Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been observing the behavior of Giant Salamander larvae for a while now. After months of watching them in the wild I decided to take some home. They were fine for three weeks, but now some developed blue eyes. I have never seen this in any other of my aquatic salamanders (Axolotls, Tigers, and various larvae). I've checked the water quality, temperature, and have even separated them. I had four of them in a 30 gal. aquarium. Now their in 10 gal. each with water depth of 4-6 in and a temperature of 70. They ate redworms, earthworms, and guppies. The water is well aerated and well filtered (as it is in the streams were I see them by the hundreds). I have no clue what blue eyes means, can any one help me?

Can you still see the pupil or has the entire eye become a blue-white?
If the entire eye has changed color then I would suspect an infection of some kind, scratches or another form of damage to the eye.
There are other possible issues, insufficient dissolved oxygen causing an opacity in the eye, damage from too intense a light source are also possibilities.
You should consult with a vet who can look for damage to the eyes and check for infections.

Ed

Thanks Ed, I did get one of the salamanders checked out. I did get treatment for them, and they seemed to be improving already. They still have blue eyes but not as intence. For observational purposed I did put lights on the aquarium, I turned them of since I recieved your awnser. In the wild I saw them basking on underwater bowlders, and they would even fight for the best spots. Im still learning about these guys and any information about their captive care would be appretiated. I thought my years experience with axolots and tigers would be enough for success. But It seems that Dicamtodonts are much more sensitive than they are.

I also have:
2.2 Coast Range Newts
2.3 Rough Skinned Newts
2.2 Red Bellied Newts
6.6 Chinese Fire Bellies
2.4 Japanese Fire Bellies
1.1 Marbled Salamander
1.1 Spotted Salamander
1.4 Tiger Salamander
2.6 Axolotls
1.3 Ensatina

among my mantellas, dartfrogs, atelopus, Firebellied Toads. to name a few of my amphibians so any tips that are new to the hobby will be appretiated aswell. Thanks.

There are some people with more experience with this species on www.caudata.org. So I would suggest checking that site out for more information on these guys.

With the lighting it often depends on the intensity as well as the duration of exposure. In the wild it is often easier to escape the light than in a captive situation. Trying reducing the intensity of the light and see if that makes a difference.

By the way what kind of Atelopus do you have? I have a group of spumarius at home and I work with A. zeteki at work.

Ed

I have one pair of three-year old zeteki. And new pair of what they said was varius, they are mostly yellow with few black spots. The 3yr olds are doing fine, but I have not been able to breed them. The varius are not doing so well, and unfortunatly they are doing what most of them do (dying).

I have my Zeteki's in a 30 gal. with a built in waterfall and shallow stream. The temp. is at 65-70. And is well planted with ferns, and moss. I dont have much light on it, they seem to come out more. and I also have a fogger.

The varius are in a similar tank.
I find atelopus to be very rewarding but a bit of a challenge as well. Its really difficult for me to find them on the market, and when I do they are to stressed and not maintained properly. So out of the 3 pairs I came accross with, the only ones that are doing well are the ones that I bought three years ago.

any suggestions.

As I understand it, if you have zeteki they are illegal. Apparently Panama has not permitted export of this species since the 70s.

However it is possible that you have a solid gold population of varius as this is a polymorphic species and can have that pattern.
Spumarius can also have little to no pattern and as I understand it is the only species imported in the last five years (just as a possibility).

Both zeteki and varius are montane species and do not do well above the upper 70s if you have wc animals. CB ones will tolerate it into the low 80s. Both species are relatively easy to breed but the tads are very difficult to rear as they only feed on brown diatoms. Once the tads are well started they can then be weaned onto fishfood covered rocks.

CB zeteki get big enough to eat small 14-day old crickets without a problem and can even be kept fairly crowded (up to 8 in a ten gallon aquarium) with no problems. WC are much more tempermental.
Most of the WC atelopus come in with little to no fat reserves. As the toads are collected from the breeding sites the females are also cycled to ovulate at this time. This make them susceptiable to refeeding syndrome resulting in high losses if they are fed a large meal after arriving. Several small meals for the first two weeks will allow a better acclimation of the atelopus.

Does this help?
Ed

I was not aware that zeteki is illegal, good to know. I dont know where they came from and I lost contact with the guy that sold them to me. Thanks for the info.

Im still looking for more frogs in this group. And Im also looking for books on them. Can you recommend any good sources. Thanks again.

The only legal zeteki are held by AZA accredited institutions and the agreement with the Panamania goverment list them as to not be held by the private individuals. This is potentially a big issue with both Panama and USF&W. The reason for this is because Zeteki is listed by Panama as a National Treasure and culturally it is like the Panda to the Chinese.

What do want to know about them specifically?

Ed

As for books there is the out of print book The Neotropical Toad Genus Atelopus by Stefan Lotters.

Other than that I am only aware of publications in the various Herp Journals like Herpetologica.

Ed