Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was thinking of purchasing a banded salamander for a classroom pet. Do they require a lot of care, feeding, etc.? Where can I find additional information on them? Any other salamander suggestions? The grade would be kindergarten. Thanks.

Ambystomids, such as banded salamanders, are not good pets for young children because 1.) they burrow. I rarely see my ambystomids come out on their own. I have to dig them up to feed them. And 2.) no salamanders or newts can be touched or played with, as little kids would like to do with a pet. You also have to worry about temperature and moisture fluctuations. If you leave for a weekend, and the air conditioning breaks, and it gets to 90F in your classroom, you could quite likely come back to a sick or dead salamander. I suggest a hamster. Or a bunny. Or any small mammal, really. They require pretty minimal care. A cage cleaning once a week. Fresh food and water daily (you could leave them over the weekends without concern).

I'm assuming that a "banded" salamander is the same as the Ringed salamander(Ambystoma annulatum)? Very pretty sallies but not a good class pet for young children. I agree with kaysie. Love to get(or find) me a pair

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"I am all that is Divine, I am all that is Evil.
I am the one who brings forth Death,
On the wings of a Weevil." JSKII

They're gorgeous. The best Ring a girl could ever get! But not so hot with kids. Try axolotls. They're aquatic, but they are usually fairly visible, and look just COOL! I've got a bunch of juveniles I"ll be finding new homes soon, so keep that in mind.

They are!! Juvi what? Juvi Rings or Axies? I've never seen a Ring except for that 1 pic in the Audubon Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians.
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"I am all that is Divine, I am all that is Evil.
I am the one who brings forth Death,
On the wings of a Weevil." JSKII

Juvie axolotls.

Petranka's (Sals of the US and Canada) has some nice pics. It's a fairly expensive book, but worth it if you do any field-guiding.