markrimn
New member
I have been browsing this website for a few months now and finally decided to take the plunge and create an account and hopefully get some advance information before I have a problem with my two Tiger Salamanders.
I live in Northern Arizona it is quite warm and arid. I came across my Salamanders quite by accident.
My best friend was house hunting and looking at different houses that were in the process of foreclosure and did not have anyone living in them. He came across a house that was empty and had a pool in the back yard. The bottom of the pool had about three inches deep of water, approximately eight feet in diameter. In the bottom of the pool where the two Tiger Salamanders hanging out in the water. The water was very murky and had tons of bugs.
I figure the Salamanders had made their way to the pool to spawn. I am a bit surprised they would have survived the six foot fall into the pool, but maybe they got into the pool at lower points and just fell multiple times not really damaging themselves.
Well, my friend called me up, and I went to the house with him and gathered them up. I have had them for around 6 months now.
The large one started off around 6 inches long and is now 10 inches long. The smaller one is around 6 inches long. I keep them in a 20 gallon aquarium. They have coconut fiber substrate, and a cake pan that we keep filled with clean water that has been treated to remove chlorine and chloramine. They actually do go in the water quite a bit. I am guessing that is do to it being arid where I live. Our house is also kept around 75-78 which I know is sort of warm, but the temperature in their aquarium is a bit cooler than the ambient temperature in the house and their water dish is definitely cooler. They also bury themselves often.
I did make a few mistakes right off the bat. I had some aquarium gravel in the bottom of the tank. (I wasn't feeding them at that moment and changed it out before I gave them food after finding information from here.)
I had one scare of the smaller one not eating for a week, or almost two, but has since regained a healthy appetite.
I had also read somewhere, which may be inaccurate, that Salamanders can do fine on crickets, and they do not need to be dusted. After reading the FAQ here, I have switched them over to nightcrawlers.
The larger salamander likes to beg for food, where as the smaller one hides more, but will come out when hungry.
I think I have a male and female, but since I don't plan to try and get them to spawn, I don't worry about checking.
Anyways, thanks for reading and here is a video of the larger of the two finishing off a nightcrawler. There is another video I believe I uploaded of one biting my finger.
Tiger Salamander finishing a nightcrawler / earthworm - YouTube
I live in Northern Arizona it is quite warm and arid. I came across my Salamanders quite by accident.
My best friend was house hunting and looking at different houses that were in the process of foreclosure and did not have anyone living in them. He came across a house that was empty and had a pool in the back yard. The bottom of the pool had about three inches deep of water, approximately eight feet in diameter. In the bottom of the pool where the two Tiger Salamanders hanging out in the water. The water was very murky and had tons of bugs.
I figure the Salamanders had made their way to the pool to spawn. I am a bit surprised they would have survived the six foot fall into the pool, but maybe they got into the pool at lower points and just fell multiple times not really damaging themselves.
Well, my friend called me up, and I went to the house with him and gathered them up. I have had them for around 6 months now.
The large one started off around 6 inches long and is now 10 inches long. The smaller one is around 6 inches long. I keep them in a 20 gallon aquarium. They have coconut fiber substrate, and a cake pan that we keep filled with clean water that has been treated to remove chlorine and chloramine. They actually do go in the water quite a bit. I am guessing that is do to it being arid where I live. Our house is also kept around 75-78 which I know is sort of warm, but the temperature in their aquarium is a bit cooler than the ambient temperature in the house and their water dish is definitely cooler. They also bury themselves often.
I did make a few mistakes right off the bat. I had some aquarium gravel in the bottom of the tank. (I wasn't feeding them at that moment and changed it out before I gave them food after finding information from here.)
I had one scare of the smaller one not eating for a week, or almost two, but has since regained a healthy appetite.
I had also read somewhere, which may be inaccurate, that Salamanders can do fine on crickets, and they do not need to be dusted. After reading the FAQ here, I have switched them over to nightcrawlers.
The larger salamander likes to beg for food, where as the smaller one hides more, but will come out when hungry.
I think I have a male and female, but since I don't plan to try and get them to spawn, I don't worry about checking.
Anyways, thanks for reading and here is a video of the larger of the two finishing off a nightcrawler. There is another video I believe I uploaded of one biting my finger.
Tiger Salamander finishing a nightcrawler / earthworm - YouTube