Panic...?

I just got two tiger sals this morning, and it seems nothing good has happened so far. First, the larger one is the only one eating...I think he ate too much (about 4 little crickets and 3 large ones at least..). The small one doesn't seem to want to eat even when he is alone (the manager said they were probably "hibernating" because they were burried, and don't want to eat right now. He said give him two weeks and to watch his weight.) Second, I just dropped the smaller one, on complete accident. It must have been 3-4 feet...I feel so horrible and am worrying about both of them right now. I put the one I dropped back in the tank and he is walking around and went into their hiding place with the other. Will they be alright? I'm worrying like crazy right now, and feel like a horrible mom..and it's only the first day

On a side note, the two of them were in completely dry substrate (with a water dish) at the pet store and were housed with medium-sized lizards. My tank now is damp and has a water dish for them to sit in. They have both been in the water, and don't seem unhappy, but can this big change have a negative outcome? I'm probably worrying too much, but I really want them to have a nice life...I don't think I gave them a good start

it might take a couple days for them to eat do to stress of moving and such

next make sure u examine the one you droped for any broken limbs and watch it walk to see if it walks funny

and for the change, its alright they dont need a slow change they wont go into shock

That makes sense. I also think the crickets I bought were too large for him, but perfect for the larger one. It's just strange, though: the one that is eating is acting like a salamander would; snapping and jumping at any sign of movement. The other just sits and lets anything happen to him, even crickets crawl on his head..that was my main concern.

He walks fine..I was worried for brain damage or something. He just walked right off of my arm, and I should have been paying more attention.

I guess I'll see what happens. I'll keep trying to feed him just in case he changes his mind. Thank you so much for the help!

Is it possible that he may not like crickets? I know that's a strange question, but the thought ran through my mind today.

This is more worrying than I thought it would be. I hope he lives..



(Message edited by drummajor08 on December 30, 2006)

(Message edited by drummajor08 on December 30, 2006)

Try offering him other foods. Chopped earthworms, waxworms, butterworms, decapitated meal worms, small filets of fresh meat, etc. He may get hungry if he smells something else.

By fresh meat, do you mean anything? Would the preservatives in ground beef from the store be harmful to him?

Well, I did some research this morning and found that many people occasionally feed their tigers lean ground beef when worms can't be easily found. I tried that, and my larger guy, Rex, loved it..he chased the meat around and chomped down. King, the smaller one, seemed afraid of it and backed away. I really don't know what to do about him.

Is he going to die?

my advise is to leave some worms and food in the cage with king maybe overnight and see if he eats eat, he may be to shy for hand feeding

I'll try that sometime. It just seems like he wants to sleep all the time..could that be from weakness, or is he actually "hibernating"? (like the petstore man told me)

salamanders are lazy, its most likely normal

This is very true. It's not a fun thing being new to this and having bad luck...If he hasn't eaten still in a few days, I will try some new foods again. Thanks so much for the help; you've calmed me down a few notches.

They don't hibernate. They may slow down at very cold temps, but they never "sleep" and they become active as soon as they warm up again. Could it be TOO warm? What temp are you keeping them at?

If you have a Walmart, you probably have a source of earthworms. Check the fishing department. These would be much better than hamburger.

Good luck!

Well..he finally ate! About a week ago, he started to snap and follow some hamburger meat..I've found that he only eats it if it lays in front of him and if I wiggle it around a little bit. I was away this weekend, and had my mom try to feed him again, and she got him to eat as well. As for the temp..I keep it fairly cool in my room by keeping the door closed and away from the flow of heat from the wood stove downstairs.

I have yet another question; Is it strange for sals to keep their eyes closed for long periods of time? Today I was doing some remodeling of their cage to add more hiding space, and the smaller one was walking around with his eyes closed..I had no idea how he was getting around, but he found everything. Maybe my bedroom light was bothering him? I'm pretty sure he wasn't sleep walking

Haley, hamburger meat is NOT a good food for salamanders. It is much too fatty, and lacks calcium and vitamins. If this is the major food you are using, they are likely to develop problems. Please read this article for some better ideas for what to feed them:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/foods.shtml

It does sound strange to me that they close their eyes, especially when walking. But I don't have an explanation. When they do open their eyes, do the eyes look normal (clear, fully open)?

I've only fed them the hamburger meat a few times. It's mostly just the smaller one, trying to get him to eat something, and I put the calcium powder on it too, but I know what you mean. I'm going back to crickets as soon as I can.

As for the eyes, I fed the problem child yesterday, and his eyes were open then. They were clear, but it's still strange. Could he still be weak after not eating?

Hmm, no luck with the earthworms. They basically spat them out and backed away.

Next on the list is trout, and if that doesn't work, it's back to crickets I guess.

Crickets are OK, just be sure to dust them with a calcium/vitamin powder. This is "standard practice" for using crickets to feed any reptile/amphibian.

All is well now for the tigers. They absolutely love trout. The little guy is gaining some weight and now keeps his eyes open. Rex is, well, looking like a stuffed sausage still. Thanks to all of you!