Fat Salamander?

Bandida

Bandida

New member
Joined
Oct 24, 2010
Messages
42
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
33
Location
Ontario
Country
Canada
My yellow spotted salamander seems bigger then usual. I dont know if it is swollen or has gotten fatter. I don't see my salamander come out much since it likes the dark. I also notice that it is not moist but the skin is tacky dry. Am I doing something wrong? How often should I feed my salamander?

I feed it worms and crickets and ive tried those big green caterpiller worms from pet stores. I mist my tank once a night or when the soil looks dry. I have a screen lid- makes it hard to hold humidity.
 

Attachments

  • 023.jpg
    023.jpg
    174.1 KB · Views: 899
  • 020.jpg
    020.jpg
    165.1 KB · Views: 1,683
Bandida said:
My yellow spotted salamander seems bigger then usual. I dont know if it is swollen or has gotten fatter. I don't see my salamander come out much since it likes the dark. I also notice that it is not moist but the skin is tacky dry. Am I doing something wrong? How often should I feed my salamander?

I feed it worms and crickets and ive tried those big green caterpiller worms from pet stores. I mist my tank once a night or when the soil looks dry. I have a screen lid- makes it hard to hold humidity.
Click to expand...

Its called becoming gravid with eggs. I have a few Ambystoma maculatums that have recently gotten bigger due to becoming gravid. Its natural for Yellow Spotted Salamanders to become gravid in late fall or while overwintering. Then in spring the mating occurs. Gravid females will just absorb the eggs if they never get the chance to mate.

Did your A. maculatum receive any sort of cooling period this past winter? Most salamander/newt species need a dormant/overwintering to truly become gravid. Even if the temps just dropped a little bit she may have borrowed and stayed inactive for long periods of time and developed eggs.

Look at mine!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1353.jpg
    IMG_1353.jpg
    105.5 KB · Views: 5,274
How do you know if they are male or female? I can't find a lot of information about them specifically. I did have the tank on the bare floor in a basement since December.
 
How often should I feed my salamander? once a week?

Okay thank you very much for your help.
 
Its safe to feed a big worm once a week or so. If you see it refusing food then don't feed it for a couple days.
 
Of course this tigers just fat. She's spent the whole winter without any food, but she hasn't lost any weight if you ask me.

Your mac seems to be carrying eggs though! Beautifull animal.
 
i think she becomes little salamanders in the next time. my firesalamanders are pregnant, too and they are much bigger than in autum! but that's normal!
and i feed them every second day...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • Shane douglas:
    with axolotls would I basically have to keep buying and buying new axolotls to prevent inbred breeding which costs a lot of money??
     +1
    Unlike
  • Thorninmyside:
    Not necessarily but if you’re wanting to continue to grow your breeding capacity then yes. Breeding axolotls isn’t a cheap hobby nor is it a get rich quick scheme. It costs a lot of money and time and deditcation
     +1
    Unlike
  • stanleyc:
    @Thorninmyside, I Lauren chen
     +1
    Unlike
  • Clareclare:
    Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus Japanese . I'm raising them and have abandoned the terrarium at about 5 months old and switched to the aquatic setups you describe. I'm wondering if I could do this as soon as they morph?
     +1
    Unlike
    Clareclare: Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus... +1
    Back
    Top