Question: Curious about my larval stage tiger salamander

I am having issues figuring out what subspecies my larval form is, if it is neotonic or if it will morph, also approximate age determined by size. she is the length of a butter knife 9 inches and is quiet active. i think she is a barred tiger salamander. had her for 6 days now and she loves when i feed her pieces of night crawlers from a tweezers/forcep. she likes to swim around and follow the directions of where my dogs are standing who look at her often.the first thing my small dog does is he goes into the office and licks the tank that she is in and then starts his day.i got her from a bait shop. i did research on them about a yr ago and have never seen one in real life so when i came accross a bait guy with a cooler full of them i couldnt resist. i felt bad for them. i had to take one home and rescue it. i picked her out due to her being middle sized compared to the others i seen which were either bigger or smaller than her and she had the brightest colors. the others were pretty dull and most didnt have a pattern, mainly an olive color. i am also taking a guess to her sex. i am very interested in learning more about these creatures but youtube and google all have repetitive information that i already know but not the information i want to know. how to determine approximate age based on her size, specific species, male or female which was a bit tricky for me due to me only have one to compare to and if she is neotenic or not.i attached my facebook link so everyone can check her out and hopefully give me some info that might help or even just more info in general about tiger salamanders. https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.duerr.pinkston/photos_albums

Larval tiger sal questions

hello sorry to intrude if someone could email me with some possible answers id appreciate it. i have a 9 inch tiger salamander that is still in the larval stage. she i believe its a she is going to the surface often for gulps of air but i dont notice her losing her tail fin or gills. i am not sure at what size they are suppose to start morphing. i am unsure of her age as well. she has bright color markings though. she is active and eats cut up night crawlers like crazy. also her water temp stays between 72 degrees F and 74 degrees F. it is hard for m to keep the temp low due to living in colorado springs co and not having AC which a lot of houses here dont. i feed her 2- 3 worms every other day and about 1 every odd day.. she is in a 10 gallon tank and i use reptisafe or whatever the stuff is called for turtles frogs and salamanders. ive attached a link to my facebook page so i dont have to wait for each picture to upload. it tends to be very slow uploading. this way you can also see some videos of her. if you cant click the link, copy and paste it. i look forward to your input and advice. thank you for your time.

-Liz- :ufo:

https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.duerr.pinkston/photos_albums

To me, it looks either like a barred tiger sal, or a blotched tiger sal. Dont take that as fact though, i am just speculating.
Where did it come from do you know?

I found your second post, above, tacked onto a thread about fire salamanders. Since it has questions about the same animal, I moved it to this thread.

This article has some inexpensive ways to cool down an aquatic setup:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cooling.shtml
Being in a dry climate, evaporative cooling should work great (i.e, screen lid and fan).

There is no way to know the age of the animal or whether it is truly neotenic. Even a neotenic tiger sal will often morph when it is brought into captivity, so be prepared for that possibility.

thank you all for your advice. i think it is a female and think she is a barred tiger salamander. she was the only one with those beautiful markings. the others had markings but they were very dull colored. i am prepared for the most part for if she morphs. i am not sure if when she does morph how big of a tank she will need, if it has to be half water half land. i know she needs a shallow but nice size water dish so she can keep moist and cool. i know about the eco earth, coco fiber, and about the hide aways. but not sure about the kind of moss to use. i have heard a lot about sphagnum moss being toxic to salamanders especially tiger salamanders. so i am unsure what specific kind of moss to use. is the petsmart brand Forest Moss okay or the Zoo Med Terrarium Moss okay? i am trying to be careful because the Zoo Med New Zealand sphagnum moss at Petsmart says its safe to use with "For use with most species of frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and invertebrates including Hermit Crabs. Can also be used with small snakes including Green Snakes, Ribbon Snakes, Garter Snakes, etc."

I am a little confused about that.

MissLizD13 said:

thank you all for your advice. i think it is a female and think she is a barred tiger salamander. she was the only one with those beautiful markings. the others had markings but they were very dull colored. i am prepared for the most part for if she morphs. i am not sure if when she does morph how big of a tank she will need, if it has to be half water half land. i know she needs a shallow but nice size water dish so she can keep moist and cool. i know about the eco earth, coco fiber, and about the hide aways. but not sure about the kind of moss to use. i have heard a lot about sphagnum moss being toxic to salamanders especially tiger salamanders. so i am unsure what specific kind of moss to use. is the petsmart brand Forest Moss okay or the Zoo Med Terrarium Moss okay? i am trying to be careful because the Zoo Med New Zealand sphagnum moss at Petsmart says its safe to use with "For use with most species of frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and invertebrates including Hermit Crabs. Can also be used with small snakes including Green Snakes, Ribbon Snakes, Garter Snakes, etc."

I am a little confused about that.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't really trust that moss, I think its all just sphagnum and could have acidity problems. And like calcium sand is supposed to be okay when digested by lizards but its actually worse than normal sand, so you cant believe what you read on a label lol And the tank wouldn't have to be half land half water, and its usually recommended to be fully terrestrial with just a water dish that's changed often and so its able to submerge itself. You can probably get away with a 10 gallon, but 20 or larger would of course be better.

Curious about my larval stage tiger salamander, another questions..

ok so if my larval tiger salamander morphs can i use just coco fiber or eco earth in the tank? i might need something that can hold more moisture. i also have another question...

i have noticed the past week that when i got her she had 2 small bumps on her tail. i have noticed them getting a little bigger and not sure if her gills look healthy or not. she has some light white spots on them. her 2 tail spots and the random light spots on her gills worry me. any ideas on what it could be. i use reptisafe for her water and i do daily siphoning of poo and water, and i do small water changes to keep up with maintenance. i hope i am doing things right.. i am a new salamander larvae (water dog) owner. not sure if i should be worried or not. i have some pictures attached and a link to my facebook so you all can see her latest videos mainly the "Sal Swimming 1 (2-25-2014) Day 8" video. has some closeups of her gills and tail. the video from today is not yet fully uploaded to my facebook yet. i have other videos though.


https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.duerr.pinkston/photos_albums

Ugh, I hope that's not what I think it is, but I will give you some info incase it is.

So, that could be fungus, which can kill amphibians ( it is in part why there is a global amphibian decline ).
It is caused mainly by bad water as far as I know, but can be other things to. So since you haven't had her very long it probably came about by bad water from the seller.

So, here is what you need to do. Watch it. Check it every day, several times if possible. If it keeps growing, please tell us, as that is bad, and if its what I think it is, I can help you fix it.

But now a question; Is it fluffy like? Kind of like cotton? or is it just 'hard'?

Here is a link to some great info on how to get rid of it. Follow the instructions carefully. You WONT have to do this yet, unless someone of greater knowledge and experience says to.
I honestly don't have that much experience on this, so that's why I say that. If it is worse than I think it is, than hopefully someone of greater knowledge will chime in and say so. But for now lets just see what happens, and see if it grows, and if it does keep growing please tell me

Link. http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...axolotl/72698-salt-bath-picture-tutorial.html

it the white bumps on her tail suppose to be soft. hers are hard and pimple like. as for her gills i am not sure what it is either. they are just whitish spots. not pertruding outward like the bumps and not indented either. just discolored...

shes acting normal otherwise. ate 3 large night crawlers that were cut up of course, swims normally etc. been hearing about people also having issues with curled gills. does hers look okay as well. i have a facebook with pictures and videos and a youtube with the videos...

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=365871720222692


https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.duerr.pinkston/photos_albums

MissLizD13 - YouTube

what chemicals can i use in my tiger salamander larvae tank? can i use TopFin tap water dechlorinator and topfin bacteria suppliment or do i just use the dechlorinator?
can i use API tap water conditioner? if i use API tapwater conditioner do i have to use Stress coat and stress zyme from API as well. the people at the petsmart near my home said that they all go in hand and should be used but they arent familiar with axolotls or tiger salamander larvae... i am also confused on water levels... if my ph is too high or too low what do i do? if my ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are too high or too low what do i do to stableize them and correct the problems. what are the correct levels each is suppose to be at?.....

ph good level?
nitrite good level?
nitrate good level?
ammonia level?

Tiger tiger..

i came accross your conversation and my tiger salamander larvae has discolorations on her gills, think it might be from water changes or fro ammonia build up. i do half tank water cahnges daily along with siphoning the bottom of her tank. she is 9 inches in length and in a 10 gallon tank for now. shes not morphed yet either. she has not rocks or and on bottom of tank due to hassles of cleaning and i dont want her eating the ground. i did however pick up something to help build good bacteria for her tank which will help me with i cycle a new tank,she also has 2-3 bumps on her tail fin that are pimple like and hard. they were white but the white has gone away mostly but the bumps are still there. i noticed she had them when i brought her home 10 days ago. i am attaching pictures and hope someone might have any ideas of what it might me. does she seem to have light discoloration by her mouth and eyes? unsure.just notsure if her light discolorations are from ammonia levels which i will check and try to fix in the morning if needed and if she has a parasite or fungus of some kind on her tail...advice and help needed right away. thank you.i heard that tiger salamander larvae and axolotls are cared for very similarly...

also have link to my facebook and youtube for pics and videos of my sal ....and i know some of the pics have her in a tank with a few feeder fish and gravel. that was taken out immediately after i noticed her symptoms and activeness going down. she still wants to eat no issues there. just very still.i also try to keep her water at about 68-70 degrees


https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.duerr.pinkston/photos_albums


Sal swimming 2 (2-25-2014) Day 8 - YouTube

Sal Swimming 1 (2-25-2014) Day 8 - YouTube

Sal eating 2 24 2014 Day 7 - YouTube

Sal is very active today 2 23 2014 Day 6 - YouTube

Sal my water dog swimming (2-20-2014) Day 3 of me having her - YouTube

Start with these:

Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling

Caudata Culture Articles - Water Quality

Caudata Culture Articles - Bottled Water for Amphibians

And please, when posting, would you use capital letters where appropriate?

I have merged some of your posts so all the information is in one spot. I appreciate that you are seeking advice,but please resist the urge to ask the same questions multiple times all over the forum.

Jan said:

And please, when posting, would you use capital letters where appropriate?

Click to expand...

Please , when posting, avoid using "and" at the start of a sentence .....

so could anyone tell me if my tiger salamander is morphing or if it changing a bit due to stress? i can not tell if her gills are getting smaller but her tail fin has definitely gotten smaller and her legs i think and gotten beefier. her eyes are starting to protrude out. she is also no longer 9 inches but at 9 1/2 inches now. i have my facebook and my caudata pic album page in this comment...

http://www.caudata.org/forum/member...since-i-got-her-2-17-2017-then-until-now.html

https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth....27573760440.1073741828.100003996023026&type=3

The pictures you show here do look like she is getting ready to morph.
Stress could lead to morphing, so I don't think there is a way to tell if she is morphing because she is stressed, or because she wants to morph.

Just keep an eye on her an see if her gills keep "shrinking" and if her tail keeps getting smaller.
-Seth

I'm not sure if we're on land or water anymore,but on the hot days add an air stone to your tank,,makes them a little more comfortable...