Salamander Play-time

I've had my salamander for ten years and I've been letting him out of his cage to roam around the house or outside about once a week. I feel bad keeping him cooped up and when I lived elsewhere I'd let him out and watch him in the yard. But now I live in an apartment that uses pesticides so he's only let loose indoors. He's never had any problems until recently. First of all, he's discovered he can climb the wall if he gets in a good corner. So now I have to watch him because I'm afraid he'll get to the top and not know how to come back down. Also he's started squishing himself under doorways & straying farther than he used to. Aside from these dangers, is there any reason I shouldn't let him roam around? i.e. could synthetic materials like the carpet be harmful to him?

I say keep a good eye on him when you let him roam. Watch his every move and make sure that he stays away from every small hole. I don't know too much about newts and sals, but I'm pretty sure that most people in these forums will tell you that roaming is a bad idea.

I just think that letting it walks freely is dangerous. And possible stressful.

If what's in your picture is what you're calling a salmander, it's not. It's some type of lizard. Unless it's a tiger sal with a freakishly long tail.

Letting salamanders roam around the house is NOT good for them. If you are 'worried about keeping it cooped up', you should probably not keep pets, as this is the definition of a pet.

Salamanders of all species require moist habitats (NOT your carpet), and objects which will not damage their skin. This includes anything sharp, and anything with chemicals on it. Even if you didn't use ANY chemicals, such as carpet cleaner, hairspray, nailpolish remover, cooking spray, bug spray, window cleaner, I would NOT let my animals just 'roam free'.

It appears to be a Tiger Salamander.... maybe it's great uncle was a gecko though ;-). Pretty impressive climbing skills for a Tiger.

In my opinion, when you let your salamander out of its habitat, it's confused, and probably a bit stressed out, and its gonna start moving, and trying to find a spot to hide (hence why it sticks itself under a doorway). In nature, Tiger salamanders naturally hide under logs, or dig underground, and sit, and stay moist. The only time they are seen out and about and is considered normal behavior is when it rains, and its cool and dark out -all at the same time-... and usually the only reason they are out is to go find another Salamander to breed with.

As per mentioned, you run the risk of all sorts of possible toxins leaching into the salamanders skin from anything, such as laundry detergents in clothes, old spots where carpet cleaner was used, weird feet bacteria (definitely not implying anything lol, we've all got them)... ect. ect. All I'm saying is its a bad idea, and the 'play' behavior you are witnessing is most definitely not play, its 'hide and go seek a nice cool moist spot because this wide open dry brightness freaks the poop out of me' behavior.

Will it kill him? More than likely not, but could it? Yes. Be very careful, and be smart about letting the animal out.

I told you the rest of Caudata.org would disagree with that and now I do too because I always listen to my fellow newt lovers on Caudata.org rather than pet shop advice.

Thanks for the feedback! He's a blotched tiger salamander- not a lizard. Although I did take him to the vet once and the guy called him a lizard first and then a newt! He wasn't exactly brilliant. And I won't let him out anymore. Thanks again. At least now I won't feel guilty about leaving him in his cage.

How big is his cage?

It's a 20 gallon aquarium and he's the sole inhabitant.

Actually, if you've had your salamander for 10 years I'd say you've done a good job taking care of him! At the same time I have to admit that I've never yet considered letting my salamanders out for a walk. I try making their "cage" natural and interesting to them. What does your terrarium look like?

Hi Stephanie, does the salamander have dry scaly skin or damp smooth skin?

What a fantastic story! It sure does look like a tiger salamander. A male judging by the size of it’s cloaca. It certainly won’t do anything for it’s stress levels if you let it wander about and there are many risks associated as already mentioned. Salamanders desiccate very quickly when not in a cool damp habitat so letting it loose in an apartment is potentially lethal for a long period. Saying that, if you’ve had him 10 years you must be doing something correct…

You could always get him a hamster wheel…! (that’s a joke btw )

His skin is damp and smooth and I try to keep his terrarium interesting. We've tried a few different caves- he has two now but he's preferential toward his newest one. He used to have a carved out half log but he was not at all interested in it. He's got a water dish, sphagnum moss, and a pothos plant. His substrate is coconut bark. I had thought he wanted out because he would try and climb the sides of his cage, and he wasn't hungry. So I'd put my hand in his cage and wait for him to come over before taking him out- just in case he wasn't interested. Then when I let him out I'd always put him in the same place and he'd roam around for an hour or so and then come back to the same place. So I figured that was when he wanted to go back in. Anyways, I wasn't ever really convinced he liked being out. I think it's really great that you guys answer people's questions- I've looked over lots of previous posts and they were very informative. The first few years I had him I had lots of misinformation from the pet store (I didn't buy him from the pet store; just had him pet-sat during vacation).

Hi Stephanie. I don't know much about terrestrial salamanders, I do aquatic newts. But anyway, what exactly is coconut "bark" like? I know most people use coconut fiber that allows their tigers to burrow under.

It is coconut fiber- not bark. Not sure why I called it that. Thanks.

I think that if he's the sole inhabitant of a 20g tank then you shouldn't have to worry about him being cooped up. His tank already sounds more luxerious then my room.