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Fire Salamander from the wild!

AgnosticA

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Nov 20, 2014
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Tirana, Albania
Hello everyone!
A couple of months ago while hiking in the forest we found a sort of water container with fire salamanders inside. The container was nearly full of water, it's depth was about 80 cm. There were two (female i suppose) adult fire salamanders and many many larvae. One of the adults unfortunately was dead while the other one was not. I have no idea for how long it had been in the water but she was very thin and weak. We managed to get her out of the container and took her home. She wouldn't feed and didn't recover. The next day she was dead.

A month ago we went again to check the container. We found an adult inside again but luckily the water level had dropped and while she was staying on some wooden logs she was managing to keep her had above the water. There were many larvae too. Again we took her home. She was thin but not as much as the first one that died. Now i'm keeping her as my pet. I will post some photos. Her appetite is good.

She started feeding since the first day. For the first week i fed her slugs, mealworms and crickets everyday of the week. For the last two weeks, i fed her slugs once in two days.
2 - 3 slugs per meal. She has a shallow water 'bowl' that she gets into every night. I once noticed she was moving inside the water bowl with some sort of 'snake-ish' movements. This is the 4rth week i have her. Last night i noticed there was some slugish thing, like boogers in the water. Do you think she might have shed?!
She looks fine! Other than her normal exploring of her home, and walking around she also is not aggresive towards me. She lets me hold her and if i place her inside the water bowl and start petting her, she doesn't go away. Shall i be concerned she doesn't go away? She does not seem to be afraid.

I will also post some photos. The first photo is of the first salamander that died and behind you can notice the water container where we found her. Next photos are of my pet salamander and her set up.

So here's the total of questions you might help me with:
1. Do you think she has shed?
2. Shall I be concerned she is not scared and 'likes' to be petted?
3. Does she look healthy?
4. Do you think the set up is appropriate?
5. Can i feed her newly hatched stick insects that have not yet started feeding on plants?

I know it's a lot of reading. Thank you in advance!
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Azhael

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Burgos
Welcome to the forums.
If the adults are having difficulty exiting the breeding site, you could perhaps modify it slightly to provide and easy way out. Maybe stack some logs or place a conveniently inclined tile that allows them to get in an out.
I think it's fantastic that you care about these animals but you need to know that taking them home is not ok.
In all probability, although i'm not familiar with albanian laws, taking these salamanders from the wild is going to be illegal. I would be very surprised if that weren't the case because it's everywhere else in europe.
The first thing you should do is to contact the authorities and learn about the existing laws. As i say, it's almost guaranteed that capture and possession are both ilegal and subject to significant fines. Salamandra salamandra is a species that is currently facing very serious threats, they need our protection and efforts to help them in the wild. Taking adults from those populations to serve as pets is not helping the species at all, it's damaging it.
I have to say that even if capturing and keeping these animals is not explicitely forbidden by law in your country, which again, i doubt, there are excellent moral and ethical reasons to condemn the capture of these animals. I strongly advice you to reconsider what you are doing.

Another thing you need to know, is that if you took them home to help them, which is the impression i get, while your intentions are good, you are going about it all wrong. By taking them home you are further stressing the animals and you are potentially exposing them to pathogens, which they would introduce to the wild if they were set free once recovered. Incidentally, releasing these animals back into the wild is also almost certainly illegal and subject to fines.
The best thing you can do is to simply take the animals out of the trap and let them free in the inmediate surroundings. They are tough little beasts, they can recover.

Do not use gloves to handle them. In particular, dusted gloves have been shown to be lethal to amphibians. If you must handle them, do it with wet, cold hands and handle them for the minimum time that is necessary. The oils in our hands, our body heat, soaps and other residues can be dangerous to them. These are animals that should not be handled at all unless absolutely necessary.

It's difficult to tell from that first photo, but the animal doesn't seem to be in a particularly bad physical state. Its death might have been related not just to having been trapped in the well, but also with being handled and taken into your home.
The other salamander looks perfectly healthy and since it's only been 4 weeks, it's unlikely that it was in any danger when you took it home...being a bit thin is not a death sentence for these animals..

As fot your questions:
1. Very likely.
2- You should be concerned if it's not alert, but you should not be handling, petting it or touching it at all anyway. Again, this is dangerous for the animal and at the very least, its a cause of stress.
3-Yep.
4.It's definitely not, but i hesitate to explain what the adequate conditions would be because in all honesty i think you should not have that animal in your home even in the very unlikely scenario that it's not explicitely prohibited in your laws.
You should check the caresheet available in the links in my signature...
5. Probably not the best idea. Earthworms are the best food.

Remember to consult the authorities about what the laws in your country are.
 
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