Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering, I have 5 young morphed tigers who are only 5" long so far and get along together in their terrarium well. I have some soil substrate and a large log that they love to hide under (except for one guy, who only likes to be in the water dish!). Anyway, I hate to bug them and remove that log every time it is lunch time---been trying to feed them an earthworm each every 2 to 3 days, but they don't seem interested in food when I have disturbed them from their hiding place. One came out from the log this morning and ate a worm, and the one in the water always eats a worm----can I just wait till they come out from under the log to feed them? It has been 4 days, but they don't seem thin. Thanks for any help!

I feed them by holding the worm in front of their face: they don't seem to be good at catching the worms on their own. They are not as aggressive as I am used to tiger salamanders being.

Try a few crickets to spark their intrest. I keep various Ambystomids and Salamandra...when they are young, it takes time until they start associating you with food (removing the lid, vibrations etc.) Before you know it they will start crawling up the walls to get to you first! You can also entice them by dangling worms with forceps in front of their hideouts. This takes patience at first, but you will be rewarded. When they start getting some size on them, look out for the small, scrawney ones. They may need to be removed to another enclosure in order to have a chance at the food sources during feedings. Every type of juvenile caudate I have bred all grow at different rates and need to be separated according to size. There will always be the robust, large sibling that has no problems feeding...they may also predate on their smaller tank mates, some species even get territorial and aggressive.

Indeed the crickets are working like a charm! And you are right, one guy is getting way chubby and hogging most of the food, so I am in the midst of transporting the skinny guys to another environment......only one is left that doesn't appear to be eating, so hopefully this will help. Thank you for your help!