Time for name that larvae!

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zomper

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My kids call her Sally, but we would really like to find out the type of salamander she is. We caught her while scooping wood frog tadpoles in massachussets and one of the kids noticed a tadpole with gills. She has grown a lot, currently around 7cm with large red gills and eats black worms like a champ! I think she is a mole salamander probably a spotted or marbled based on her size and that she's pretty stout. Can anyone confirm this? Attaching some photos.

Thanks for any help!
 

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Here is another photo.
 

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I'm not sure, it kinda looks like a Red Spotted Newt out of eft, I'd look up a Lizard type chart though. As long as she's happy you'll be fine though. ?

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Wait, that looks like an Axolotl!

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She was found in an area where there are a lot of red spotted, but from what I've read she's about three times the size of when a red spotted goes through metamorphosis. Plus she doesn't have the line through her pupil which is normally an indicator. It would be cool if she was a colored Axolotyl. ;). It will be fun to see what she turns into
 
I suspect you may have an Ambystoma, possibly maculatum. It looks very much like my larvae.
 
Thanks for the reply! I definitely can see some spotted salamander qualities in her. The kids are getting used to seeing her beg for food as a larvae. I'm worried she will just hide in her burrow once she goes through metamorphosis. Any tips for allowing them to burrow while still having visibility? Also do you know how long on average until metamorphosis? We are going on three months currently. Appreciate the knowledge and advice!
 
Almost time for metamorphosis. I think...

Fairly certain I have an A. Maculatum larvae. It's lost most of its gills over the last day and is gulping air pretty constantly. She is @ 3 inches long snout to tail now. Attached is a pic from last week and I will follow up with pictures now. Any ideas how long until metamorphosis? Let me know if I'm wrong about it being A. Maculatum as well. Thanks!
 

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Re: Almost time for metamorphosis. I think...

And here she is today...
 

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Re: Almost time for metamorphosis. I think...

One more pic from today...
 

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One more...
 

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Re: Almost time for metamorphosis. I think...

This is just me, and I could be as wrong as could be, but the larvae looks like Ambystoma opacum, or the marbled salamander. I believe that spotted salamanders have black tail tips? Correct me if I'm wrong BTW

EDIT: Spotted have the same type of tail color, so I do not know
 
Now I'm stumped!

So I though Sally was morphing into an A. Maculatum or an A. Opacum but now she is getting tiny white dots all over that don't look like either :). Any idea what she may be? Possibly a blue spotted? I think I may be a little confused. Thanks in advance for any help! I will post pix.
 

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Re: Now I'm stumped!

Detail of her tail...
 

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Re: Now I'm stumped!

When Opacum morphs, they don't have adult coloration immediately. I'll try to find some pictures of a morphing Opacum
 
Re: Now I'm stumped!

Thanks! The tiny spots are confusing me :)
 
Re: Now I'm stumped!

Could you add a picture of the whole mysterious animal please :)

I've merged all the posts together now so we can see the development in one spot .
 
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Thanks! It's really cool to see the entire journey. I'm attaching en entire body view. I was trying for close ups because sometimes people post pix from too far away :)
 

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Looking at the glands on the back of the head/neck, I think it's either a spotted salamander, blue spotted salamander, or jefferson's salamander
 
Here is a better pic of the entire body. She has been sitting in her log with her head out of the water. Doesn't seem to be in a hurry to stay out of the water permanently. At what point do you remove them from the water? Do they sometimes stay semi-aquatic? Her tank is currently about an inch of water with a half submerged log that she hides in. Doesn't sit on top of it yet... She is 3 inches long now btw
 

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