My newly metamorphosed fire sal isn't eating!

[Sianita]

Hi there i have 1 little fire salamander that metamorphosed on wed the 1st. I have already been to my local pet store to try and get micro crickets, but they don't have them. The soonest i can get them is a week today I'm giving him chopped up earthworms and he just doesn't want them. All he wants to do is hind under his moss and bark.
I'm kinda in a panic coz I dont want him to starve but i dont know what else a can feed him or how i can get him to eat????? If anyone can give me some advice I would really appreciate it :)

[Jeff Fenn]

Fire salamanders, newly morphed (or birthed) or not, are not going to starve over the period of a few days, or even a week. Relax. Continue to offer food once or twice a day. Chopped earthworm small enough for the salamander to swallow should suffice, but try offering other food items as well to see if that stimulates a feeding response.

[Sianita]

thanks for the quick reply :) erm im not to sure what else i can offer him tho. All i have is earthworms or frozen food (bloodworms etc) would that do? or should i hunt for something else in my garden?

[Julia]

I've used green fly to feed new morphs, just make sure no one has been spraying pesticides to remove them first.

[Coastal Groovin]

Look for isopods of the correct size in your yard or local park

[Salamanderfire]

Hi,

there are lots of insects and other critters you can collect in the garden or in the woods.
Of course it is important to be sure that no toxic agents are used in the garden that might contaminate the food organisms.
Some examples what I fed my newly metamorphosed fire salamanders:
Isopods (wood lice), springtails, tiny slugs, small earthworms, white worms (Enchytraeus) from the compost heap, tiny (!) spiders and harvestmen, plant lice, caterpillars (from not toxic plants and not those with hair!) and fruit flies.
All those I collect in our garden or from the woods around here. It is important that the food is small enough and that you avoid dangerous critters like toxic ones or predators like some kinds of ground beetles.
And if there are toxic spiders where you live, I'd avoid spiders, too. Even very small ones could be dangerous for a salamander if it is the wrong species. But where I live (northern Germany) little spiders belong to the natural food of salamanders and terrestrial newts.
If you are not sure if a potential food organism could be dangerous than simply don't feed it.

To make collecting food easier, you can put some wooden planks on the ground at a shady place in your garden, keep them a bit moist and put some food (for example lettuce leaves or some fish flakes) under them. Soon you will find lots of different little springtails, slugs, isopods, worms and other critters under the planks.

You can also feed bigger female isopods that already carry eggs or larvae at their underside. They soon will release the little isopods as a good food source for the salamanders.
And you can also feed the little larvae that you find in pea pods, plums and other crops and fruits.

If you prefer to buy your food you can try white tropical woodlice (good calcium resource!), springtails, fire brats, white worms, fruit flies (those that are unable to fly) or pea aphids. All these are offered by pet shops or special mail order businesses.

Good luck with your little salamander!
Peter

[jane1187]

I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet but it is not uncommon for new morphs (or indeed aquatic larvae prior to morphing) to go off their food.

They are just coming out of water onto land and so they will be quite shy for a little while, its a new environment full of potential predators (I know they don't have any predators in captivity but its their instinct). Continue to gently coax him to eat but don't over-stress him by being inside and close to the tank too often. Give him at least a week and you may find he'll start exploring more and will start feeding.

Good Luck

[Sianita]

Thanks very much everyone for your replies. :) U have set my mind at ease. Thanks Peter for your information. There was quite a few critters that I didn't realize my wee guys could eat. I'll definitely go bug hunting for a few of those in my garden.

Thanks again everyone

From Sian and Yoshi (the first wee fire salamander that metamorphed) xxx

[Mark]

For stress free feeding of small salamanders do the following.

1 - Go to woods
2 - Grab a big handful of moss and a big handful of leaf litter.
3 - Place in plastic tub with secure lid and ventilation
4 - Add salamander

Done.

Whilst simplistic, I won't compete with Peter's excellent post which pretty much covers everything.

[Sianita]

Cheers Mark :) x