Recovering Salamander, Please help

After a year and a half of a happy salamander, educating children all over the county about wetland habitats, her owner (me) lost her mind and decided that 70-75 degrees was just fine, during the heat wave only getting concerned when it reached 80.

Well, her owner should be shot, but that is another story.

I put her directly in front of an air conditioner, whuch cooled the enclosure just below 70, but she started to look worse a day later. (Still puffy, and lethargic)

I freaked, found this site, and saw something about refridgeration, mostly through the axilidshjdhj whatever forum (cute little gys btw)

Not too much about fridgeing sallies, but my dad said to do it and he is an animal guru, so I did it anyway, thinking it was a kind of a Frigidair Hospice - "at least she will be comfortable when she dies" I thought if she is cooler she will feel less pain. I made sure it was plenty moist, so the fridge would not dry her out.

Well, I checked the next day and she was still alive. Still puffy, but she looked better.

Then I checked that night, and she looked great, and was very active. Like she was resurrected. What a little fighter.

Now, three days later, she is still great, but I was wondering about how to transition, I have her in a cooler now with ice pack and I have brought it up a few degrees to 45F.

I removed one of the three (little) ice pack in an attempt to bring it slowly up to 55F or so, and that is my goal, to keep her at 55 for the rest of the summer/fall.

Should I have just kept her in the fridge a few more days, or continue to bring up the temp and try to feed her?

Should I wiat a day or so to feed her, or right away?

Are bait worms Ive been giving good or should I get worms from a pet store?

Thanks!!!!!!!!!

1st of all what species of salamander is it? For most species of salamanders 60 degrees is suitable. I would offer food and if the salamander accepts it just feed let it feed but not gorge. Being cooled my have slowed down it's metabolism so it may not eat. But if it is in recovery it may have used up a lot of stored energy and may be really hungry. In my experience recovering salamanders/newts will eat. Unless the salamander/newt has experienced ailment due to it's diet.

Just keep it cool and moist and keep us updated on it's progress. What you're doing is working so just keep it up. Do you have any pics?

Forgot to comment on the worms. Petstores and baitshops get their worms from the same sources. I'd say just buy them from whoever is selling worms cheaper.

Thanks so much - too depressed to take pics at the time.

Sorry, I had just introduced both of us on the Inro Forums, so I neglected to here.

She is a Ambystoma maculatum, or spotted sallly.

She is still at 45C so a little cool to eat, but when I last checked her little head was sticking out of the substrate - that is what she does when she is hungry, so I will feed her soon.

Thanks for the kind words, I don't really deserve them. I really just told myself a higher temp was okay. THat is what happens when you make up your own truth. I realy thought I had lost her but she is a fighter. I will keep you posted.

I have red (earth) worms to feed her so I am gonna do that...

Thanks again... and any ideas anyone has on keeping a terrestrial tank cool would be great. I am gonna try and figure it out myself with what I see on the site.

JK

JKoz said:

Thanks so much - too depressed to take pics at the time.

Sorry, I had just introduced both of us on the Inro Forums, so I neglected to here.

She is a Ambystoma maculatum, or spotted sallly.

She is still at 45C so a little cool to eat, but when I last checked her little head was sticking out of the substrate - that is what she does when she is hungry, so I will feed her soon.

Thanks for the kind words, I don't really deserve them. I really just told myself a higher temp was okay. THat is what happens when you make up your own truth. I realy thought I had lost her but she is a fighter. I will keep you posted.

I have red (earth) worms to feed her so I am gonna do that...

Thanks again... and any ideas anyone has on keeping a terrestrial tank cool would be great. I am gonna try and figure it out myself with what I see on the site.

JK

Click to expand...

I keep all my terrestrial setups in the basement in the summer time. Always cooler in basement and I keep my terrestrial setups close or even on the cement floor. For Ambystoma maculatum dim and very little light works and keeps things cool. Some people keep their tanks in a small air conditioned room which works very well.

Neotenic_Jaymes said:

I keep all my terrestrial setups in the basement in the summer time. Always cooler in basement and I keep my terrestrial setups close or even on the cement floor. For Ambystoma maculatum dim and very little light works and keeps things cool. Some people keep their tanks in a small air conditioned room which works very well.

Click to expand...

Thanks so much.

The cooler is working so well that I am going to experiment wth an insulated terrarium.

Keep ya posted.

She is still doing good, not bloated at all but wrinkled from being bloated. I tried to give her a worm, she is very active but did NOT want the worm, hopefully she will soon. Hopefully....

Thanks again...

Low 70s should be ok for your spotted. Avoid having its enclosure directly in front of a fan or a blowing AC unit - can cause substrate to dry and lead to dessication if too much moisture is lost. Do you have a deep substate? 6-7 inches of coco fiber, soil or a mix of both would be good especially in summer months - kept moist not wet. Avoid sunlight and don't use lighting over the enclosure. Do you have a shallow water dish in the enclosure for it to retreat to if needed and other hides? Good ventilation is also required - are you using a mesh top or something similar to allow for ventilation? As others have said keep the enclosure in the coolest part of the home...but with the proper set-up, low 70s should not be a problem.

Thanks so much - these posts really helped a lot.

My substrate is not deep - the loose moss you buy from the pet store, kept moist, a little more than enought to cover her.

I am afraid if I use 6 inches of sustrate I will never be able to find her without freaking her out all the time and won"t be able to monitor her well.

Has anyone ever used those big thick rocks they have in the pet store that are cut in half so you can see them - they do feel cooler and you can see them, but they seem rough inside.

I also heard of people using PVC pipe, so if i do tat in deep substrate will she definately go in it?

Thanks for the note about 70s I am still afraid - :O)

The pet shop moss isn't the best substrate; it tends to be pretty acidic. Try switching to something more dirt based, or coconut fiber based.

PVC pipes are great.

I did it!

Not my dream of an insulated enclosure, but it is pretty sweet.

I filled half an aquarium tank with dirt from my pesticide free yard, then packed it all down and its kinda clay-based so it packed tightly. I really don't want her to burrow in the dirt.

Then I put some nice big rocks, planted a Virginia Creeper in a dish full of dirt so I could water it seprately, then put some nice wild moss here and there that I got from a neglected planter on my porch. I also put a potted Snake Plant in there.

I installed a PVC pipe in the dirt, it is curved at a 45 drgree angle and so I made it flush with the glass, and turned sideways out of the dirt.

There is no substrate in the PVC, just a little dirt that fell in.

I watered all the plants, misted everything, and she has a dish of water to go to in case she needs it. At this point it is probably too wet in there, so I will let it dry out.

** What is the optimum humidity for a spotted sal? **

The other side of the aquarium....

I put her 'critter carrier' (that she was living in when in the Refrigerator ICU) and filled it with ice packs.

It fits perfectly, filling up like 1/3 of the tank. I camoflauged it with the useless moss from the pet store.

(I used put that moss as filler, wherever it needed some camo - I will see if she uses it to burrow, I will replace it with coconut fiber if and when she does.)

I put another, very ugly, frozen bottle of Gateraid on top of where she is, but that is not permanent of course. I thnk I am just gonna put a bag of frozen ice water on top - maybe pix it with moss so it's not so obvious. (okay, I need help)

I also have two thermometers and a hydrometer.

All the ice brought the temp down to a solid 60C.

I put her in, she is looking good by the way, and put her at the entrance of her PVC getaway, and after a minute, she crawled right in, and has been hanging out there ever since, looking happy!

We have come a long way from nasty warm moss and a water dish! She looks happy and I am proud enough to display the terrarium it out in the open!

Yay!

JK