PangaeaWar
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- Jun 27, 2015
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Hi guys. I recently (June 24th) got two "Water Dogs" that were ordered from a breeder by a small non-chain pet store (I know, kind of a bad idea). I say water dogs in quotes because they did not actually have gills when they arrived, but they were still obviously juvenile size (at least, as far as I know). The pet store didn't know what they were talking about (though they were very nice), upon entering and asking about them the guy working said "Oh, yeah! They're so young that they haven't even got their gills yet".
I know, first big red flag. I've had many animals over the course of my life, since my mother has worked with them since I can remember. We've had fire belly newts before, but that was when I was very young-- other than that, I've never had amphibians. Obviously because of this, I had done my research on water dog/tiger salamander setups prior to even ordering them. I told the guy that they actually lost their gills over time, to which I was given an "Oh."
Needless to say, while we quickly converted an all-water aquarium to a land-water aquarium when we got home, there's still several odd things going on with them. Despite explicitly offering land to them, the two still won't dare leave the water. They seem comfortable with constantly swimming up to the surface to get air, but they have obviously lost their gills. I even carefully sat one up on land and he just looked like he did not know what to do before promptly swimming back under the water and not ever climbing up since.
The next problem I have is that while one is very friendly and has a very, very nice food drive (I feed them thawed blood worms and small pellets), from what I've seen the other barely eats his food. I did notice him shedding a couple of days after we got him, and I know that kind of curbs their hunger, but I saw that his shed fully came off in one piece yesterday, and he still hasn't tried hunting. All he does is float vertically against the aquarium wall with his nose above water-- he does not even go on land. I've tried to hand feed him, but he will turn away every time. The other one hand-feeds perfectly though.
Lastly, are they even tiger salamanders? I know that water dogs are normally a dull gray/brown color and when they turn into tiger salamanders they become black with yellow stripes, but the two I have have a marble pattern that is dark gray and light gray where I would assume the yellow will soon come in. I will try to post pictures if I can.
They do not have any sort of substrate or flooring since they are still, oddly, aquatic. I do have live plants in the aquarium such as duckweed and anacharis (because this is actually part of a school project and it's best if I have live plants), but they never mess with it. I have a photosynthesis-specialized light in order for the plants to grow. If the plants are causing a problem and they're threatening the health of the salamanders, please let me know and I'll take them out. There is a gentle whispering water pump that they sometimes like to hide under, and there are also rocks that serve as some shade as well as land if they would only use it. I've made sure they can get on top of the rock, so at this point they are not using it only because of their own preference, not out of the inability to. Their aquarium is kept around 72-74 F.
Why is the one not eating now after his shed? How long does 'aquatic' salamander shedding take? Are they even tiger salamanders? Why are they still preferring to live in the water? Is there something I could do to the setup to make their lives better? The one seems perfectly friendly and has a good appetite, but the other does not at all. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Sorry for the wall of text.
I know, first big red flag. I've had many animals over the course of my life, since my mother has worked with them since I can remember. We've had fire belly newts before, but that was when I was very young-- other than that, I've never had amphibians. Obviously because of this, I had done my research on water dog/tiger salamander setups prior to even ordering them. I told the guy that they actually lost their gills over time, to which I was given an "Oh."
Needless to say, while we quickly converted an all-water aquarium to a land-water aquarium when we got home, there's still several odd things going on with them. Despite explicitly offering land to them, the two still won't dare leave the water. They seem comfortable with constantly swimming up to the surface to get air, but they have obviously lost their gills. I even carefully sat one up on land and he just looked like he did not know what to do before promptly swimming back under the water and not ever climbing up since.
The next problem I have is that while one is very friendly and has a very, very nice food drive (I feed them thawed blood worms and small pellets), from what I've seen the other barely eats his food. I did notice him shedding a couple of days after we got him, and I know that kind of curbs their hunger, but I saw that his shed fully came off in one piece yesterday, and he still hasn't tried hunting. All he does is float vertically against the aquarium wall with his nose above water-- he does not even go on land. I've tried to hand feed him, but he will turn away every time. The other one hand-feeds perfectly though.
Lastly, are they even tiger salamanders? I know that water dogs are normally a dull gray/brown color and when they turn into tiger salamanders they become black with yellow stripes, but the two I have have a marble pattern that is dark gray and light gray where I would assume the yellow will soon come in. I will try to post pictures if I can.
They do not have any sort of substrate or flooring since they are still, oddly, aquatic. I do have live plants in the aquarium such as duckweed and anacharis (because this is actually part of a school project and it's best if I have live plants), but they never mess with it. I have a photosynthesis-specialized light in order for the plants to grow. If the plants are causing a problem and they're threatening the health of the salamanders, please let me know and I'll take them out. There is a gentle whispering water pump that they sometimes like to hide under, and there are also rocks that serve as some shade as well as land if they would only use it. I've made sure they can get on top of the rock, so at this point they are not using it only because of their own preference, not out of the inability to. Their aquarium is kept around 72-74 F.
Why is the one not eating now after his shed? How long does 'aquatic' salamander shedding take? Are they even tiger salamanders? Why are they still preferring to live in the water? Is there something I could do to the setup to make their lives better? The one seems perfectly friendly and has a good appetite, but the other does not at all. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Sorry for the wall of text.
