Acidic tolerance of Plethodon cinereus

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Farom

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Plethodon cinereus on peat moss?

At an invertebrate forum that I frequent, I came across an ad from someone who was getting out of the hobby. I was surprised to find that he had a pair(possible male/female) of this species for sale, and at a very inexpensive price. I decided to take up his offer, and I'll be receiving them tuesday or wednesday. These will be the first long term sals that I keep.

Anways, to the point. I came across this website which states that "P. cinereus, like many other amphibians, is negatively effected by high levels of acidity."

My original intent was to use a majority peat moss substrate with leaf litter. However, now I'm concerned that the high acidic content of the peat moss will have negative effects on my salamanders.

Question in short: Is peat moss an ideal substrate? If not, what kind of soil do you reccommend?

Thanks!
Andrew
 
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Nevermind it, they won't be kept on peat moss anyways.
What do you guys keep yours on?
 
Peat moss can be highly variable, and the acidity can leach ions from salamanders.

Redbacks are kept pretty well on topsoil with some leaf litter or loose bark for hides. They're a pretty common species around here.
 
Kaysie said:
Peat moss can be highly variable, and the acidity can leach ions from salamanders.

Redbacks are kept pretty well on topsoil with some leaf litter or loose bark for hides. They're a pretty common species around here.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I think I'll just stop by Home Depot. They're sure to have something. I've got plenty of leaflitter though, and a good assortment of hides and such to choose from after keeping as many reptiles and invertebrates as I have.

Here is a photo of the them that the guy sent me. Look healthy to you?
Redback_Salamander_Plethodon_cinere.jpg


When I receive them I'll post an underside shot and some closeups for sexing.
 
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Top soil and leaf litter should be ideal. Be sure to get top soil, not potting soil. The substrate in the photo you posted appears to be coco-fiber (a.k.a. "bed-a-beast" and other brand names).
 
Great, thanks. I appreciate you guys taking the time to answer these monotonous questions.
I'll post some of my own photos when they arrive.:wacko:
 
They arrived today. :)
Here is the enclosure(its a little sloppy:eek:). I would separate them but I've been told that they have been kept together for a while with no problems. I'll be feeding them mainly fruitflies(this OK?), but I might throw some isopods and such in there too.

Anyways, enough with the talk. Here are the pics.
Pcinereus1.jpg


Pcinereus2.jpg


Pcinereus3.jpg


Pcinereus4.jpg


I wish I could get some better pictures, but the little guys won't stop running around. I'll be replacing the hide on the right side as soon as I can go find something better. Also, do they look of breeding age? One of them still looks a bit small to me.
 
Is this forum like 90% lurkers or are people just lazy?
 
There's no need to be rude. You didn't ask an explicit question, so no one felt the need to reply. Your setup looks fine.
 
Despite their common-ness, not a lot of people have kept this species in captivity. I couldn't say for sure, but yours do look like mature adults.

Truth is, yes, >90% of this forum is just lurkers. If you compare the number of "views" to the number of "replies", on average there are typically at least 10 views for every reply.
 
I appreciate the replies. I was really irritated at the time of posting and a little of that got through into my post. <.<;
It's unfortunate that not many people keep this species. I'm keeping mine outside in the shade, it gets to around 70F during the day and upper 40's/low 50's at night, I'm hoping that they will cycle naturally this way as the weather continues to get colder. I think I may need to acquire a few more individuals if I want offspring though. Is there a size difference between mature males and females in this species?

Also, it is a shame that there are so many lurkers, people really need to post! The more posters there are, the faster this hobby will advance and grow. :)
 
The problem with more is that they are territorial. Having more of them would probably be detrimental unless you have them in separate setups. How will you prevent them from freezing on a particularly cold night?

If you haven't already read this...
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Plethodon/P_cinereus.shtml
 
Oh, don't worry. I'm well aware of them being territorial, and I don't mind setting up more enclosures. We don't get many frosts here, so I'll just keep track of the weather and bring them in on those really cold nights. If I find that this will end up being too tedius maybe I'll find a way to insulate them.
Thanks for the link, I have visited it a few times before. It just isn't terribly specific, so I wanted to ask questions here.
 
Farom said:
I appreciate the replies. I was really irritated at the time of posting and a little of that got through into my post. <.<;
It's unfortunate that not many people keep this species. I'm keeping mine outside in the shade, it gets to around 70F during the day and upper 40's/low 50's at night, I'm hoping that they will cycle naturally this way as the weather continues to get colder. I think I may need to acquire a few more individuals if I want offspring though. Is there a size difference between mature males and females in this species?

Also, it is a shame that there are so many lurkers, people really need to post! The more posters there are, the faster this hobby will advance and grow. :)
Click to expand...

I will take issue with your statement, "Also, it is a shame that there are so many lurkers, people really need to post! The more posters there are, the faster this hobby will advance and grow." Posting for the sake of posting has no merit. If one can add value to the thread by posting, then one should post. If the information would be redundant in that a question has already been satisfactorily answered...the redundancy is just that. If the 'lurker' has no knowledge of the species in question, their post would not be contributory. And least we forget, this board is also very educational. Folks often 'lurk' to gain more knowledge from others who have more experience....IMO, that is how this hobby will advance and grow.
 
Mmm, I really disagree. I'm not really sure why you took offense to that, but this is no place for an argument. Sorry.
 
Farom said:
Mmm, I really disagree. I'm not really sure why you took offense to that, but this is no place for an argument. Sorry.
Click to expand...
No offense taken. Simply a matter of a differing opinion.
 
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