A. Texanum substrate

Recently acquired a Smallmouth Sal and ID'd on another board..
http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=42254

I've dug out a small critter enclosure (similar to one I use to house a tarantula in), and for now I'm using the wet paper-towel method. He's eating small worms about as fast as I can feed them. First couple feedings, I dropped them in, and they disappeared by the next time I looked in. Yesterday, he ate in front of me. Today, I handled him, replaced him in the enclosure, and fed.. he nearly took it from my fingers. (minor update, he's actually taking worms from my hand in full light now)

Good grief.. I would never have guessed salamanders defecated so much. Or how powerful the smell could be for such a little guy!

Considering a more permanent substrate.. I like the simplicity of sand, but I don't think it will have the waste handling properties this guy needs (especially for such a small enclosure). I could go non-fert organic dirt, but I worry about feeding.. worms burrow into dirt readily too. Dunno how keen his hunting methods are, or if he'll surface during feedings to catch it... unless upturning the dirt regularly is acceptable, and I can dig him out for feeding.. which sounds like a dirty hassle. He's a bit slow anyway, I think his primary wild feeding method was to sit in the dirt with his mouth open till a worm happened to slide in.

Any thoughts?

alot of people here used cocofiber which is sold at petshops in compressed bricks that expand when you add water. It sold branded as bedabeast, ecoearth,forestfloor and goes for about $4-6.
heres a product description
http://pet-king.stores.yahoo.net/pt555.html
The amount of substrate created from 1 brick would be overkill for a critter keeper but it's an excellent substrate and your smallmouth will love to burrow in it.

I house my marbleds in a clear plastic tub(30in L x 16in W x 13in H).The substrate consist of a "floor" created by packed layers of sand, charcoal, and topsoil. On top of the floor a loose substrate mix of cocofiber, cypress mulch, and crumpled leaves. I have lots of bugs in the tank so i really don't worry much abut feces

my pics are too large to attach, the substrate is usually more moist looking
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/2743/p1290196kh1.jpg
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/5378/p1290197jw9.jpg

very nice looking setup. I'd considered migrating to a 10 gallon aquarium (~$10 at walmart), but it dawns on me that the opaque plastic might make the little guy happier with some light diffusion. Then again, I'd like a chance to view if he sometimes burrows near the wall.

How about feeding? Will he seek out the worms in the substrate? Or is the abundance of bugs in your setup designed for buffet feeding? I haven't tried anything but worms yet, and I don't fancy the idea of keeping live crickets (worms are nice and quiet).

On the sand/charcoal layer, do the sal's go below this line? Just curious about it's purpose.

yeah my plastic tub isn't as clear as others so i can't see them as well but i think it does make them more comfortable. if i could have afford it at the time i would have bought a real tank. it was cheap and has awesome size. really most ambystomatids will be hidden most of the time, my group poke there head out of the PVC caves when there looking for a meal and are rarely out in the open. the will also burrow under the rocks to eat the bugs that gather there.

the bugs serves dual purpose of food and waste cleanup. i have a large pillbug culture in the tank that makes up a large part of their food. 2 of my marbled are less shy and will accept earthworm/slug/waxworm/soldierfly larvae from tweezers but i also have all those bugs roaming the tank too. i buy 2dozen crickets weekly upto 1/2inch weekly, they dont cirp. i bug hunt outside daily so there's plenty of stuff always available.

they don't burrow through the dirt,charcoal,sand floor. it's tighly packed down and it's purpose is to allow me to securely anchor the pothos plants and for drainage and adsorption. worms also burrow and breed in this layer too. i haven't felt the need to change the substate in a year since nature is pretty much running it's course, but if i did i could easily remove the loose top layer of cocofiber and still have the dirt floor.

So, they don't burrow at all and just use the PVC caves? That is cool! I just got an A. maculatum and that may be the way to go, if I can get him to eat...So you just pack the dirt down really hard and they don't dig in it, eh? I think what I am going to do is just add a lot of worms ot the tank every week and some crickets and waxworms and let them burrow and free roam until he decides to eat them.

TS

Turtlestork, it depends on the animals. My tigers burrow regularly, but my jeffersons prefer just to hide under their cup hides. Packing down the earth so they can't hide isn't very fair if they really prefer to be buried. You could also provide lots of cover, such as large piece of bark, to provide security without burrowing.

Adding crickets is a bad idea. These can inflict some nasty bite wounds on amphibians.

as long as the substrate is soft and deep enough they will burrow. other ambystomatid keepers will use a more packed dirt floor, but still provide lots of hides and leaf litter to make them feel comfortable. the substrate in my tank is about 2 inch deep in the center and over 4inch on the sides near the pvc caves. my fattest female never burrows is always in the caves, she never misses a meal when crickets are offered. the other 3 aren't skinny but smaller due to burrowing themselves near the rocks and deeper areas. i stir the substrate around about every other week and i'll find them in the weirdest places.

having some prey crawling around is good , but others are problems. crickets can potentially bite and stress out the sal. it's been my experience that waxworms will die when left to roam, they have nothing to eat and seem to be really sensitive to the substrate and moisture needed for the sals. appropriate sized earthworms, slugs,pill/sowbugs would be OK prey since they can't cause any harm.