Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I live in Australia and I have been fascinated by salamanders all my life since I first saw one in a book. When I was a kid thru to my teen years, I had a large grey wildtype axolotl (25-30cm long) for about 8 years (1991-1999) and it was a challening critter, I kept it in a large 15" fishbowl and changed the water (rainwater, not tap) every 3 or 4 days and fed it a variety of items, bloodworms, pellets, it died because it started to metamophosise stressing it. I suspect a terrestrial species like the Tiger should be easier to keep, you know a tank setup with burrow substrate, water dish, hiding spots. I know its illegal to keep terrestrial tiger species and Newts, but I think that law should be changed so Australian keepers under a special license should be allowed more of a choice than just the Axolotl meaning I'd love to be the owner of a terrestrial barred or blotched tiger and probably do exist in my country. Australians can keep Bullfrogs under license, so why not Tigers. Many australians are so dumb (not me), they think a salamander is a creature of myth in the fire and many pet shops list the axolotl as a mexican walking fish, what "a fish!. Call us dumb, uh!

Hi there:

Salamanders are indeed fascinating creatures. I have kept many. If you want something terrestrial, try a fire salamander. They're a little bit smaller than a tiger salamander, and extremely beautiful. You may be able to obtain one from Europe, where they are abundant, yet secretive. I know what you mean about pet stores mislabeling things. I keep both terrestrial and aquatic caecilians. The aquatic types were labeled as eels and kept in a 6 foot high aquarium with many fish! Good luck. I'd love3 to hear what the wildlife in Australia is like.

DAVE