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Wild Caught Spotted Salamanders

jwilkerson3003

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I am wanting to get a few spotted salamanders from the hundreds that are outside, but was wondering if I would be better off hatching out one of the egg masses that are all over the place, or taking adults. My guess is that hatching an egg mass, and keeping a few, would make better captive pets. If hatching an egg mass isn't to dificult, which I am thinking wouldn't be, but I am sure those of you that breed would know better than I do. Any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
 

michael

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Hatching the eggs and raising them shouldn't be to hard. Check your state and local laws to see how many you are allowed to take.
 

454

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I would say egg mass, but you will need live brine shrimp or daphnia. You could also use pond water from the pond you get them at to feed the hatchlings. Not sure if its legal though? You might need a fishing license or something.
 

jwilkerson3003

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Right now I am raising some Aoxotl larvae. Is spotted larvae much different as far as raising them goes?
 

454

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If the Axolotl larvae is about the same size as the spotte larvae, you could raise them together.
because they are both (ambystoma).
 

ferret_corner

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Please don't raise the wild harvested eggs with the captive bred AXOLOTLS.

1. despite your best efforts you could carry over pathogens from the pond/eggs

2. if you are currently raising axolotl larvae then I doubt they're the same size as the unhatched larvae

3. if you're going to use pond water to feed the larvae, I hope you have good eyes to keep out the nasties.

for the rest.... I would imagine (and I can only imagine as I have no experience) that raising the two species is very similar for the larvae stage.

And since you are already raising axolotl larvae I suppose you already have a good food source, so that will probably suffice for both species.

AND!!! If you look to the left of the screen under the names you see some green dots/squares or gray or red. Green is good, red is bad gray is neutral. This concerns the reputation of the person giving you advice. It would be a good thing to check those out before taking some advice given on this board.

Good luck with your endeavors!!!!
 
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jwilkerson3003

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Oh no I would never raise them together. Didn't even cross my mind, just wondering how the care compares with the axolotls.
 

madeve

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I'm a little unsure but I'm going to venture that the care from larvae to metamorphosis of spotted salamanders should be similar to that of tiger salamanders (again it is just a guess not a fact). You can have a look at the tiger salamander care sheet, it is very informative on how to care for all stages.
The one person I know that could best answer that question would be Greatwtehunter, I know he has raised spotted salamanders from eggs successfully and has lots of experience with them.
I hope this helps a bit.
Eve
 

ferret_corner

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I have raised spotted salamanders, and many other ambystoma with pond water. :mad:

Lots of people have. Its even recommended that people attempt to harvest daphnia from ponds - its ALSO recommended they carefully scrutinize the water so as to not add nasties like dragon fly larvae and who know what else.
 

Kaysie

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As for whether it's better to take adults or eggs: eggs.

If you remove a breeding adult from the population (especially a female), you remove all the offspring they may potentially have. If you remove an egg mass (preferably a small one), you only remove that specific number, many of which probably won't make it to adulthood in the wild anyway.
 

amkid247

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i am actually planning on doing this as well depending on the population of the vernal pool i know the location of. i dont see many adults, but i have seen juveniles, but it recent years not so much. it surprised me last year when two larva came home with me in some pond water though so im hoping there is population thats strong, wildlife has been returning to the area recently.
 

Greatwtehunter

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As I am sure you've noticed eggs are the way to go. I have noticed that the individuals I raised from eggs tend to be more outgoing and observant than the WC individuals I have dealt with. Is this true for all maculatums? I can't say and I doubt it is but just something I have noticed.

As long as you have a good food source and keep them well fed then you shouldn't run into any problems during their larval stage like cannabilism. Metamorphosis tends to be a little trickier for some people. I start mine out in a small tub with a springtail culture and then in addition I feed them woodlice or pinhead crickets twice a week.
 
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