Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just bought a fire salamander from a pet store two days ago. He dosnt seem to be moving much. He stayed in the same place that I placed him in all night so this morning I moved him and he hasent moved from that place all day. He is fat and looks healthy. I have him in a 10 gallon with a mixture of bed a beast and repti bark and plenty of terrarium moss for substrate. I have not tried to feed him yet and was wondering how I should go about doing it. There are many places for crickets to hide and im worried that he wont be able to find them. I keep the tank in the basement where the temp is about 71 or 72 degrees and about 55 to 60 at night. If anyone has any cluse as to why he is not exploring his new home or how to go about feeding him it would be much appreciated.
Thanks, Cody

well i got a fire salamander about a year ago and i don't remember what he did when i first got him , but i do know that they arent the most active creatures, especcially when you arew atching him during the day, my guess is that he just likes that spot and prefers to chill there during the day

Well I dont really know about feeding Fire Salamanders but I dont think he would have trouble finding the crickets when they wanna eat they know how to find the food to me it seems salamanders have excellent smelling capabilities, um about him not movin shouldent be a problem I'v had yellow spotted salamanders and such and all they do is sit there alll day sometimes to they did fine though and got alittle more active when id mist them directly.

Hey thanks for the info. So far he seems to be doing fine but I still have not seen him eat. I am trying to feed him earth worms with tweezers and I am being patient but he will not eat them. I'll drop in a worm let it crawl around until it buries itself in the substrate and he just wont eat them, I even tried shoving it right in his face. I also threw a couple crickets in and I cant seem to find them now but with all the moss in the substrate I cant tell if he ate them of if there hiding. If anyone has a fire salamander I would like to know how you go about feeding him. Any info would be sweet.
Thanks, Cody

I keep fire salamanders, and although with persistance you should be able to get them to eat from hand I generally put waxworms in a shallow bowl, but everything else including crickets I let loose in the tank.
It helps to put some flaked fish food or simular into the tank for the crickets to eat as well.
That way if they are not eaten right away they will not get so hungry that they bite your salamander.
In my opinion the best food to tempt them into feeding from hand is waxworms.

MORG