Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My mother in law brought me a very fat yellow spotted salamander today. It was found on the side of the road in a snow bank, being its the middle of winter here and still around -10 outside....she thought is was or is a lost pet

She brought it to me because many years ago I owned an Iguana as a pet who lived a healthy life of 6' long and 15 yrs with me. Needless to say I have no idea what to do with this salamander. I have given it crickets but so far it has not ate anything. Its in a glass container with water and rocks but from what I have read here its much to small and not close to what is required.

Can I release it to the wild again and if so will it find a new place to continue its hibernation or will it die.

Cathy

Depends on where you live. Down south, it is around the very beginning of their breeding season, but further north it is too early. I would say release it back in the woods under some debris.

It will be debris under a couple feet of snow..........it will be ok?
I am north of Barrie ontario, will continue getting snow for at least another month if not more.

Cathy

wow, i just came on the salamander forum cuz im in the same exact situation. i've been a snake/turtle guy for 12 years but know nothing about these guys, which is a tiger salamander. not sure what im going to do with it yet, but ive got a few extra 55g tanks laying around and ill do some research on how to care for it, ill at least keep it for the winter and study them as ive never had amphibians.
so i guess im looking for info as well.

I guess I will be doing the same thing on this end, I don't want to risk it dying by putting it back to early.

Please pass any info you get onto me if you think it will help.

Thanks
Cathy

I'd hibernate it. What I mean by that is to put it in a plastic box with a layer of damp leaves and place the box in a cold area that does not reach freezing (like a garage).

It's unlikely that the salamander will eat, since it should be hibernating. In the spring you can release it where it was found or set up a terrarium to keep it in.

Spotteds can be kept the same way as tiger salanders. You can find out a lot of information simply by doing a Google search for "keeping tiger salamanders."

Good luck!

Tim

Third Eye

Thank-you for the information, I have passed it on to my mother-in-law who is now in possession of the salamander.

The one she found looks identical to your picture all accept it is jet black with brighter yellow spots, suppose it changes abit with time of year?

Cathy

Since you are in Ontario, I would do just as Tim has said.

And the colors just vary with individuals and age.

I kept one of these for years feeding it crickets and other bugs.

Might take some time for it to adjust to its new surroundings though. Mine didn't eat for a few weeks.