Habitat upgrade!

Okay, so... I think I should start by saying what I currently have.
Currently, my tiger salamander is in a 10g fish tank with about 2 inches of wettish coco-fiber with a small piece of wood in the shape of a cave for a hidey hole and two, small dead plants as decoration. He also has a sandwich sized tupperware pool that he hates. (In reality it's probably too small for him.) The tempurature in his tank is a very difficult thing to keep for me as I can't afford a chiller and have no real space for one that I've built myself. He gets two small crickets a day and reacts more to my cat than he does to me. -_-


Soon, however, I am going to reseal a leaky 20g in order to give him a larger habitat and maybe a buddy! I would like to find out what plants are easy to keep alive, how to do a small pool that he would actually enjoy and not kick coco-fiber at as well as how to cool the tank. When the winter months come around, it won't be a problem but currently, this is a problem. What can I do for easy, hidden hidey holes? Will a small pool, sloping into the water be better? Can I keep a small, live tree in there with him? Maybe an Ivy plant? Will freshly picked magnolia leaves arragned for optimum hiding spots be okay for him?

Lots of questions but I want the best for my little tiger.

I would change what he's getting fed, try giving him earthworms and various insects (this is both to varry his diet and give him help with the defficiencies of eating just crickets), I would also recommend changing his feeding schedule to feeding every other day (you can give him lots on these days or you can give him little, it depends on his weight).

On to the rest, for hides there is lots you can provide and there is lots he can do himself, a lot of people use those PVC pipes and build them into under-ground tunnels, some put in a little cave for him to hide in, and some don't put in anything at all (they can burrow just fine), I use a reptile cave and he does just fine in it. The temp control really shouldn't be an issue as long as you have a deep/moist substrate, I keep 4 inches of coco-fibre in my tank and on even the hot days the fibre stays pretty cool. I actually didn't keep a water bowl in his tank for the first couple months I had him, and he did fine, I added a bowl recently just to see if he would use and instead my tank has started to get dry and he hates the bowl, I'm gonna remove the bowl because I have yet to notice any benefits to it, I really do think a water feature is more used as a barrier (just in case the tank gets too dry or too hot, etc), so if you really want a water dish in there do not have a pool that the coco-fibre slopes in to (you will see mold growth) so try and keep it to dishes or bowls or if you want to you can put in a glass partition to seperate the coc-fibre from the water. As for plants and decorations these are for the keeper, the Sal could hardly care about your green thumb, andany small plants will be trampled and dug up, don't put in a tree as these grow pretty fast and won't fit in your tank within a year, you can put in leaf litter for added cover/security and moisture for the Sal but don't expect to see him as often, if you really want to see greenery in his tank try some of the fake plants (they look realistic and they won't die when your tiger rearranges them for you).

For Tiger Sals the best thing is the simple things, a moist wet substrate that they can dig through, something to hide under, and food, past those basic 3 things everything else is either a positive or a cosmetic thing (though I suppose adding to much could be a negative).

Here is some further reading:
Caudata Culture Articles - Setups
Caudata Culture Articles - Wood in Vivaria
Caudata Culture Articles - Vivarium Substrates
Caudata Culture Articles - Foods
Caudata Culture Articles - Nutritional Values
Caudata Culture Articles - Worms
Caudata Culture Articles - Illness Part 1
and the generalized Tiger Caresheet:
Caudata Culture Species Entry - Tiger salamander

Ihope I could help you out, if not there are plenty of other fantastic users who can provide further assistance, have a fun time here.

He seems completely disinterested in worms. I've tried leaving them whole, chopping them up, wiggling the around... The only thing he goes for is gutstuffed crickets.

You should definitely try feeding him less often. This would probably encourage him to eat the worms. Two or three feedings a week has worked well for my salamanders. One of my salamanders tends to be a bit pickier than the others. Phoenix worms are a favorite. I cut nightcrawlers into large cricket-sized portions for Mr. Picky. Also, I hand feed my tigers so I think that they have associated the tweezers with their meals and will accept almost any juicy item I present.

10gals should be appropriate for him but I completely understand wanting to give him more space. I have some wooden hidey holes that they like to dig their own burrows under. Good luck with your set up.

Dow said:

Okay, so... I think I should start by saying what I currently have.
Currently, my tiger salamander is in a 10g fish tank with about 2 inches of wettish coco-fiber with a small piece of wood in the shape of a cave for a hidey hole and two, small dead plants as decoration. He also has a sandwich sized tupperware pool that he hates. (In reality it's probably too small for him.) The tempurature in his tank is a very difficult thing to keep for me as I can't afford a chiller and have no real space for one that I've built myself. He gets two small crickets a day and reacts more to my cat than he does to me. -_-


Soon, however, I am going to reseal a leaky 20g in order to give him a larger habitat and maybe a buddy! I would like to find out what plants are easy to keep alive, how to do a small pool that he would actually enjoy and not kick coco-fiber at as well as how to cool the tank. When the winter months come around, it won't be a problem but currently, this is a problem. What can I do for easy, hidden hidey holes? Will a small pool, sloping into the water be better? Can I keep a small, live tree in there with him? Maybe an Ivy plant? Will freshly picked magnolia leaves arragned for optimum hiding spots be okay for him?

Lots of questions but I want the best for my little tiger.

Click to expand...

Personally, I think the foot print of a 20 long would be better than a 10 gallon. I would change that wetish substrate to a dampish moist substrate.

You can start saving those 20oz soda bottles or bottles of water and fill them up with water and stick them in the freezer. Once frozen you can place them tank to aid cooling it down. Avoid most plants since they are fossorial ( like to borrow and spend lots of time underground ) unless you have a backgrund that you can attach epiphytes to.

Here are a couple of recent discussions on tiger salamander habitats that you may find useful:

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...t-salamander-help/70736-enclosure-proper.html


http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...s/f47-newt-salamander-help/70584-too-wet.html