Feeding baby tiger salamanders

[Springlizard]

So I recently ordered two tiger salamanders online and they arrived today ( seem to be in good condition) .

I have a question about feeding them however. they are pretty small so my guess is they are somewhat young? one of them is has been burrowed in the substrate and I haven't seen him since I put him in there. the other one I tried offering a cut up piece of worm but she didn't seem intrested

I realize that salamanders dont eat everyday but considering how skinny one of them looks I would feel a lot better if they eat something.

 

[Sith the turtle]

Chopped Canadian night-crawlers would be good in this situation, just offer them in a feeding bowl of some sort. If the other one is skinny, you could feed it a few wax-worms to help it put on some weight and entice it to eat. Here's a good article for feeding most newts and salamanders: Caudata Culture Articles - Food Items for Captive Caudates and one that explains chopping worms for smaller animals: Caudata Culture Articles - How to Feed a Large Worm to a Small Newt

 

[Springlizard]

good news after lifting up their hide to get them to come out the bigger guy got 2 crickets.

the smaller one got half a worm and a cricket but she seemed to have some trouble eating the worm. it look like she got a mouthful of dirt

can tiger salamanders get impacted from dirt?

 

[Sith the turtle]

Small amounts and one time they should be able to pass, but I'd watch for any signs of it, make sure you're still finding poop and monitor him. Again, he should be fine if it was a small amount, and to help counter that, you could make a feeding dish until they are big enough to take whole night-crawlers, and to make sure they know where the food is, and to make sure they don't take any substrate in with their food

 

[Springlizard]

They are taking cut up earthworms fine but it's very hard to stop them from eating dirt. Once I feed them the worm they thrash it and roll it around in the dirt . I tried putting them on a dish and they didn't seem to notice the worm, it seems holding it in front gets them to eat better but it looks like they are swallowing dirt =\

 

[Sith the turtle]

Well, looks like a good time to start training them to eat from your fingers or tongs, to make sure they eat, and don't get any substrate with it

 

[Springlizard]

yea they actually have been willing to accept food from me but I found it much easier to hand feed crickets then worms

Im wondering if you have any tips on how to feed worms? Ive been cutting it up and holding it in front of them and for some reason they seem to have trouble eating the worm. the peices seem small enough but the worm usually falls out of their mouth and then they get confused and start biting at the dirt

 

[Sith the turtle]

It's as easy as dangling it over their snout and holding it until they start swallowing