Hello!
I joined a little while back when I was looking into getting one or two axolotls as pets, but I wasn't able to commit at the time. Now I'm looking into a pet salamander again, but this time I'm not sure which type I want to go with. I'm thinking a species native to my home state (Minnesota) would be fun; and the Red Backed Salamander and Blue Spotted Salamander are my favorites so far. I still haven't decided of course, and I'm still going to search around and see if there's another type I'd prefer to keep. I have a hobby of goldfish keeping, so I am quite used to taking care of animals that require careful monitoring, carefully constructed habitats, and specialized foods. I have a 75 gallon goldfish tank, a 55 gallon tank that's currently empty (used to be for goldfish, and probably will be again), and a 29 gallon tropical fish tank. The large amount of time and money my fish hobby takes up is the main reason I have not committed to any salamanders as pets yet. But even if I can't have any as pets for a long time, I still want to learn a lot about them in the meantime.
I'm currently working on a wildlife biology degree, and a big area of interest for me has been amphibians, since I've always been fascinated with these animals. I had a swamp in my backyard growing up, and I used to observe all kinds of little critters out there.
I recently got a couple of books about the reptiles and amphibians of Minnesota. Does anyone know of any good books that list all of the different species of salamanders and newts that are known worldwide?
I joined a little while back when I was looking into getting one or two axolotls as pets, but I wasn't able to commit at the time. Now I'm looking into a pet salamander again, but this time I'm not sure which type I want to go with. I'm thinking a species native to my home state (Minnesota) would be fun; and the Red Backed Salamander and Blue Spotted Salamander are my favorites so far. I still haven't decided of course, and I'm still going to search around and see if there's another type I'd prefer to keep. I have a hobby of goldfish keeping, so I am quite used to taking care of animals that require careful monitoring, carefully constructed habitats, and specialized foods. I have a 75 gallon goldfish tank, a 55 gallon tank that's currently empty (used to be for goldfish, and probably will be again), and a 29 gallon tropical fish tank. The large amount of time and money my fish hobby takes up is the main reason I have not committed to any salamanders as pets yet. But even if I can't have any as pets for a long time, I still want to learn a lot about them in the meantime.
I'm currently working on a wildlife biology degree, and a big area of interest for me has been amphibians, since I've always been fascinated with these animals. I had a swamp in my backyard growing up, and I used to observe all kinds of little critters out there.
I recently got a couple of books about the reptiles and amphibians of Minnesota. Does anyone know of any good books that list all of the different species of salamanders and newts that are known worldwide?