Caudata.org: Newts and Salamanders Portal

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Did you know that registered users see fewer ads? Register today!

Bolitoglossines in the hobby

Vern5384

New member
Joined
Nov 30, 2012
Messages
35
Reaction score
1
Location
Georgia, USA
Hey guys/gals,

I'm new to the forum and have been keeing sallies since I was a little kid (although admittedly with little success then.) I've been contemplating getting into a couple of different things in the near future. A few questions I have are: Why are Bolitoglossines so rare in the hobby? How difficult to keep and breed are they compared to other plethodontids? What would a good species be for starting and where do people get these things?

Thanks
 

methodik

Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2011
Messages
117
Reaction score
7
Hi,

as one of the kids interested in them I can answer most of your questions, I guess.

1. They are rare, because they are not being exported anymore. Most, if not all, countries they occur in have stopped commercial exports or made it more difficult. This meets with a certain disinterest in the animals in the hobby. Whilst many frogs, also protected ones, are more or less regularly exported at high prices, noone would want to pay for the salamanders, because of their reputation, which leads to

2. They are different, because they also occur in different ranges. There have not been many people keeping them, making experienced advice a short supply. When imports still took place every now and then, most of the animals would die from the transport. One of the biggest problems is the high probability of Batrachytrium dendrobatidis in these salamanders,

so this leads to

3. There is no starter animal. If you dont have plenty of books to read through or friends who can tell you a lot about their care, their habitat in nature etc., I would strongly suggest not try and keep them - if you would want to, you'd have to go collect them yourself, anyways - and get the correct paperwork.


What I would suggest, if you are interested in them, is to search the web for all the information, get some books on them and maybe annoy some people who have been working with them (sorry, tropical zoo keepers of this world). Even the theoretical pursuit of knowledge about these fascinating species is much rewarding.


All the best greetings
Jakob
 
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    There are no messages in the chat. Be the first one to say Hi!
    Top