Limb rot Marbled Salamander.

hi guys, my first post/reply since joining the group. I actually have had the "limb rot" problem with both of my Marbled Salamanders.. and I just lost the second one (guessing its what killed them)... only thing it couldve been. it was almost over night, the first one was all of a sudden missing all the toes on its back legs! I thought at first the other salamander mightve bit them off, since I know they go through a canniblistic stage in their youth. but its supposed to stop once they mature and get big enough to leave the water. it never seemed to get better even after quarantining it to a seperate, almost dry container (which I read should help promote healing/regeneration). she died couple days later after also developing what looked like a skin disease on her stomach. it started to look transparent. you could see its guts through the skin upon inspection. i emailed pic to my vendor and they said theyvre never seen that happen... month later after the other salamander had been happy and active, and eating an earthworm twice, it was all of a sudden missing basically 3 of its feet! the toe bones exposed and all! I felt so bad for them! and have been stupified as to what has happened or what to do. she died today... I was sure I created a great habitat for them and even had a "chemistry set" to keep the 1/3 of their terrarium I had water in at the right specs, temp, pH, etc... I know this species rarely swims upon adulthood, so it was just a small, filtered water area with most of the terrarium being damp moss bottomed. seems salamanders are notoriously hard to keep, this being my third (had a large Tiger Salamander that never metamorphed years ago that apparently got sick & never recovered...)

Having one-third of your set-up being water is likely the problem. I've seen warm humid conditions cause infection in this species ...leading to death. Keep your temperatures low, have a well ventilated enclosure and keep your substrate moist but not wet. See this article which is applicable to the care of marbled salamanders: Caudata Culture Articles - Tiger Salamander 101