Feeding Questions

[Jackulwulf]

I'm sorry if I'm not suppose to post another thread, but my other thread isn't getting answered so I thought I'd post. My earlier post addressed the fact that my new Tiger Salamander wasn't eating, however he has started eating now and he is settled in nicely in his tank. I was even able to hand feed him a cricket just a little while ago which was a really cool experience.

Anyhow, my questions are, how much would be the average amount that he could eat. He's about 8 inches long. Should I just keep feeding him until he refuses food? Or will he just keep eating as long as its offered to him? I don't want to overfeed him if he won't stop eating lol. Also, is there such a thing as a cricket being too big? I have one cricket that is noticeably bigger then the rest and I don't know if I should feed him that one, I don't want him to choke on it.

I have read many of the articles provided.

Thanks for reading.

[Eve D]

A good rule of thumbs is to feed as much as it will take in about 15 mins. I don't feed mine crickets very often, maybe once a month as a treat for them to chase around and get a bit of exercise. A better, more complete diet for tiger salamanders are earthworms, your regular garden worms (as long as no chemical are used) or the ones you can buy from bait shops are fine (in the US we call those Canadian nightcrawlers). One or two every two or three days is plenty enough, it's actually a bit fun to watch them gobble down wriggly worms.
Good luck and I hope this helps.

[Jackulwulf]

lol yes it is very fun to watch them gobble down their meal, I hand fed him a couple crickets last night and I just wanted to keep feeding him more lol, I didn't however cause he ate not to long ago. ^.^ Thanks for the info, I do have some crickets left so I'll feed him what I have left. I did plan on digging up some earthworms as well, though many that we have here are very small, only an inch to an inch and a half long. So I'll probably have to give him more. During the winter time I'll have to buy them though. I prefer the earthworms to the crickets anyway, crickets are kind of creepy lol.

[Coastal Groovin]

I feed my tiger sals twice a week usally night crawlers. Although they have been dug in for 2 months now and not feeding. I also feed my tigers little slivers of salmon or catfish by hand. About twice a month crickets . I gut load my crickets with Collard greens that I shred up and some fresh fruit. Collard greens are loaded with the vitamins folate, C , beta carotene and a boat load of calcium. Plus I like them slow cooked with some garlic cloves and ham bone.

[Jackulwulf]

Hm, ok, I tried to feed him the earthworms but it was like he couldn't grab them when I offered them to him. Anyone have advice? He tried a couple times to grab it but after missing he refused it.

Also the worms I dug up came from my mom's flower bed which is covered with Cedar mulch, and I heard that Cedar isn't good for them, so perhaps they may not even be good for him?

[Rikkoshaye]

Are you feeding your Tiger nightcrawlers? One of my tigers had a really hard time getting those big fat worms in his mouth, so I switched to angle worms (a.k.a. smaller, thinner worms) and he started gobbling them up like crazy. I don't know if this is your problem but I thought I'd suggest it either way. Sometimes when my tigers are having trouble I find that bending the worm in half and offering them the bent end gives them more surface area to grab the worm and swallow it without it getting away. So, you might want to try that out as well.

[Eve D]

I have yet to find a worm that is too big for my tigers ... yet again mine are pretty big. Another trick is to cut the worm in smaller sections. I find that holding the worm about 1" from the tip offers a bit more grip for the salamander to bite on.

[Jackulwulf]

Yea, they are night crawlers, though I dug them up myself so they aren't that big, they aren't the huge store bought ones. I'll try bending them in half and see if that works. And I think I'll stick with the store bought ones that are a bigger, the smaller ones I have been digging up are hard to hold onto to feed to him lol.

[Eve D]

Have you tried using feeding tongs or tweezers? I use feeding tongs and find it easier to hold the worm for the tigers to grab.

[Jackulwulf]

Yes, I have tried tweezers, but the ones I can dig up are still too small and wiggly. They are barely 5mm wide. Uber small, so I'll check in town to see what I can get for larger night crawlers.

[Jackulwulf]

Hm, I don't mean to double post but I couldn't find the edit button on my last post...maybe I'm just blind x.x;; lol.

Anyway, I have a new question. This morning I just found some mold in my Tiger's tank and concluded that his tank is too wet. I haven't been misting the tank much or anything but the soil is holding in the moisture too well. So my question is, can I mix in a filter sand with the soil? Would it keep the soil from becoming too wet? I plan on getting some Eco Earth coconut fiber once I use up the soil I bought so the sand/soil will be temporary.