Fire salamander enclosure

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thatdudegaming

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Hey everyone, this is my first post on these forums, and my virst live vivarium. I am getting a fire salamnder and I have been messing around with the set up for a while. First I had just eco earth and that seemes too loose and fluffy so I bought some top soil and mixed 50/50 now I'm thinking the top soil has too much filler **** pieces in it like mulch and wood chips, I even found some pieces of plastic and glass! I'm thinking of taking that mix out to but I have everything planted already. I have a 2" thick pea gravel drainage layer then a screen a mesh seperating the substrate from the gravel. Should I change this subsrate and mix with organic potting soil and not topsoil? Or should I just leave all the pieces in there. Its about 60% mulch/debris and 40% soil. Also what type of lighting should I use for these plants? I know the salamander does not need heat. This is all in a 20 gal long by the way. Any help/info is appreciated. This looks like a great place :)
 
I understand that you've got it all planted up, but I personally would be very wary of keeping the mulch if it has glass and other bits in it.

This article on Caudata Culture may be of use to you: Caudata Culture Articles - Vivarium Substrates

I never bothered with lighting in my vivaria, so I'd wait until someone with more experience in those matters comes along to advise.
 
Thanks for replying, I attached a picture of how it looks right now. Does it look suitable for the fire salamnder? I'm still not finished yet. I'm hopin that moss grows out as ground cover. I am having a problem keeping it cool. The temp is a steady 75 degrees F. I'm using just a full spectrum aquarium light. Is this too hot for the fire salamander? How can I keep it cooler? Any input or advice is appreciated. Thanks IMG-20120512-00080.jpg
 
Yeah, that's a bit warm. As I said, I'm no expert with lighting, but try it without the light and see what the temperature is. Otherwise it looks fine for Salamandra.

Alternatively, here are some vivarium cooling methods: Caudata Culture Articles - Cooling
 
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