thanks! Zane

I use soil. Black earth without any fertalizers or anything added to it. That's what I fine works best, plus if I'm feeding things like white worms any that they miss will colonize the soil and provide food for them (when they surface) plus help keep a biological cycle going keeping the tank cleaner. I don't steralize my soil for that reason as well, since it comes filled with little bugs and bacteria.
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Hope my opinions help,
Rob

I use bark, but soil is fine too. I give the enclosure a dose of springtails from a colony I maintain. It helps the enclosure cycle itself instead of changing out the substrate as often.

RUSS

I know it gets boring answering the same questions for newbies, but it really helps to hear from a real person who is keeping them successfully instead of just reading a book.

I ended up making a terrarium for the sally with 6 inches of soil for her to burrow in. I made it to where she has to burrow close to the glass (within about two inches) and I put a cloth "skirt" around the underground part so that it will be dark under there. I also made a little pre-fab tunnel for her out of clear PVC with a small hideout at the end.
I've got pinhead crickets in there for her to eat and am considering adding some white worms to the soil for food and recycling of waste. I haven't actually seen her eat yet---I put about 10 crickets in there last night and can only find three this morning, but they're so small that that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I'm also going to put a few small earthworms down her tunnel.
Thanks for your input, I will also post a couple pics of the sally and the setup...

Zane

Posing with a nickel.

I'm going to decorate the surface better in the next few days with some moss, maybe a small plant, and a better hide spot. The tunnel entrance is in the lower left corner and the piece of bread there is to feed the crickets and draw them close to her entrance.

The tunnel takes up a lot of room in the front but she can still burrow around it or on the sides of the terrarium. So far she hasn't dug her own burrow, but I hope she does eventually. Let me know if you guys have any more tips or see anything I've overlooked. Thanks for your help!!

Zane

That's a really nice setup!!!
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Hope my opinions help,
Rob

Looks good.

RUSS

Nice pics Zane. I've kept A. maculatum from metamorphs to 8" adults over several years. My substrate was primarily preserved sphagnum moss; although mixes such as "Jungle Mix" would work well too. My spotteds would burrow tunnels through the moss; and they kept relatively clean.

Fresh water in a shallow dish would allow for soaking @ night. They were fed earthworms, small crickets; and I eventually could hand-feed them Reptomin pellets softened w/ water. Not a highly visible pet; but a beautiful & fascinating creature indeed.

N/t