Raising Spotted Salamander larvae

In a couple weeks I am getting some spotted salamander larvae. I am wondering how long it will take them to metamorph? If I get them at the end of february, what month will they most likely be terrestrial?
Thanks!

When did they hatch?

Not sure, I ordered them online.

Are you talking Ambystoma maculatum? Boy, that's a little out of season.

Well there were selling (salamander larvae), didnt say what species. But I emailed them and they said they were most likely going to be spotted salamanders. Sooooo... not sure what I am going to get? What salamanders are in season right now?

They will probally be spotted because their eggs are easy to find and collect. I know people that have bought eggs online and they always end up being spotteds. Plus December- Febuary is breeding time in the southern part of their range. I will have some eggs coming as soon as they are available. This will be my first try with them. They say it is a 100 count. Im getting my tanks ready now. Larvae hatch in about a month and are about a 1/2 inch (13mm) They should transform within 2-4 months at 2 1/2" (64mm)

Thank you, very helpful!

454 and or BillY,
Hi
Could you tell me where you purchased the larvae? I'm interested in purchasing some myself. If you like you can PM here if its against rules to mention vendors here. Thanks!
salamandergal

Hi,

Spotted salamanders usually breed in vernal pools, so they generally transform rapidly, usually within 6 weeks. However, they can take as long as 18 months in those rare situations where eggs are laid in permanent water bodies.

In southern NY, those that hatch in late March/ early April are out of the ponds by late July/ mid August. Decreasing water levels may spur rapid growth as in tiger salamanders, but this has not been conclusively established as far as I know. Genetics may also play a role, temperature and diet certainly are important.

The larvae will grow well on a diet comprised largely of live blackworms, with chopped earthworms added as they mature, along with white worms and other tiny inverts...I've not had much luck with prepared diets, but others claim to use Reptomin, etc. Be sure to provide as much cover as possible (fill the tank with submerged and half-submerged plastic plants) as they are highly cannibalistic...may also choke on clumped blackworms (chopped worms stubbornly continue to "clump up"!) so take care in that regard.

Here is a link to an article I've written.,...it contains links to others on natural history, captive care etc.

Enjoy and good luck, Frank Indiviglio

I got my eggs from Carolina Bio Supply Co. They become available sometime between February and April. You will get 100-200 eggs. I had 90% of them hatch. I have been feeding them Daphnia, monia, micro worms, newly hatched brine shrimp and chopped blackworms. Also I have been collecting pond water that I am filtering through a brine shrimp net. There is alot of little goodies in there including some very tiny fish fry. They have been hatched out for 3 weeks and I have yet to have any cannibalistic problems. I think this is because I have gone a few extra miles to ensure they are very well fed. I am keeping 1/3 on sand and pebbles. The rest in 2 bare dark blue tupperware containers. I thought they would be able to see the micro worms easier that I am feeding them. The water is about 3 inches high. There is a airstone in each. I will probally raise this as they grow. I want to keep the food down close to them. I am doing 20% water changes every 2 days. . I also have some clumps of green algae growing in the containers. I have left some of it in. I know it will absorb waste from the water and anything green does add oxygen. Plus they seem to like hiding under it and sitting on top to grab food as it passes by. I do remove alot of it though. I don't want them getting lost in it. I will have to move them to bigger containers as they grow. I have a 33 gallon long tank and a 20 gallon tank waiting. I'll post back in a few weeks. If anything changes.

I've raised spotted larvae that were a few weeks from maturing (with legs), not ones that newly hatched. My suggestion would be to start them once they have legs with small amounts of live blackworms, and perhaps some frozen bloodworms. As they are nearing adulthood, they will eat like crazy, so you'll need to feed more often and perhaps larger amounts. Chopped earthworms are good too if you can find any.

Mine had access to water longer than usual and were kept at cooler temps, and coincidently they matured later than usual, and were slightly bigger than larvae who were kept at higher temps with less water and less food.

In the wild when their vernal pools start to dry up that triggers them to become adults, in only a day this can happen because once the pools dry up they will die if they depend on gills. I've been by wild spotted breeding pools and and observed this happening. The young adults hid under moist areas close by the pools, then a heavy rain came and they all scattered into the wooded areas.

So my guess is that mine took longer to mature because their water level was stable and they had plenty of food, so the trigger to rush metamorph didn't occur and they took their time to mature, thus being larger in size and healthier.

When they first mature sometimes not all of them will eat, some do better than others and i've had more than half die in their first week. Though the ones that did survive were very healthy.

I started mine on fruit flies and live blackworms, blackworms which I placed in a shallow dish. At first the young adults were very active on land climbing over everything and up the side of the tank, and still going in the water once in a while, they didnt care much about eating. In about 2 days though they settled down, and started digging under the substrate and hiding under fake logs I had in the tank. They would sit and wait for prey to come by them, then ambush it. After a good week of eating I upgraded them from flies to pinhead crickets, still giving live blackworms. In a month they started eating small earthworms which is their favorite.

They tend to beg to eat, and will eat anything you put in, so be careful not to overfeed.

Except for feeding time they are usually lazy and hide most of the day.