Recently got a tiger salamander, help needed

Hi all

Was just after some general advice on salamanders I have read up sooo much already, however most sites tell me different things.... So just a few questions on my tiger salamander which I have had for nearly a day now!!

All places suggest different types of food I wanted to know the best one or ones and why.
The humidity of the tank is always around 80% if it gets too high what problems can it cause along with signs.
And finally probably a silly question but since he arrived he has explored and dug a bit and the the mud has stuck to his head I was just wondering if this is ok as I don't want it to harm him by drying out or anything.

Thanks,
Kathryn

First off, welcome to caudata!

Kathryn93 said:

Hi all

Was just after some general advice on salamanders I have read up sooo much already, however most sites tell me different things...

Click to expand...

Its good you came here because this place is going to be your best resource. All we do here is salamanders, unlike other places. I know you said you've researched alot, but read these two articles and you can't fail.

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/tiger_sal_101.shtml

http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Ambystoma/A_tigrinum.shtml


The dirt on his head is fine. He is a burrowing creature and things that live in dirt tend to get dirty. However, you called his substrate mud which makes me think it is probably too wet. You want it to be damp, but not so wet that you can squeeze water out of it. The best thing to do is have a "moisture gradient" where you keep one side of the tank more wet and the other side more dry. Tigers can suffer from skin issues if kept too wet.

Read the articles and look around on the forum, tons of us keep tigers. They are easy and fun, so enjoy yours!

I forgot to mention that earthworms are the best foodsource. They offer a complete nutrition for salamanders. Stay away from foods like pinky mice, feeder fish, mealworms, ect. This article explains why:

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/foods.shtml

Agree with what Jess has said. If you have additional questions, please feel free to post.

Hi, thanks and funnily enough I had already read them when searching for care sheets but that one on food is really helpful so thank you and the substrate is like fine breadcrumbs but damp.
He did spend a lot of time buried but has now been on top all day even sitting on his hide so hoping that's good behaviour signs.

I have had a little experience with salamanders as when i was at college they used to have one but sadly it died (which was upsetting as it was my favourite thing) they were stupid enough to keep it in the reptile room which exceeded temps of 20!
So I just hope mine lives I find myself checking a few times a day where he is and if he is breathing because I'm so worried about him but he has lovely set up and will be fed the best food so hopefully I will have him for a while!
I live in uk so I don't have to worry about my room over heating ! It says at 17-20c

Sorry forgot to ask.. How do I get hold of earthworms? And are they like mealworms where you have to squash and cut of the head?

You can get worms from outside by flipping logs, looking in wet grass, ect. As long as the area you get them from doesnt use pestacides or fertalizers. Or you can buy them from a baitshop. No need to crush the head. Earthworms can't bite.

Okay I know they live outside its just i would have I feed something else when the ground freezes out here which is often.

You can culture European nightcrawlers or redworms inside. I'm lucky that I live in a big fishing state so I can usually buy worms in the winter even when the ground is frozen solid and under a foot or two of snow.

Okay thanks will I have to spray the worms with spring water so he doesn't ingest any bad toxins ? Also his thermometer is reading around 16 that's with a heatmat only from 8pm-6am then it goes to about 18 in the day. Is this too cold I've heard of them not being able to tolerate heat over 20c but what's the coolest temps they can be comfortable in?
Thanks again! it's all been very helpful.

My herp room is ~14C during the day. I imagine it probably drops to around 10C at night, but I haven't checked lately. They're still gluttonous pigs.

They do fine well into the single digits.