Some salamandra Questions

As i am new to keeping salamandra i was looking for someone to give me some answers to some questions i have about these stunning salamanders.My first question is about the toxins of these animals, how strong are they and does it vary between subspeices.
The next is about the subspeices fastuosa, i am slightly confused do all fastuosa give birth to live young or do some have larvae, also what other members of this faamily give birth to live young.
I am also interested to know are the red/orange forms of some subspeices a form of selective breeding or do these animals occour in the wild.
Thanks in advance


Matt

Well, the toxin itself is very powerful, but the quantities in which the animal secretes it are relatively small. As long as it doesn´t come in contact with blood or mucus there should be no effects, except maybe a little irritation if the skin is particularly sensitive. If swallowed it can lead to numbness, and i think it can even cause temporary blindness if it touches the eyes(not too sure about this).
Bare in mind that this animals only secrete the toxin as a defense, and it´s visible(it´s milky white), so it can be avoided.
It´s advisable to wash your hands after handling these animals even if there was no visible poison, just in case.

I have no knowledge of variations of toxin strength between subespecies but i´m pretty sure there must be.

Not all fastuosa give birth to morphed juveniles..in fact i think most populations reproduce in the typical way, by releasing larvae in water masses. The live bearing behaviour is most common in S.s.bernardezi, which might look remarkably like fastuosa...and it´s easy to misidentify.

The red/orange colouration occurs naturally. Apparently high altitudes favour the presence of red individuals...
I´m not quite sure what causes it though, or if it can be selectively bred. I hope someone brings some light about this.

Thanks very helpfull azhael.I would perticualy like to learn more about the toxins between supspecies and the colour forms, Like do all subspecies have the red/orange gene.

Matt

This site is a guide to the different subspecies, with some details on each
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/Salamandra_guide.shtml

and, this is the link to a care sheet, if you need it.
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Salamandra/Salamandra_sp.shtml

With regards to the toxins, I would stress Azhael's point that, as with most other ampibians, whilst the toxins are powerful (they are, after all, evolved to deter would-be predators), they are rarely discharged (only when the animal is very stressed) and even then easily avoided by washing hands. Put simply, if you don't eat it, rub it in your eyes or leave it to soak into your hands, there won't be a problem. If your animal is properly kept, it will not even release the toxins int he first place.

Chris

Tanks for the replys so far any more input on these matters would be great.


Matt

Sorry to bring up this post again, i have a few more questions on fastuosa what makes some give birth to live young and some lay eggs and how can you tell

Hooky87 said:

Sorry to bring up this post again, i have a few more questions on fastuosa what makes some give birth to live young and some lay eggs and how can you tell

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You cannot tell, according to this article (in French but check the pictures at the end, including larvae and habitat ones) the reproduction cycle (annual for most salamandra s. sub species or mainly bi-annual for fastuoasa) and the tendency to give birth to live young seems to be poorly stabilised and pretty weather-dependant. Just assume they will give birth to waterborne larvae, and it will be a surprise if you end up with land dwelling juveniles.