Marbled Salamander won't eat worms

I have a Marbled Salamander which eats crickets readily (loves 'em in fact!) but won't touch the worms I offer. I've tried E. Hortensis, small size from Yorkshire Worms so I know they're clean, she just shows no interest in them and turns away. The opposite reaction to when there's a cricket anywhere near her!


Any tips for getting her to eat them? This is the only salamander or newt I've ever owned that doesn't automatically gulp down worms, she's a very hungry salamander and will eagerly eat in front of me and takes food from tongs without hesitation. Her crickets are loaded and dusted so there's no worries about her condition (she's in great shape, maybe a little rotund), I'd just rather have her eating worms.

I have the same issue my tiger salamander, Salaman Grundy. He actively avoids worms of any kind. He the last time I tried to feed him worms, one of them tunneled into his burrow and he came running out. If you find a way to get the marbled to take them, that’d be great, but as long as it’s getting the proper nutrients it should be fine.

That's a great name for a salamander!

Weird that some just aren't switched on to worms, maybe the breeder just never offered them which is again strange given how cheap and easy to keep/breed they are. Mine ignores them until they get close and then either turns away or backs up into her tunnel.

coleonyx said:

That's a great name for a salamander!

Weird that some just aren't switched on to worms, maybe the breeder just never offered them which is again strange given how cheap and easy to keep/breed they are. Mine ignores them until they get close and then either turns away or backs up into her tunnel.

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Thanks! And unfortunately Salaman Grundy was NOT captive bred. He was found frozen alive in Colorado Springs, Colorado by a young girl who thawed him out and nursed him back to health. She kept him for a few years and he got obese and lost all survival skills, and she gave him to me when she felt she could not take care of him anymore. He has an unusual personality for a tiger salamander. Although he does dig burrows and spend some time in them, he spends the majority of his time sitting on top of a small hide cave, rather than inside it. If I ever feel like he could survive in the wild again, I will let him go, but as long as he chooses to spend his time sitting on the surface rather than hiding in the 10 inches of soil, I’m going to take care of him.
It makes me really curious why he seems to be so scared of all worms. He readily eats crickets, and every month or two I’ll guve him a pinkie as a treat which he gobbles up.
Have you tried giving your marbled salamander red wigglers?

He looks great! I always have a soft spot pets with odd behaviour and he certainly sounds a little different! Tigers are very hard to get in the UK now so I don't see that many of them.

Are red wrigglers Eisenia Fetida? I was unsure about them as they are known as manure worms, the supplier I use doesn't include them in its live food section (they're called tiger worms or brandlings over here) so I guessed they are kept on manure. I have heard conflicting opinions about feeding them so salamanders so just went with E. Hortensis.

It seems to be the wriggling motion that just does nothing for her, like she doesn't identify it as food. Like all marbleds she's a slow methodical hunter but worms don't seem to flick the switch.