My daughter (9 years old) and I found a baby salamander (?? speces) under a large rock under my deck. We were looking for food (crickets, mealworms, etc) for the praying mantis that she found today and plans to keep as a pet. Although the baby salamander would make a delicious meal for the mantid, of course, this will never "fly" in our house, he is too cute. So now, in addition to the terrarium of crickets we have (for fun, she is trying to see if they will reproduce) and the new addition of the Praying mantis, (wow, does he like crickets!) it looks as if we will also be keeping the salamander provided we can figure out how to take proper care of him. I found lots of info in a general search on Praying mantis habitat, food, etc. but could not find info on the salamander. For now, he is in a terrarium with very moist dirt and a rock to hang out under.
What do we feed him, how often and how do we set up an appropriate habitat.
Any help is appreciated as the 9 year old animal freak is thrilled to have found him.
Thanks!!
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What do I do with this baby salamander?? HELP!
Replies (4)
What kind of salamander/newt is it? Do you have a picture to help identify it? How small is it?
It is important to identify the species as some are more temperature specific than others. A small salamander in the yard (obviously terrestrial) is most likely some type of plethonidae (lungless salamander). Maybe if you can post a pick (with geographic location) or otyherwise post its identity you can get better info. You may consider getting it some flightless fruitflies if it is to small for your smallest crickets. Sallies are terrific but many can be a challenge.
Thank you so much. We kept it for a few days and determined that it was best to let it go. The local pet store owner indicated that they semihibernate and would be no fun through the winter anyway and besides that, it is illeagal in our state to have this "wild" animal.
It was probably a good idea to let it go..... It may have become lunch for our praying mantis!
If the interest is still there you may consider trying one of the hardier species available in hobby. Salamanders are the "chess game" of pets. They are fascinating but they do not provide much action for spectators.
