Tiger Salamander Markings

Hello all, I recently acquired three tiger salamander larvae and they're all doing great! This site has helped me a lot in caring for them and feeding them, so thanks to everyone for their informative posts!

Otherwise, I have a fairly simple question. One of my tigers has started morphing, and now his tail fin is almost completely gone and his gills are little more than nubs. However, his coloring is basically the same as it was when he was a larvae. Because I don't know what subspecies he is it's quite possible he's a Gray Tiger Salamander, but I was just wondering, when generally do tiger markings begin to appear? I've tried to search for this answer on google as well as these forums but I've had no luck. Thanks in advance!

I don't have any experience with tigers since they are illegal here but I do have experience with other Ambystomaids and they always seem to start getting their color around the 2 month post morphing mark.

The coloration will develop as it matures. There is quite a bit of variance between species and individuals. This could take weeks to months depending on the type of animals you have. Since most Ambystomid larvae are very hard to tell apart, it may be some time until you know exactly what you have.

A bit of time spent on Caudata Culture may help you quite a bit. Personally, I have never heard of the common name "Gray Tiger Salamander", however local and regional common names can be extremely confusing.

SludgeMunkey said:

Personally, I have never heard of the common name "Gray Tiger Salamander", however local and regional common names can be extremely confusing.

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AKA: Ambystoma mavortium diaboli
Regarding coloration, some tigers particularly Eastern's will continue to change color/patterns throughout their life.

Okay, thanks everyone. I figured this would be the case but hearing it from people who actually know helps quite a bit.

Also, sorry for not using the scientific name for the Gray Tiger Salamander, but I figured the use of "gray" would give you a good enough idea of what they look like. (Though sometimes even Gray Tigers have nice coloration, even if others are quite bland. So I guess you just never know!)

jan said:

AKA: Ambystoma mavortium diaboli
Regarding coloration, some tigers particularly Eastern's will continue to change color/patterns throughout their life.

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Ahah! common names burn me once again.

Rikkoshaye said:

Okay, thanks everyone. I figured this would be the case but hearing it from people who actually know helps quite a bit.

Also, sorry for not using the scientific name for the Gray Tiger Salamander, but I figured the use of "gray" would give you a good enough idea of what they look like. (Though sometimes even Gray Tigers have nice coloration, even if others are quite bland. So I guess you just never know!)

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I hope I didn't come off as harsh. I feel your pain with scientific names, especially when you are trying to identify an unknown one. Believe me when I say I had never heard of a spring lizard...

I am jealous you have one, period. What an interesting animal! I sure would enjoy seeing pictures! This is not one that is often seen. Then again, pictures will help others give you possible identification!

Oh no, you didn't seem harsh at all, so no worries about that. I'm as excited to see what subspecies my tigers turn out to be as you are, so as my little guys develop and gain markings I'll be sure to post pictures. For now all I have are some mid-morph images from a few days ago, but perhaps they'll interest you all anyway, so here you go. (Though Yttrium's gills and tail fin are mostly gone, his markings are still very similar. I assume this will change soon however!)

What a pretty tiger! And omg, I totally geeked out at the name. How nerdy!! I love it!

Oh yeah, he has a really geeky name. Since I have three tigers I call them Xenon, Yttrium, and Zinc, or "X, Y, Z" for short. Totally nerdy but I think it's awesome.

Just updating with some pictures as my Tiger's markings develop. It looks like he's turning out to be a blotched Tiger (Ambystoma mavortium melanostictum)! Either that or a Gray Tiger (Ambystoma mavortium diaboli); the two colorings are kind of similar so I'm not sure which is more appropriate.

Oh, and he doesn't usually hang out in his water bowl but he seemed a little freaked out by the camera so he ended up splashing around in it a bit (as you can tell by how wet he made the surrounding substrate! Wow!)

Anyway, I hope this is interesting for someone other then myself.

I find it interesting and your tiger is very good looking. I had no luck finding tigrinum larvae this year or I would be rearing some too. Its cool to see some.