Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am planning on building an outdoor year round habitat for tigers,marbleds and possibly spotteds and am looking for some helpful info.
I live in the NE USA and my winters average 32 degrees in jan but may occassionally drop into the teens or very occasionally the single digits.winters are wet.summers are dry mostly but humid and july is usually 80"s to 90"s occassionally over 100.tigers and marbleds are in the wild here but spotteds are only found about 100 mi away.Of course my specimens would be captive bred I"m just making the point the salamanders can take this climate.
Here are my plans.Any changes or modifications would be appreciated.I am trying to recreate a local swamp.
Our frost level is 12 to 18 inches in winter.I was going to dig a hole 4 ft deep by 3 ft across(circular or square.I was going to fill about 6 inches with gravel in bottom then about 12 inches with fine sugar sand like we have under our swamps and woods.then about 2 ft of peat moss and on top of that about 6 inches of spagnum moss on top of that.running to bottom would be pvec so i could check the standing water level and adjust it with the seasons.i was going to make this out of red brick and concrete and hopefully waterproof.I imagine this large of an enclosure would"nt need cleaning often.maybe yearly i would have to dig it out and redo it.i have well water and it's good.i could use that or get our equally good though acidic swamp water.i was going to mak a wire mesh lid to keep them from climbing out and the cats and birds from going in.my yard is shaded so sun shouldnt be a problem.
How do you think this setup would work?can i place marbleds and spotteds in with tigers or am I asking to lose them even if their well fed?Is their any posts already on this subject?I haven't found any and wouldnt want you to have to rehash something thats already been beat to death.
Thanks for any help.
Al

I have done this with box turtles but was fairly close to duplicating where they would brumate for the winter anyways.

I know Tiger salamanders across their huge range are found brumating in a variety of conditions, some real and some artificial, so part of me says they would be resourceful enough to survive the habitat you would create. Another part of me says you should conduct some sort of experiment for the first winter, maybe duplication your conditions in a large garage can and sticking it in an old fridge and see if they burrow. I used to brumate tigers in a fridge and never lost one.
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.

thanks for the positive feedback.
can you tell me if ambystoma hibernate in swamps below water table or slightly above it or do they hibernate in just moist soil?
I"m trying to get all this right before i start construction on it.I"ve only kept salamanders in indoor terrariums before and never dug them up to see where or how they hibernate.
thanks,
Al

I don't know about the entire Ambystoma genus. I'm pretty sure Tiger Salamanders hibernate in moist soil either formed by temporary pools or mammal burrows. I don't believe that adult Tiger Salamanders hibernate below the water line in ponds, but maybe they do. Neotenic or larviform individuals do.

You really should not use me as your ideal source for information on Ambystoma spp. I did read up quite a bit on Tigers many years ago when I was trying to figure out how to hibernate them myself, but that's been a while.
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.

They hibernate ABOVE the waterline. Adult salamanders seek dry hillsides to hibernate, thats why they are so visible in early spring when they move from the dry soil back to the water. With that said, I have personally seen spotted salamanders crawling around underneath the ice in refrozen spring pools, in northern vermont. Where are you?

If I were you I would add a little bit to your plan. As is it sounds good for warmer weather quarters, but I would make a large mound of soil, leaf litter and compost, maybe sunk into the ground a few feet. The composting material will often prevent freezing and it would give your salamanders more options... Just my .02, I have never tried anything like that. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. Take pics along the way.

I"m in southern nj.
should i even bother keeping water in it down bottom?i would think they would have to have moisture or they would suffocate like a dried up frog?
we have no rocks in this area but maybe if i throw in rocks or cinder blocks it might help them with a tunnel network.
should i use peat moss or swamp mud or what do you think would make the best tunnelling medium for them?
Al

I have never kept these guys I only know what I see in the wild. There are amphibian forums on this site where you will get better answers.