Update on Smaug: Tiger Salamander and questions

I thought I'd post some pics, along with an update.

Some of you might remember me, trying to figure out whether the caudata I had was either an axolotl or a tiger. Well, he's confirmed the latter now. (and I say he as a hopeful guess)

This terrible midwestern snow weather here in the US had me a little worried, but thankfully I'd bought thermometers, humidifiers, and a tiny heater to help me out. (especially since it got -30 around here. brr)

Smaug, as I call him, has completely lost his gills and tail fin now. His pale green belly with black spots is spreading all over him, which makes him beautiful in my book. (though I'm biased you might say :grin: )

He's also taken a BIG liking to crickets. He snubs his nose at bloodworms now and goes for the crunchy goodies wandering in his terrarium. Many thanks, btw, for all of those that helped me figure out WHAT I had, so I knew how to take care of him.

Here's some pics, both "before" and "after" transformation. I'm such a proud parent right now. lol.

Glad he is doing well, but there are no pictures!

Bah.

I'll try again.

He looks great! I wouldn't put him on the sofa too often, though, as the fabric will dry out his skin. I assume you are keeping him in a terrestrial tank, now.


Well done raising him!

C

Thanks.

Yes, he's in a terrestrial tank now.

I've got a layer of large river rock, then a layer of bark, and on the top is a layer of terrarium moss. He seems to really like the stuff, as he drags balls of the moss into his favorite hide (a half a log that creates a little cave of darkness) and burrows down under the moss.

I've got a terrarium heater on one side of the tank, and a thermometer so I know how warm it's getting. (it hovers at about 18-19 C, no matter how cold it gets outside) I've got several other hides in there as well. A bamboo tube weighted down with rocks on the inside and a fake crocodile skull. He loves lounging between the blunt teeth, which is quite hilarious. (I'd show pics but the glass in the terrarium messes up the flash. Still trying to find a aquarium setting. lol.)

I do have one question though. He really likes the crickets, enough so I can't get him to eat the newt pellets or the bloodworms. Of course, that might be because of his morphing or something too.

Do I need to dust my crickets with some sort of vitamins or minerals? Or, is he like an iguana or lizard, where you need a special light to keep bones from becoming soft or something?

At this point, I'm sure he won't eat pellets. These guys are attracted to their prey by the motion - they rarely will go for dead prey or pellets. Earthworms & nightcrawlers are the best and most perfect foods in terms of nutrition and have an optimal calcium to phosphorus ratio. Crickets can be fed but should be dusted every third feeding or so with a good quality vitamin and calcium with vit D3 supplement to help prevent metabolic bone disease. Regarding lighting - UV lighting is not required for tigers and as fossorial animals is debatable that it may be harmful.

Thanks for the info, Jan!

I'm afraid the earthworms and nightcrawlers might get lost among the moss. As it is the crickets hide in the moss and hides, though Smaug seems to enjoy digging them out again. :happy:

Hmm. Once the snow melts a little more, I'll have to swing by some pet supply stores and see if I can find a ready-made vitamin dusting. If not, I might have to make my own. I'm just worried I'll mess it up if I try to mix it myself.

When is the breeding season for the tiger, anyway? I have no intention of breeding him. (yet. ) But I would like to know if he is really a "he" or maybe a "she" (Isn't it easier to tell which is which during their season?)

cute! i got one just like that for xmas and had no clue what he was, until now mine looks just like that, i think yours is bigger though...

Arwen9 said:

Thanks for the info, Jan!

I'm afraid the earthworms and nightcrawlers might get lost among the moss. As it is the crickets hide in the moss and hides, though Smaug seems to enjoy digging them out again. :happy:

Hmm. Once the snow melts a little more, I'll have to swing by some pet supply stores and see if I can find a ready-made vitamin dusting. If not, I might have to make my own. I'm just worried I'll mess it up if I try to mix it myself.

When is the breeding season for the tiger, anyway? I have no intention of breeding him. (yet. ) But I would like to know if he is really a "he" or maybe a "she" (Isn't it easier to tell which is which during their season?)

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For dusting crickets look for Herptivite multivitamins and Rep-Cal's Calcium with Vitamin D3 or other preparations with similar vitamin/mineral ratios.

For an idea on feeding worms see: http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...p/73503-feeding-help-my-tiger-salamander.html

For breeding season, see this: Caudata Culture Species Entry - Tiger salamander

As this has become a help thread, I will move it to the appropriate section on the forum.

Last month another member, Wolferic, posted a couple of videos about identifying the sexes of tiger salamanders. They are the best videos I have seen & leave no doubt about which is what. They are also available on youtube.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...-mavortium-spp-etc/72763-gender-question.html

I included the link - it is "gender question". Click on that in my above post & it will take you to the entire thread. The videos are part way down the thread.

Thanks for all the links!!

So very helpful for this novice here.

It looks like Smaug may be a female, but I'll keep an eye on her as the weather warms up into spring and see if I notice anything change. So far she's only caring for crickets, so I went to petsmart and got some of the dust. I might try the worms again later on. They seem to disappear in the moss/bark that I have for substrate. lol.

Smaug did take a cricket from my hand for the first time today. Which made me yelp lol (since I wasn't expecting that speed. OMG they're fast)

The only problem I'm having now is keeping her tank cool. We've had a heat wave and I'm worried that it's getting too warm. So far, I'm misting it daily and that seems to be keeping the temperature close to 22 C . I have a water bowl for her which she lounges in sometimes, but mostly she hides out under her log in the day, balled up with moss and bark all around. Then keeps me up at night rummaging about. :happy:

She hasn't quite got into the begging yet, but she does know I'm the giver of food now. When I put crickets into her tank, she comes out of her log and watches me. Until the crickets move and distract her. lol

Since my last pics, by the way, her tail has gotten even shorter and her color is much more pronounced. It's very cool.

Haha! It's startling how something so slow and cumbersome can work up enough energy to snap at food. I should get mine some crickets. It's been a while!

As for keeping it cool, if you have deep enough substrate (soil), it will stay cooler than the air temperature. That's why these guys are fossoral by nature. I give mine 5-6 inches of soil, and they spend their time in the middle, maybe an inch or two under the surface.

I've also used frozen water bottles in a pinch. I wrap them up in a cloth and put them in the tank. If I'm using flat 'blue ice' things, I'll put them right over a hide. If it's been excessively hot, sometimes the sals hang out right next to it.

Kaysie said:

Haha! It's startling how something so slow and cumbersome can work up enough energy to snap at food. I should get mine some crickets. It's been a while!

As for keeping it cool, if you have deep enough substrate (soil), it will stay cooler than the air temperature. That's why these guys are fossoral by nature. I give mine 5-6 inches of soil, and they spend their time in the middle, maybe an inch or two under the surface.

I've also used frozen water bottles in a pinch. I wrap them up in a cloth and put them in the tank. If I'm using flat 'blue ice' things, I'll put them right over a hide. If it's been excessively hot, sometimes the sals hang out right next to it.

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Ah!

That answers another question of mine. I was worried because she is digging herself beneath all the moss and bark in her tank, disappearing for most of the day and only coming out at night... or when I put crickets in her tank.

I briefly handled her (after washing my hands and very carefully and etc) to see if she was all right, since I hadn't seen her in a few days. And I was shocked at how cold her skin seemed to be. I guess it's because of that burrowing then.

According to the caresheet, they can handle up to 26 C, it just suggested staying around 22 C or less as i understood it. The tank has yet to top 22.7 C so...Dunno. The flat blue thing--like ice packs I assume? -- I have a dozen of those. (back problems) So....I might try that if it gets much hotter here, lay it on her favorite log thing.

Thanks ever so much for the help!

Don't worry when she spends her time under ground and only comes out at night...this is her nature as she is a mole salamander and a nocturnal animal.

Don't be shocked that her skin feels cold - she is a cold blooded animal. Worry greatly if her skin feels warm.

If you can keep the tank at 22C (72F) or less, she'll do fine. Like Kaysie said, as a fossorial animal, she needs a 4-6 inch deep soil or coco-fiber substrate in which to burrow.

It is great to hear that Smaug (possibly Smaugette?) is doing well. We love to watch Rex (Rexanne) when she is out and about. She does the whole begging routine. It is great to be needed. LOL

And Liz you may be biased (all of us get that way with our little critters lol) but you are definitely right in this case - Smaug is BEAUTIFUL! Such pretty colors, I'd love to see an update as they brighten. And I have to say, Smaug so far is one of my favorite names I've heard haha.

Smaug after the dragon in the Hobbit?

mytimemic said:

Smaug after the dragon in the Hobbit?

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Yes.

I'm a Tolkien fan girl, so.... That and the guy who sold him to me called him a "baby dragon" and he was black as pitch originally. Like "smog" so I thought calling him Smaug fit nicely.

Maybe it's Smaugina or Smaugette now. lol

I will post more pictures in a few weeks, once I'm pretty sure she's done morphing. Every time I take her out, she looks a little different. Shorter tail, longer toes, brighter colors...(it's so strange compared to what she used to look like)

I did try to get her to eat some worms this week. The first worm she ignored, I got her to snap up a second one when I held it close. But she doesn't seem to care for them. (I may have to go back to dusted crickets for a while)