Before I start I'll mention that I did already read through the other thread posted on this, but as I only have the one, I believe the root cause of my finicky eater is something different than the one concluded in that past thread
I've only had my adorable guy for about 3 days now, so I know it's probably early to be freaking out about his eating habits, but it just worries me.
I've found it very hard so far to find any care info. regarding this species in terms of preferred temps. and water temps. etc. His aquarium as of yet isn't as set up as I'd like it, I need to grab some plants for in the water and some branches for him to climb on (right now he only has a dock).
I think his story is that someone caught him in the summer, and then a few months later (Ie. Three days ago...) decided they didn't want him anymore and that they could just let him go in -10 degree C weather in an area with no (at least none that isn't hideously polluted ditch water. Seriously, you should see this thing. There aren't even any bugs that live in it
From research I've done I've concluded that he's an Ambystoma gracile, and between 1 and 3 years old. He's only about 5 inches long (Has a long way to go before being full-grown!), and he spends about 75% of his time on land, and 25% in the water. Sometimes more or less in / on either depending on the day. And I've been keeping the room he's in at about 10 degrees C, which seems to be what is recomended for other salamanders that are native to this area...
Is it possible that he's just not eating because of stress? Or is it a temperature problem?
I've tried feeding him cut up shrimp, which he didn't seem to acknowledge as food, frozen bloodworms when he's been in his water, which he didn't seem to even acknowledge the existance of, and an earthworm, which is still slithering around with him and which he'll watch and crawl over to whenever it does something particularly interesting, but so far hasn't made any attempts to eat it. Though I'm wondering if that will change once I'm not around anymore... I'm also wondering if maybe he's just young and hasn't really adapted to eating such large foods yet?
Normally I wouldn't keep an animal unless it was actually going to benifit from being in human care, and in this case I feel very stranded because it's much too cold to let him back out to depend on his own devices. My boyfriend thinks that he's not hungry because instinctively, he should be hibernating around this time of year and therefore already stocked up on fat within the last few months? Should I just wait and see how he does in the next couple weeks before I start worrying? Or are there any truly "fool-proof" foods I could get that he's 99% guaranteed to scarf down?
Also, a pretty much unrelated and just general question, how do Ambystoma gracile normally fair in captivity? This one seems to go through periods throughout the day of being active and being thoroughly lathargic, and I'd also like to check that this is normal (though it seems to me as though it would be as they spend much of their time buried normally.)
Also, what is the recomended tank set-up for this species? He seems fairly comfortable the way he is, but I'm still wondering if his habitat could be the problem. They guy at the pet store said a 10 gallon tank would be fine, filled halfway (about 5 or 6 inches) with water. I have a turtle dock he can climb and rest on, and a filter, and will be getting him more and more natural things to climb on and keep himself entertained with. He does spend quite a bit of his time swimming and being immersed in the water. He also will scale the sides of the aquarium the from time to time (Though his toes have never proved to be sticky enough to be any good at climbing )
And he's never secreted any kind of poison when I've handled him, if that gives any clue as to his age...
Thank you all in advance as well for your responses!! I just want to make sure he is as happy and healthy as possible, and don't yet really know what to look for to determine this as he's / she's the first amphibian to ever be in my care!
Would covering his tank with a blanket or towel to make it darker help?
And I was also wondering if there's any way to tell the gender of A. graciles? I know that with some other species there are differences between males and females.
Thank you!
I've only had my adorable guy for about 3 days now, so I know it's probably early to be freaking out about his eating habits, but it just worries me.
I've found it very hard so far to find any care info. regarding this species in terms of preferred temps. and water temps. etc. His aquarium as of yet isn't as set up as I'd like it, I need to grab some plants for in the water and some branches for him to climb on (right now he only has a dock).
I think his story is that someone caught him in the summer, and then a few months later (Ie. Three days ago...) decided they didn't want him anymore and that they could just let him go in -10 degree C weather in an area with no (at least none that isn't hideously polluted ditch water. Seriously, you should see this thing. There aren't even any bugs that live in it
From research I've done I've concluded that he's an Ambystoma gracile, and between 1 and 3 years old. He's only about 5 inches long (Has a long way to go before being full-grown!), and he spends about 75% of his time on land, and 25% in the water. Sometimes more or less in / on either depending on the day. And I've been keeping the room he's in at about 10 degrees C, which seems to be what is recomended for other salamanders that are native to this area...
Is it possible that he's just not eating because of stress? Or is it a temperature problem?
I've tried feeding him cut up shrimp, which he didn't seem to acknowledge as food, frozen bloodworms when he's been in his water, which he didn't seem to even acknowledge the existance of, and an earthworm, which is still slithering around with him and which he'll watch and crawl over to whenever it does something particularly interesting, but so far hasn't made any attempts to eat it. Though I'm wondering if that will change once I'm not around anymore... I'm also wondering if maybe he's just young and hasn't really adapted to eating such large foods yet?
Normally I wouldn't keep an animal unless it was actually going to benifit from being in human care, and in this case I feel very stranded because it's much too cold to let him back out to depend on his own devices. My boyfriend thinks that he's not hungry because instinctively, he should be hibernating around this time of year and therefore already stocked up on fat within the last few months? Should I just wait and see how he does in the next couple weeks before I start worrying? Or are there any truly "fool-proof" foods I could get that he's 99% guaranteed to scarf down?
Also, a pretty much unrelated and just general question, how do Ambystoma gracile normally fair in captivity? This one seems to go through periods throughout the day of being active and being thoroughly lathargic, and I'd also like to check that this is normal (though it seems to me as though it would be as they spend much of their time buried normally.)
Also, what is the recomended tank set-up for this species? He seems fairly comfortable the way he is, but I'm still wondering if his habitat could be the problem. They guy at the pet store said a 10 gallon tank would be fine, filled halfway (about 5 or 6 inches) with water. I have a turtle dock he can climb and rest on, and a filter, and will be getting him more and more natural things to climb on and keep himself entertained with. He does spend quite a bit of his time swimming and being immersed in the water. He also will scale the sides of the aquarium the from time to time (Though his toes have never proved to be sticky enough to be any good at climbing )
And he's never secreted any kind of poison when I've handled him, if that gives any clue as to his age...
Thank you all in advance as well for your responses!! I just want to make sure he is as happy and healthy as possible, and don't yet really know what to look for to determine this as he's / she's the first amphibian to ever be in my care!
Would covering his tank with a blanket or towel to make it darker help?
And I was also wondering if there's any way to tell the gender of A. graciles? I know that with some other species there are differences between males and females.
Thank you!