Fire Salamander temperature control

[peter81965]

Calling the fire salamander gurus!
The temp in my viv is currently about the 23c mark. It's nice and moist. I understand that the salamander prefers the temperatures to be lower than this (?). the lid is made of plywood with ventilation holes. any tips on lowering the temperatures, as it has not exactly been very hot around here since I got the salamander, plus I would imagine that in the winter the central heating in my room would actually raise the temp?

 

[andrew]

Firstly, don't you have a spare room to keep the animals in? i use a spare room with the radiators turned off and that works great, the dry heat the central heating produces isn't so good in my opinion.
Also, whilst it's true that fire sals should be kept cool where possible, i think people kind of go over the top about it. I've kept them through some of the hottest summers without any problems at all. I just place their set ups in a cool spot on the floor of the coolest room. I've even kept S. Atra this way and they're supposed to be the most heat hating salamandra around.
If most caudates are gradually exposed to higher temps, in my experience they adapt just fine. It only becomes a problem when the temps start going into low to mid 80's f. Of course there are some species where you're more likely to encounter problems but in my experience, i've never lost a Salamandra due to heat.
If you were to have an air con room however that was keeping the room at 65f whilst the temps outdoors were 95f, should the air con stop working and the temp rapidly raise, then you'd have a major problem and would probably lose most of the animals as they wouldn't adapt quickly enough.

 

[Mike Gent]

Andy is right

Hi,

There is a lot of truth in what is said. I would add that it is probably as important for it to be cool as it is for it to be moist.

Basics:-

Out of direct sunlight.

Curtains drawn on very hot days with winows open.

Lower part of room.

Regular spraying of cool (NONE TAP) water.

If we do actually get a summer here in Engalnd though (And apparently August is going to be very hot!) I would keep a close eye on the temp and if it suddenly starts getting much higher than what you have, get them into a coold outbuilding/garage (NOT wooden built as these get very hot) and keep them on cool concrete flooring if possible.

If you feel hot and bothered....they probably will too!

Cheers,

Mike.

PS Interested in pics of your setups for the FIRE's if possible?