New Tiger Salamander?

Well, I guess I should start off with, I"m a stupid new person who went to a pet store & purchased an animal they didnt know anything about, lol.
History-
"Sally" (<== Stupid name the guy had) was mky 8th grade science teacher's "pet". I guess 2 years (when I was in 6th grade) a girl brought him in, she said she found him in her pond. So my teacher stupidly kept him. (Now I say it this way because he didn't take proper care of the animals he already had). So now I'm out of school, & on the last day of school he asked me if I wanted to take him home & release him into my pond. I was thinking alright, I'll set him free & let him be wild again, awesome. On my way home I got to thinking about it, if he's been in captivity for 2 years, would he still remember how to survive in the wild? My vote was No, so my stepdad made the decision to keep him.


Teacher-
Okie, this guy HAD a snake & a rat, & he still has a scorpion & a tarantula. Now the snake escaped from his tank, & got into the radiator thing & got chopped in half. The rat (poor little guy) , his testicals sweeled up until they eventually exploded & he died. When the students asked him why he didn't do anything "he was going to die soon anyway" I was appaled with this guy. The rat's testicals were as big as a regualr chicken egg! He still has the scorpion & tarantula. He does NOT take care of his animals, there were times when he didn't feed the scorpion,salamander, & tarantua for s few weeks at a time. Needless to sya, I did NOT like this guy.

"Sally"-
He lived in a 5 gallon aqarium with gravel, & it was 50% water, & then on the other saide, the rocks were pilled up so he could get out, & he had a TINY shelter.I didn't say anything because I hada no idea what a salamander needed...

Now-
We renamed "sally".."Gator" lmao! My stepdad named him, because he was the closet thing he would have have to an alligator, lol! My mom still doesn't know we have him (Sshh!) Now up until today, I had him in a 10 gallon aqarium with 75% gravel "land" & 25% water & a large hideout..Just about an hour ago (after reading up on these guys!) I switched his tank out. Now it has a bottom layer of gravel, 2-3 inches of soil, & a top layer of moss with a small pool & a hidey house. He LOVES it..I did get some pics for you guys as well

Here Goes..


Looking Strait on..


Left side with pool (See Gator!!)


Right Side


Chillin on his rock


Getting out of Pool


In Pool


Getting out of pool again


Just relaxin

He is A Tiger..isn't he?

It is a tiger, but is a little skinny.

You have it in a good setup. Definately keep the topsoil. Also be sure to give him plenty of places to hide, as these guys are normally burrowers.

I would suggest feeding it lots of earthworms, waxworms, crickets, etc. Good luck with it.

yeah, I assumed he should be a bit larger. As I said, my teacher wasn't the best as a caregiver. Right now he has burried himself right next t othe glass so I can see him . We're going to the pet store tomarrow to pick up a few crickets, my questin is how many should I give him?

I had another question, & I'm not sure what it was or why it happened. But I picked him up,(I know I'm not supposed to) & when I did, he had this film cover thing? that like slipped up, it didn't hurt him or anything..but I wasn't sure what it was, now it's layed across a rock & it looks all stringy & it's black..but I have no idea what it is..

Earthworms are a better meal than crickets.

How big is he? This will determine how much food you should give him.

The film is probably a mix of skin and mucus. If you need to pick him up in the future, be sure to pick him up by the base of the tail, and support his body with your hand.

I know this is probably wrong, but I was told not to feed worms because a worm once it has been eaten, can eat it's way out of the salamander..


I belive he's about 5-6inches

I'll have to remember to pick him up by the tail


My next question would be (yeah, I have lots of questions,lol!) how long will they stay hidden for & how long is TOO long to stay hidden (to where I may start to worry something is wrong..)

Its not possible for a worm to eat its way out of a salamander. . Ive read that they can stay hidden for months on end. Mine, comes out every other day when its feeding time.

Earthworms have no jaws. Mealworms can bite animals internally, and shouldn't be fed to your animals without being decapitated.

At 5 or 6 inches, I would feed him 2 inches of earthworm about 3 times a week.

If you don't want it to 'hide', you should make a small cave (I use plastic cups) and half-bury it. Then the animal feels well hidden, but is still accessable.