Question: what species? help...

What species are these? they were found just before the freeze a few weeks ago(+ or -) here in Akron, Ohio. They were under rocks/leafs. we have them in a 10 gal with water in half and rocks in the other but I am having difficulty identifying them so I can learn more about temperature, feeding, etc.etc.

thanks!!
Jim

Looks like Plethedon cinereus.

This care sheet should help you out as well: http://caudata.org/cc/species/Plethodon/P_cinereus.shtml

I would be a bit worried about the size difference between the two sals on the third pictures, it look to me that the small one would just about fit in the mouth of the big one, which is a very bad situation as that species is known to predate on its own youngs...

Thanks.....That helps alot.... we're new to having sals and a few people have mentioned splitting them up due to the cannibalistic issues....thank you....
On another note, how do you set up an aquarium for a terrestrial sal? I mean right now we have rocks and some water; and once a week or so we put a filter in and clean it out while we watch. But after finding this site and learning a little more about what we have; its obvious we need to make the aquarium more like their natural habitat. the problem: cleaning it.... we found them all in a forest area under leaves and rocks and some even just walking along in the grass on a dewey night. so should I dig up a chunk of yard? and how do you keep it from becoming a muddy mess? Thanks again for the help! And I'm sure our sals are thanking you too!!...

Jim

If you are accustomed to keeping aquatic tanks, it will require a bit of a change of thinking to keep a terrarium. However, one of the basic principals of aquatic tanks is also true for terrestrials: biological breakdown. In fact, you will need to do far LESS cleaning of a terrarium because soil does such a great job of breaking down wastes (particularly for little bitty sals like these).

To prevent a "muddy mess", you carefully regulate the amount of moisture you put in. Just spray with a bit of water when it appears to be getting too dry. Keep one side of the habitat wetter than the other. These guys don't even need a water dish.

For substrate, a "chunk of yard" would work fine. Including a bit of coco-fiber (bed-a-beast) will improve moisture retention, but may not be necessary.

Alright so let's see if we can get you all set up here. First off let's get the tank figured out then we'll worry about cleaning. The best thing I can tell you to use as a substrate (dirt substitute) is coco fiber, commonly sold as bed-a-beast. I make it about an inch or two deep then I cover it with a nice layer of leaves. You could put in a few rocks or bark pieces as well for added hides. Now you could pretty much leave it like this and the redbacks would be just happy. If you want to get a little more natural looking with it, then you could add some pothos, moss, philendron, and/or a few ferns. Now for cleaning, with this setup there is not much cleaning to be done actually. Redbacks don't tend to be very messy at all, besides removing any uneaten food or noticeable feces you shouldn't have to do any major cleaning for about 3 or more months. Just remember to keep the substrate moist (not soaked) and you will have a pretty easily maintainable setup.

Hope this helps without confusing you.

EDIT: Sorry but it looks like Jennewt beat me to it whilewas typing my reply so most of this is just what she said.

I would also like to add this link.
http://www.blackjungle.com/basics.htm

I used this link when first starting up my land side of the tank. I think it's pretty brilliant. I insures you of not having to deal with a muddy mess. I just used some simple gravel as a 1'' layer to catch any extra water, and then laid down a soft mesh sheet as a barrier between the dirt and the rocks. The dirt will "wick" so to speak, PULL moisture up when it needs. I planted pathos in my coco fiber and it has TAKEN OFF!!! let me tell you and the newts are plowin through it and everything is quite wonderful over all.

GOOD LUCK!

Also if you don't know exactly what we mean by Pathos.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The Pathos Ivy is a great multiple light situation plant. It handles low light just as easily as high light. The vines on this plant will run forever if you let them. Yellow leaves on this plant could mean you are either over watering or under watering. The pathos reacts the same in both situations. So you will need to visually detect this plant's problem. About the only pest that bothers this plant is the mealy bug.


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