Fire salamander setup

[alan]

120x45x42cm, houses four Salamandra salamandra terrestris (two pairs, I hope!).

Composted bark mulch substrate, slate and bark caves, shallow 30cm water dish. I've never set up such an elaborate enclosure before, apart from dart frogs. Oh, but I like it, I like it a lot (and so do they, apparently).

What's that you say, you want to see pictures of my 'lil cuties? Well, I don't have any cute pics so far, but here are some Morg took before I got them:

 

[morg]

Great looking set up Alan.
Puts my newt n sal set ups to shame.

 

[jesper]

Very nice setup!
I just love the yellow markings on "top" of their eyes.

 

[alan]

I know the consensus here seems to be to keep Salamandra on paper towels, but I would welcome advice from anyone who has kept Salamandra in naturalistic setups as to what/how you feed them, and how you monitor what they are eating.
Thanks.

 

[marcus]

Very nice setup...
What´s the green stuff growing around the water bowl? Looks like moss but, in that case did you put it there or did it turn up by itself?
Also, the plant growing in the water bowl, what is it? Looks like lysimachia nummelaria ( doesn`t know the name for it in english)?

 

[alan]

The stuff around the waterbowl is moss which I planted - don't know if it will survive long term. There is also Java moss in the tank, but I suspect the humidity will not be high enough for this to survive. The plant in the water is Ficus repens.

 

[mike]

The only surefire method of monitoring food intake would be to hand feed earthworms to your Salamandra with tweezers.

 

[mark]

Nice set-up Alan, you should be proud of it

 

[alan]

Thanks Mike, I was hoping you'd chime in. Actually, I have been doing that (beats watching TV for entertainment). Do you think it's likely they've been scoffing the woodlice on the quiet?

Mark - thanks, I am. It is more difficult to monitor the sals than in a sterile enviroment though. Toads are easier in this respect since once they settle down they are much more visible.

 

[mike]

I don't know whether woodlice are an acquired taste Alan, i've tried feeding my sals with them occasionally, but to no avail.
Congrats on your set up....what's your cleaning regime? Do you "spot clean"?

 

[alan]

Yes, I spot clean when I can see "it", which isn't often, and do a complete substrate change every 2-3 months. I also have lots of little helpers in the substrate like woodlice (if they don't get eaten), springtails and Dendrobaenas. This regime works well for other terrestrial species in similar setups. Interestingly, the sals use the waterbowl most nights and I'm finding faecal pellets in there sometimes.

 

[paul]

Very nice. I wonce had a 55 gallon like this, it was really my dads though. My suggestions are you should put some moss where the dirt shows.