eukarie
New member
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2008
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- 11
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Hello again,
First I'd like to say this is a great site! I have really appreciated the advice many of you have given me in trying to troubleshoot problems with my tiger salamander, Sam. I will say tentatively that he looks a little better today - his eyes were swollen shut and he stopped eating (not sure what caused what), and the last two days I could actually see both of his eyes - not completely healthy but there's some improvement which is encouraging. I think the cloth over the tank is helping to keep the cat dander & hair out, which may be the trick.
So, I think the main thing now is getting him well nourished, and also getting him to eat on his own!
Many of you have suggested I feed him worms but that "compost worms" taste bad. What about the worms that I dig up? Are those the same as compost worms, or are those regular earthworms? I've looked at the Caudata fact sheets on worms... but how do I tell what kind of worms are in the ground? My main problem is obtaining the right kind of food and getting him to eat it. In the middle of a rather gentrified city (Seattle) and no car, I'm afraid I'm nowhere near a Walmart or gas station that sells fishing supplies... much easier to buy raw shrimp or possibly dig up earthworms, though I wonder about pollution in the urban soil? It would be great if I could get the right kind of worm and breed them myself...
This brings up the fact that I never fed him worms before! (I didn't know I was supposed to). He lived for 9 years exclusively on a diet of crickets, which he hunted down and caught himself until getting sick this past December. I could fairly easily get the crickets at a nearby Petco. I currently have some small live crickets on hand just in case he'll start eating them (but he won't yet). I also didn't ever dust the crickets with vitamins, they just ate Flukers' standard cricket food... makes me wonder if he's every been extremely healthy.
So, I'm still not sure how to get him to eat the worms since he won't grab anything on his own. I would have to open his mouth and push it in which seems extra tricky. I'm currently hand-feeding him Repti-Aid with a syringe with a plastic lip taped on to slide into his mouth.
Another question (re: Repti-Aid and/or worms): how often and how much should I feed him? The Repti-Aid box says approx. 1.0cc per day for malnourished 50g critter. What do you think? It depends on temperature, right? I think my apartment is about 55-65, sometimes 70 F.
Also, I noticed a recent posting about tiger salamander feces... Sam's have never looked like footballs with bits in them as far as I noticed. More blackish and stringy (meaning?). When he was healthy he would defecate in his water dish. Now just on the paper towels... rarely goes in the dish. Very lethargic.
Anyway, thanks again!
First I'd like to say this is a great site! I have really appreciated the advice many of you have given me in trying to troubleshoot problems with my tiger salamander, Sam. I will say tentatively that he looks a little better today - his eyes were swollen shut and he stopped eating (not sure what caused what), and the last two days I could actually see both of his eyes - not completely healthy but there's some improvement which is encouraging. I think the cloth over the tank is helping to keep the cat dander & hair out, which may be the trick.
So, I think the main thing now is getting him well nourished, and also getting him to eat on his own!
Many of you have suggested I feed him worms but that "compost worms" taste bad. What about the worms that I dig up? Are those the same as compost worms, or are those regular earthworms? I've looked at the Caudata fact sheets on worms... but how do I tell what kind of worms are in the ground? My main problem is obtaining the right kind of food and getting him to eat it. In the middle of a rather gentrified city (Seattle) and no car, I'm afraid I'm nowhere near a Walmart or gas station that sells fishing supplies... much easier to buy raw shrimp or possibly dig up earthworms, though I wonder about pollution in the urban soil? It would be great if I could get the right kind of worm and breed them myself...
This brings up the fact that I never fed him worms before! (I didn't know I was supposed to). He lived for 9 years exclusively on a diet of crickets, which he hunted down and caught himself until getting sick this past December. I could fairly easily get the crickets at a nearby Petco. I currently have some small live crickets on hand just in case he'll start eating them (but he won't yet). I also didn't ever dust the crickets with vitamins, they just ate Flukers' standard cricket food... makes me wonder if he's every been extremely healthy.
So, I'm still not sure how to get him to eat the worms since he won't grab anything on his own. I would have to open his mouth and push it in which seems extra tricky. I'm currently hand-feeding him Repti-Aid with a syringe with a plastic lip taped on to slide into his mouth.
Another question (re: Repti-Aid and/or worms): how often and how much should I feed him? The Repti-Aid box says approx. 1.0cc per day for malnourished 50g critter. What do you think? It depends on temperature, right? I think my apartment is about 55-65, sometimes 70 F.
Also, I noticed a recent posting about tiger salamander feces... Sam's have never looked like footballs with bits in them as far as I noticed. More blackish and stringy (meaning?). When he was healthy he would defecate in his water dish. Now just on the paper towels... rarely goes in the dish. Very lethargic.
Anyway, thanks again!
