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Hoping to get eggs ... hoping to get hatchlings ... and hoping they're all voracious feeders ... and knocking on wood ... I was also planning on picking up a toad or a tree frog to keep for scenting, just in case. But since I think Tiger Salamanders are cooler, would I be able to use a pet tiger salamander for scenting thawed pinkies? Are they a preferred prey item for western hognose snakes and are they non-toxic? Please let me know what you've heard or tried.

Thanks for the helpful posts and good luck with your Hoggies!
Adam

don't know for sure, but I bet at least the west Texas kennerlyi would snack on Tiger Salamanders, as I know for sure they are sympatric. On that same notion I tried scenting with Quail and had excellent results.

so just off the top of my head, a few things that work for scenting with Hogs are:

Quail
Lizards
Frogs
Toads
Tuna

and I bet a nickel you can add salamander to that list.
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A friend did a study with feeding his hogs Tiger salmander larvae. They worked great!
He got a bunch from a bait dealer who had some that had died(larvae) but were still relatively fresh. He froze them for some time before feeding. The females put on lots of extra weight when feeding on salamanders. Some actually added 100-150 grams to thier weight and double clutched.
I've used them to scent for years. They are a great stimulant to picky feeders. The larvae smell like fish and are slimy, probably something the hogs in the wild love.
Another easier scenting technique is cod liver oil, purchased in capsules at any drugstore. It is very oily and fishy, but hogs seem to go at this very quickly.

Hope that helps, and by the way Tiger Salamanders make cool, easy captives.

Tiger salamanders make great pets if cared for properly. I highly recommend getting the salamander acustomed to hand feeding. Ours hid after we first got him (office pet). Now that he's realized people mean food, he emerges from the earth as soon as the light comes on to beg

Check out: http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Ambystoma/A_tigrinum.shtml for salamander care. I followed their recommendations when I set up ours and he's thriving.

-Alice

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