Reptile & Amphibian Forums

wheres a good place and time of the year to find salamnders

It depends on what your purpose for looking for them is. Why are you looking for them?

im looking for them to find them and relese them

Out for a little herping trip then? Great fun!

Well, this time of year is obviously not very good, because they are all sleeping underground for the winter.
Wait until the first rains of spring, then go out and look under logs, in the leaf litter, and under rocks in shallow streams. You will find different types of salamanders depending on where you look... but I won't spoil it for you

HHFrog, I am curious where you get your knowlege. Most terrestrial salamanders are under things, but they're not always underground, and even if they are, they're not 'sleeping'. Salamanders are awake all winter long, as they do not hibernate. In fact, in California, right now, the Taricha are on their breeding migrations.

Ah, I am referring to lungless salamanders, as those are generally what I find around here. Most species of lungless salamanders (Plethodontidae) mate in the spring and summer. I also assume that it is cold wherever this person is, since most of the country is cold this time of year. I should stop assuming things , but I am to lazy to ask a lot of questions sometimes.

I never said that they hibernate, no amphibians hibernate. In the case of most lungless salamanders, aestivate is probably a better word. They slow down for the winter, remaining underground or at the bottom of streams. They don't travel much, sleep a lot, and don't eat as often as normal.

It is true, if you are looking for mole salamanders or newts, and live in a bit more southerly area, you may find caudates out this time of year. Sorry for the mix up.

They do not estivate either.

They just slow down. There are amphibians that do hibernate such as wood frogs or grey tree frogs.

Ed

Aestivation (aestication, estivation) is the slowing down of an animals metabolic processes. "Slowing down" is exactly what aestivation is. Depending on the species and the climate, some salamanders aestivate in the summer, while others aestivate through the winter.

A definition of estivation follows
Estivation or aestivation (from Latin aestas, summer) is a state of dormancy similar to hibernation. Animals that estivate spend a summer inactive and insulated against heat to avoid the potentially harmful effects of the season
As we are referring to cold temperatures they do not aestivate.
They also do not hibernate as the definition of hibernation stipulates the following Hibernation is a state of regulated hypothermia, lasting several days or weeks, that allows animals to conserve energy during the winter. The caudates do not regulate thier body temperature as thier temperatures are at that of thier refugia (this is the vast majority of caudates). In those that do enter into a true inactivity this is not also not a true hibernation as they enter in a hypometabolic state to reduce exposure to anoxia see http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/abstract/200/2/387

Ed

thanks for all the help

So then what is the word for what they do in winter? Is there one? How about brumate?

Slow down. They don't "do" anything special. Their metabolism adjusts to the outside temperatures (cold = slow metabolism).