Hellbender giveaway!

Oh man .i jsut got news from the guy that works in the vivarium room at my college that they are giving away some animals. Amongst them, a Hellbender, yeah i dont know i jsut thought i should say this to the forum. oh man this is great!

well the thing is that the guy that i know that works in the vivarium room tells me that the hellbender is roughly a foot long and that they keep it in a ten gallon tank with a power filter and a sponge bubble aeretor. also they have had this hellbender for 3 years. is it possible that it is a subspecies that is small? Im really hoping that i can accquire it. i have a twenty gallon tank that i have (the mudpuppies used to live in it) and its all disinfected and ready. Man id be happy jsut to be in the same room as a hellbenderthe biggest salamander that i have ever seen is a mudpuppy, but to see a hellbender would be a real treat. to own one would be indescribable.

35 liters? Man, that is cruel...
70 liters doesn't sounds much better either to be honest.

If you will get a salamander like that you should get at least a 500 liter tank - If you cannot afford that or doesn't have room for it, you should reconsider...

Keeping a 30 cm hellbender in 35l tank makes me quite annoyed, 35l is like 40cm*30cm*30cm - nice college you got there...

a foot long hellbender in a 10 gallon tank? someone should be shot. to keep a full grown hellbender, you would need no less than 150 gallon aquarium set up as a cold, fast moving stream. many people are completely unable to keep this species because of the volume of water needed to be moved.

How about instead of ragging this guy someone with some experience give him a little valid advise. Obviously someone is going to get the animal, it might as well be someone who is motivated to keep it properly. Sometimes I see way too much opinion and not enough knowledge being dished out on this forum.

RUSS

Well, what can I say?
I would say I am as dumb as a doorpost when it comes to cryptobranchidae, but I do know that someone who seriously wants to keep one wouldn't post about putting it in a 70l tank.
Might as well throw in an andrias davidianus in the bathtub too....

It's big too AND rare! Cool!

I did give VERY valid advise Russ - I said reconsider if you are not prepared for it!
Judging from what I have heard thus far I can't say that it seems like Jesse here have read up on Cryptobranchids -seems more like he would want it because it is big(ie cool..).

Hey, maybe I am just a cynic that doesn't believe that Jesse will devote a room in his apartment, buy a chiller, a big <font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font> pump and a 500-1000l tank for a total of 1000-2000 dollars not counting the rent for the room....

If you really have spent weeks or months reading up and thinking that through I apologize.

actually i have read up on hellbenders. I have looked up all the i can on them onm the net and i have also gone to the school library and read through all i could. Through it is true i may not have as much experience as some of the more seasoned herpoculturists ni this forum. I am definitely not planning to keep the hellbender in a ten gallon tank, im not crazy and i whant the animals to live and be happy and healthy.The twenty gallon tank that i have is a special amphibian tank, which means that it is not a tall tank but more squat and low. I agree with mike about getting a chiller and power heads, since i read that they need cold flowing water. I understand the fact that my experience with large salamanders is limited to mudpuppies, so i ask all of you for youre opinion(gulp), as to weather i should take this hellbender. I am willing to buy whatever equipment i need to get. Please gimme youre thoughts.
thatnks as allways
-Jesse Horne
P.S. Yeah mike i do live in california

You might want to give frigid units website a lookover, they have a good living stream system

oh eyah and yes one reason that i do whant to get it is that it is big (i.e. cool)

K, I'm all for it if you can take proper care of it(ie get a cooler, 500l tank, circulation pump etc).

You aren't still thinking about housing it in your 70l tank I hope?

I would say that the calculation Mike did was very generous, I would wager more like 1500 - then again I am counting on a 150 gallon tank.
I understand that tanks are very cheap over there, I would have to cough up about 500 dollars for a 150 gallon tank here. A good circulation pump is 250 dollars(if you want to whip out a nice and good current you will need poweful stuff, I am looking at one that does 11700l/h for a thousand dollars) some nice filters will do you in for 200-500 dollars. I f you want a GOOD cooling system(ie that brings the temp down more than 5C) you are looking at several thousands of dollars. Point being that 1000 dollars is nothing when talking about creating a suitable environment for the "little" guy.

Much better.

RUSS

@Russ

Wow, from senior member to moderator to junior member in less than an hour! That has got to be a record!

Hi All,
Maybe I'm being a little cranky here but where did the 150 gallon (568 l) estimate come from as the minimum required space? This is excessive for what is needed to maintain these animals. I am aware of a experienced hobbyist keeping a pair in a 75 gallon aquaria (284 L) and having the pair spawn (unsucessfully).
I have worked with hellbenders and agree that a 20 gallon long (76 l) aquarium to too small for other than rearing larva. A 55 gallon aquarium (208 l) would be fine as long the temperature could be controled to stay below 70 F (21 C) and maintain a high oxygen content.
Another point that is overlooked is that canister filters use the aquarium water to cool the motor so a chiller unit will probably be required to maintain the proper water temperature.

Ed

A much better alternative in my mind would be to donate this animal to a zoological institute. The Detroit Zoo is attempting to breed them, and Zoo Atlanta also has a colony that they're trying to breed. You should look into this, as it would probably be a much better option for the animal.

Hi Kaysie,
For it to be part of a breeding program it would need to come with locality data as there are several different genetic lines as well as the different subspecies bishopi (which are endangered in its native states). Still, even if it doesn't have locality data it would still of be of use as several Zoos are either setting up off exhibit breeding programs or have off exhibit programs and an animal of unknown locality could be placed on exhibit to help explain the problems these salamanders are having.
Ed

So you really think a 200l tank and below 20C water will do for a hellbender? Hey maybe I should get me a bunch then.*joking*

I have six juvenile waltls(10-12cm) in a 300l tank. I think it will be too small when they are grown that is why I wanted to give away some of them.
There is no way a would put in a salamander like a cryptobranchid in that tank. Maybe its just me but I feel that if I would get me ONE hellbender I would probably get myself a tank bigger than 500l. Because I FEEL that it is fair to a salamander like that - I suppose how that is how the 150 gallon thing came up Ed.

Do you feel that 300l is sufficient for a pair of adult hellbenders?

(Message edited by jesper on March 16, 2004)

Hmmmm--Like Ed, I get a bit annoyed at some of the posts I see here, especially those from folks who have had little or no experience with the species involved. To placate myself I say, I guess that they are well-meaning, but...
I have had a hellbender in Florida with no chiller for more than 15 years now. It was a "dead" creature, found floating upside down and seemingly lifeless in the aquarium of a Miami dealer. I retrieved it, thinking it would go to a University study collection, but just as a precaution, put it in a fish bag with some fresh water and stuck it under the air conditioner vent in the car. By the time I had driven the 350 miles back home, the little creature had revived and I had an 8" long hellbender to concern myself with. It went initially in a 15 gallon tank with hide rocks and a very standard aquarium filter. On a diet of worms and minnows, it soon outgrew this tank and went into a custom 50 gallon "low" tank, still with very standard filtration (a powerhead on a sponge) and more hide rocks. It has been there since, taking fish and worms from my fingers, and living in "room temperature" water. I know of a dozen or more others that have been kept pretty much the same way.
Yes, I expect a barrage of comments re my "horrid" husbandry methods. But I submit in advance that it is obvious to me that many of the comments I have seen have been made are by those with little (if any) practical experience with this salamander species. Rgds/Dick