Batrachoseps Slender Salamanders

Hey. New to the forum, and I must say, this is a great place.

Anyways, I'd like to say, Salamnders and Newts are just about my FAVORITE kind of amphibian. There's something about them that makes them so unique as compared to Frogs. Whether it be because of their Lizard-like bodies or there somewhat different look is really something I may not be able to put my finger on.

Anyways, of all the Salamanders I've seen, Slender Salamanders are my fave of the group. However, beyond this care sheet, there seems to be not much in terms of care data and availability data. Anyone willing to help out?

Note from John: Moved to the help section.

I believe all of them are protected species here in the US, with very limited ranges in California (All of the CA are protected by state law with limited collection allowed on B. pacificus and B.attenuattus) and Washington State.

There is quite a bit of argument about the current status of this genus.

The Petranka book has quite a good bit about them.



Here is some other links you may enjoy also.


http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/CABatrachoseps.html

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/habcon/info/herp_ssc.pdf

http://www.californiaherps.com/salamanders/pages/b.nigriventris.html

I have always enjoyed them myself. I found my first one by accident while working under a house out there. He was perfectly mummified naturally and at first I mistook him for a juvenile alligator lizard! Over the years I was lucky enough to get to see two of the rarest ones in the wild.

Oh, ok. So, does anyone on the site have experience keeping them?

I have kept B. attenuatus and fed them very small crickets which they snapped up. they seem very easy to keep and must be a hardy species because they have adapted well to human activity. They occur in urban gardens alongside Aneides lugubris.

They are common as muck and by far the most common species I encounter... they can be found in large numbers under logs and rocks. I find many different color variations from black to reddish brown to golden yellow or tan...

Care, as far as housing, is going to be similar to Ensatinas and Aneides. The only difference would be that slender salamanders burrow, so a deep substrate might be helpful.
They are excellent escape artists... they can stick in the corners of an aquarium and climb out if it's not covered and, because they are very slender, they fit through the tiniest openings... I'd say that a shoebox set up would be more practical than a traditional terrarium...