Reptile & Amphibian Forums

np
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thanks you for you're help

Without knowing what species you're referring to exactly I would say 68F and below is ideal temperatures.

A rough guess would be that you have a blue spotted salamander (Ambystoma laterale). These salamanders belong to the mole salamander group, so should be kept on soil that is kept damp. I keep mine in large sweater bins filled with damp soil with a few rocks to help with shedding. No hides, since the container itself acts as the hide. No water dish because the soil is sloped to allow for a gradient. I hand feed my animals every 3 days with a paper clip and peices of worms, and most are really friendly because of this.

>>np
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>> thanks you for you're help
>>

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Hope my opinions help,
Rob

yep that's it execpt mine are going to be "wild caught" so I need alittle more info about how to feed them and the dirt and stuff. maybe a pic of your setup??
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thanks you for you're help

How to feed them:
Crickets are easy...just gutload them and toss only a few in (one per salamander I'd recommend) and close their lid. Check back in about 10 mins to see if they ate them, and if so add more. Continue with this pattern until they don't eat them all, then remove all remaining.
Preferred is worms. Depending on their size you may have to cut the worm. Blue's being very friendly will take food if you're patient right form you. I recommend taking a paperclip, straightening it out, chopping up an earthworm, putting a peice of earthworm onto the paperclip by peircing it slightly to let it hang off. Then rub the worm on their nose, and before long they'll be snapping at it and pulling it off the clip. Ambystoma are great like that...just takes time but then they will do it regularly. Safe way to ensure each animal eats.
Other food options can be fed in similar ways. Earthworms are the best option. Feed approximatly every three days.

Setup:
Take a sweater box or tank and fill it with soil. Slope the soil so one end is very shallow and the other end is very deep. I would suggest about 1/4" on the shallow end, and 1-1 1/2" on the deep end. This will allow you to pour water in the shallow end to make it moist (not too wet though), while the deep end is still dry, so the animal can pick where it wants to be. A few small rocks would be good to help with shedding. Drill holes in the lid, and be sure to ahve the dirt tightly packed to prevent them from always hiding. If it's in a sweater box then you're fine, but in an open glass tank you would probably want to provide some sort of hide.

Let me know if you have any additional questions.

>>yep that's it execpt mine are going to be "wild caught" so I need alittle more info about how to feed them and the dirt and stuff. maybe a pic of your setup??
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>> thanks you for you're help
>>
-----
Hope my opinions help,
Rob

You mention using a paper clip to feed your sals. I've seen other folks say they use forceps or tweezers.
I guess I'm just a klutz (actually, no guess!!) but I can't seem to get a grip on worms or crickets with any of these things. I just find it much easier to grasp the food item in my fingers.
Jaws does not object. (Absent any food items, he'll go directly for the finger, as his photo shows!)
So I am wondering, is there something harmful about feeding him using my fingers? Harmful to him, I mean.
Thanks!

On my other post I explain I actually pierce the worm to get it on the paper clip...much easier, and they love it. When I had my gray tigers though I always hand fed them hole worms by hand. I don't see any problems provided your hands are washed with warm water (NO SOAP) before hand. And, as always, you should wash your hands with soap and water after you're done working with them. If you're really worried keep working with forceps/tweezers...you'll get the hang of it. Either that or you can try the paper clip..mine is usually with small peices of worm that do not move much...never tried a full worm.

>>You mention using a paper clip to feed your sals. I've seen other folks say they use forceps or tweezers.
>>I guess I'm just a klutz (actually, no guess!!) but I can't seem to get a grip on worms or crickets with any of these things. I just find it much easier to grasp the food item in my fingers.
>>Jaws does not object. (Absent any food items, he'll go directly for the finger, as his photo shows!)
>>So I am wondering, is there something harmful about feeding him using my fingers? Harmful to him, I mean.
>>Thanks!

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Hope my opinions help,
Rob

Thanks! I don't worry about it from my standpoint, but I wouldn't want do do something that was harmful to him. So since grabbing them with my fingers is easiest, I'll just keep doing that.

It should be fine then. I have to do it with many of my small, newly morphed animals, or even small sized adults...plus I can make sure they all eat this way and it's just so damn enjoyable.

>>Thanks! I don't worry about it from my standpoint, but I wouldn't want do do something that was harmful to him. So since grabbing them with my fingers is easiest, I'll just keep doing that.
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Hope my opinions help,
Rob

"and it's just so damn enjoyable."

Thanks, Rob. I thought I might be weird or something, the only person who actually enjoyed feeding my sal by hand.

BTW, you know anything about toads, specially Texas toads? I seem to have a (temporary, I hope) guest in the guest bathroom.

Cathy

I'm afraid I don't have any experience with toads, but I would imagine that so long as the ground has not frozen when work is complete you could release it without any problems to the animal. It could still find a spot to dig and hibernate in time for winter.

>>"and it's just so damn enjoyable."
>>
>>Thanks, Rob. I thought I might be weird or something, the only person who actually enjoyed feeding my sal by hand.
>>
>>BTW, you know anything about toads, specially Texas toads? I seem to have a (temporary, I hope) guest in the guest bathroom.
>>
>>Cathy
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Hope my opinions help,
Rob