Reptile & Amphibian Forums

There is a population of tiger salamanders at a local aviary and they've said we could take one or two if we want. They've obviously done fine living outside, so I'm not worried about them wintering over, but I wanted to know if this animal would coexist well with my small pond and my fish in my backyard. They are really cute with a wide head and snub nose. I wish I had a picture for you. I've been unable to find a picture here that looks like them. They are dark brown with vague blackish stripes. They pretty much look like mud. Their stripes/spots are not as well defined as most of the pictures I've seen on here. They are definitely not yellow spotted, so I doubt they are native to Utah. The ones I've found at the aviary fit nicely in the palm of my hand, so about 4-5" body with not a long tail. Does anyone have any experience with keeping salamanders with a fish pond? Are they able to burrow in the back yard and find enough food and not bother the fish too much?

Any advice would be welcome, these guys seem really cute and I would like to have more insect eaters in my yard, but not if they are going to eat all my vegetables or harass my fish. I don't mind if they eat the eggs or the really small babies (I have too many), as long as they leave the large fish alone.
And if I did want to keep them in my back yard, what special considerations would I need for them? I'm guessing now would be a bad time to move them, as they are probably getting ready to hibernate, so I may want to get some in the spring.

Tiger salamanders are only aquatic during their larval stage. After they turn into adults they are terrestrial only returning to water pools when they are ready to spawn. They do however like moist land areas which they will readily find hideouts in.

If tiger salamanders are native to your area then yes please do stock your pond area with them. Just keep in mind that this species generally prefers fish free waters. The introduction of fish to historically fish less ponds has wiped out certain populations of this species.

Perhaps you could turn your pond into an amphibian/reptile sanctuary. That generally means no fish. A pond full of aquatic turtles, frogs, salamanders is a wonderful thing. Also stick to amphibians and reptiles that are native to your area as they may escape into the wild.

In California introduced bullfrogs and mosquito fish over the past 100 years have wiped out some of our native amphibian species. So be very careful what you put out there.

Tigers can be neotenic remaining in their aquatic stage for life. However, the stress of moving them maybe enough to trigger their change and then they will disapear, that happened to me. I purchased several long term captives for my outdoor pond and they were showing signs of transforming within the week.

Oh also salamanders and newts do not eat plant matter. They will however eat unwanted insect pests. They have evolved on this continent for thousands and thousands of years to be insect eating machines!