Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my spotted salamander recently transformed (9 days ago) and i was wondering what is the best way to feed him? i have put tiny pieces of worm in his cage each night, and they seem to be gone each morning, but i am not sure that he eats them. is there a better way to feed him, so that i can know for sure that he is eating? and what are some other good live foods to feed him. any help would be great...thanks!

o yeah...i am keeping him in a plastic rubbermaid sweater box, propped up so that there is some water on one end and a pile of moss on the other.

There are two ways to know for sure that he's eating. Either seeing it by hand-feeding, or seeing that the food has disappeared and he is plump. Let him go for 2 days without food, then try feeding the worm bits from a tweezers. If that doesn't work, you just have to continue the way you are. After a good feeding, the sal should be noticably fatter. And where else could the worm bits be going? You could also try one or two very small crickets and see if they disappear. If the tank is escape-proof, there's noplace else they could be except in the sal's belly.

Once his gills have been gone for several days, he does not need the water any more. Just use damp soil. Moss can be acidic and should not be the only substrate.

another good feeding food thingy for babies are Fruit Flies, flightless fruit flies...he should take a liking to them, also you may want to try small earth worms or mealworms.

I fed mine 1/8in crickets and they did fine. You can progressively feed them larger ones as they grow.

RUSS