I'm a new Tiger Salamander owner with questions.

A few more questions maybe you can answer for me. Tiger salamanders are nocturnal right? Why are mine out in the day and at night?? They are always out in the morning and afternoon either sitting on one of the rocks or hanging out in the water. Also, after changing my substrate to soil and coco fiber there not burrowing. They just use there houses to hide in. I'm wondering if they dont like the soil. Both salamanders are always covered in dirt. It just sticks to their bodies. Is this ok?
 
one more question i forgot to add in the last post. They will only eat crickets. I offered them meal worms and regular worms but they spit them back out. What else can i feed them that they may like.
 
Try pinkie mice. Once a week is good. I dont care if they are high in fat, they have tons of calcium. Only feed once a week though

EDIT: Theres nothing wrong with crickets....I dont see why you dont just continue feeding them those
 
thanks for help answering the food question can you help me answer the other questions i asked? Any help appreciated.

Thanks,

Amy
 
Ok meal worms - have you been decapitating them or crushing their heads?

Spitting out the worms - let them miss a few meals - they'll eat what you dangle in front of them.

Pinky mice are a treat like wax worms or for ill animals that need the high fat content.

What kind of worms are you attempting to feed?

gut loaded and calcium dusted crickets are good for them. What I call roly polies are hunted down my tigers and eaten. Sometimes I give the kids a butterfly net and put a white bulb in the patio light and let the kids catch white and light brown moths.

But crickets and worms are the primary diet here.
 
Just to add to what has been said, please do not feed them pinkie mice.

Regarding them not burrowing, do you have a photograph of this setup that we could see please?
 
Have you tried earthworms? They are usually accepted and are very nutritious.
Edit: Nevermind. ;)
 
My two tigers arent adults yet. They are still babies. I cut the earth worms in half to feed them also i did cut off the heads of the meal worms. I will try to get photos of my setup and my tigers.
 
Amyy73 said:
A few more questions maybe you can answer for me. Tiger salamanders are nocturnal right? Why are mine out in the day and at night?? They are always out in the morning and afternoon either sitting on one of the rocks or hanging out in the water. Also, after changing my substrate to soil and coco fiber there not burrowing. They just use there houses to hide in. I'm wondering if they dont like the soil. Both salamanders are always covered in dirt. It just sticks to their bodies. Is this ok?
Click to expand...

Hi Amy
Regarding food sources, have a look at these two articles from our Caudata Culture section, I think you will find them helpful:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/foods.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/foods2.shtml

Yes, tigers are considered nocturnal. Mine do come out in both the day and night, however, and will feed anytime day or night. In my experience it comes down to light exposure. If where you keep them is in a dimly lighted area they may well come out in the day. They will avoid bright light. Are you still using the red light at night? There is no need for this.

You say that both sals are 'covered in dirt'. That would imply that they are burrowing - you may not have caught them doing it....or that your soil is too wet if they are covered in dirt and have just been walking on top of the substrate. The substrate should be moist but not wet. With coco-fiber, dried fibers will adhere to the sals' skin, but that isn't problematic. Tigers do like to stay in their hides as shelter and security - that isn't abnormal.

You have only had these guys a short time. They are probably still adjusting to their new environment.

As John suggests, if you can post some photos of the enclosure we may be able to provide more feedback.
 
Amyy73 said:
My two tigers arent adults yet. They are still babies. I cut the earth worms in half to feed them also i did cut off the heads of the meal worms. I will try to get photos of my setup and my tigers.
Click to expand...
Sometimes in feeding worms, the animals have to be coached and it takes some patience. It is conceivable that the reptile store where you bought them only fed crickets and that is what they know.

Are you using red wriglers? When cut, these worms can exude a foul smelling substance that can turn off many sals. Small pieces of nightcrawler, dangled from long tweezers, forceps or even a wood skewer may help.

Also you mentioned that the sals spend some time in their water dish. You may want to use spring water or dechlorinated water in the dish. I also dechlorinate/dechloraminate my water that I use to reconstitute the coco-fiber blocks.
 
For water, go to Kroger and buy a gallon of spring water for 50 cents. That should last your many mistings/water bowl changes.
 
Marli and Sam look adorable, I'd venture they are both barred tigers. Your tank looks amazing, I love all the different hides you have in there. I think that is a great looking tank and your tigers are spoiled.
 
Thank you for the great compliment. I know it's probably more space than they needed but i like having them have all that extra room. Its a 40 gallon tank i had left over from when i owned my leopard geckos.
 
I think that you are worrying over nothing. The Tigers and the tank look amazing. Im jealous.
 
Amyy73 said:
Thank you for the great compliment. I know it's probably more space than they needed but i like having them have all that extra room. Its a 40 gallon tank i had left over from when i owned my leopard geckos.
Click to expand...

Yep, I was right, your tigers are spoiled !!! My pair is in a 20 gal Long, though I'm thinking of upgrading them to a 40 gal breeder one of these days.
 
The tank set-up looks fine from what I can see and very spacious for a pair with a lot of nice hides. A thought I would have on this is that it appears you have a glass top? I would use a metal mesh top to insure adequate ventilation. If you decide to use spring water, have a look at this as pH of products do vary:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/Spring_water.shtml
 
I have a screen top on my tank. I put half a sheet of plexi glass on the left hand side to keep moisture in. That's probably what you see.
 
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