Four-toed Amphiuma?

S

sarah

Guest
I just went to a reptile show today, and ended up coming home with a cute little Amphiuma. I went online to see what kinda it was, exactly, because honestly, I've never even HEARD of this sort of salamander before. At any rate, I read that there were three species, each defined by the number of digits on their limbs... Well... Mine has FOUR toes! I only read there were 1 toed, 2 toed, and 3 toed, so I'm a bit confused. I thought, what if it's not an Amphiuma? And looked up what else it could be. But it doesn't have external gills like a siren, and it looks just like an Amphiuma otherwise. Just wondering, anyone know what's up with this? I was told it was captive bred, so maybe it's just a mutation? The people I bought it from had two others as well, and they had spots on their bellies! I almost bought a second one, but I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, and I wanted to make sure I didn't kill this one first, hah. Anyway, any input would be appreciated!!
 
I'm still trying to look this thing up, could it be a siren? I can't tell because I don't see any external gills. But maybe they are there and I just can't see them because this lil guy is hiding under some spaghnum. I'm going to try and get a picture if I can. Info is still appreciated!
 
That's a siren. The bushy gills may have been nipped off by tankmates, but they'll grow in again.

Amphiumas have four legs, sirens have two
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You mean the other way around? Sirens have 4, right? Haha. Maybe I should call my friend who is going to the reptile convention tomorrow and tell him to tell the guys they are Sirens... Are the striped ones another species? Any idea what species mine might be? Is the care the same as if they were Amphiumas? And since they have gills, that means they are completely aquatic, yes?

Sorry for so many questions. Usually I'm against impulse buys, but I already have a salamander and the guy made it sound like care would be pretty similar.

What kind of a breeder doesn't know if he's breeding Amphiumas or Sirens?? Sounds fishy to me... I wonder what "breeder" the guys I got this one from was... I really don't like having animals that weren't captive bred.. I don't like the idea of taking more animals out of the wild.

Anyway, thanks for the help!!! (Btw- think I should get another one? I was contemplating getting two, but I figured I better hold off till I find out if it's even safe to have more than one in an enclosure)
 
<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>Quoting Sarah on Sunday 10 September 2006 - 00:58 (#POST105663):</font>

What kind of a breeder doesn't know if he's breeding Amphiumas or Sirens?? Sounds fishy to me...<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>
You got that right
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Breeder, my foot! They are wild caught.

I'm not sure what you mean by striped ones, were they smaller? Dwarf sirens and juvenile mudpuppies both have stripes.
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Pseudobranchus/Pseudobranchus.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Necturus/N_maculosus.shtml
 
I meant they had small yellow dashes on them, not actual stripes. They were all either lessers or greaters. They all had 4 toes, so I know they weren't dwarfs. I had some friends go there today and said the other two were gone. I hope they didn't die or anything, they had them in small tubs with just wet spaghnum moss, not actually in water. I called the guy I bought them from today and I told him they were sirens. He didn't believe me, saying he has 6 guys that have had this type of stuff for years that say they are amphiumas and he believes them. I talked to a friend who said the guys I bought it from are idiots...

Anyway, I'm wondering what species exactly I have here, any guesses? I'll have to get more pics once I get it in a suitable tank. Right now it's in a pretty small critter keeper, with water, driftwood, some spaghnum moss (the stuff it came in)... I stuck some tiny crickets in there, but since they are clinging to the driftwood, I doubt the siren will see them and eat them.. It's kinda funny to see them try and swim on the surface of the water though, hah... I got two ghost shrimp and stuck them in there, but they look a little too big for it to eat.... Any other ideas? Will they eat brine shrimp? Its mouth just seems so tiny...

Also, any tank ideas? I was thinking a 20 gallon long, internal filter, large pebbles on the bottom, maybe sand, I'm not sure, but if I need to put live plants in, I think I need sand for them to root in. Should I skip the live plants? Agh, I wish I wasn't so misinformed from the begining. I only want the best. It's a pretty cool little thing, I don't want to accidentally kill it! (But then again, I was afraid of killing my tiger sally at the begining, and he's been fine for quite some time now.)

Thanks again!!
 
Try worms. A 20 long would be great. Definetly try live plants. Add in a cave and that driftwood to provide shelter and as the plants thicken the siren should have a cozy hideaway.
 
Thanks Joseph! What kind of worms would you suggest? Like the dried kind you get in the fish food section? Or the live ones they keep in the fridge? Like blood worms or what?

By the way, here is the best pic I've gotten so far of the markings this one has. Although when out of the water, he looks completely jet black! Also, I think in this pic I can kinda see where his gills might be.

70102.jpg
 
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