Giant japanese salamander

[innes]

Basicully I was on hoilday and I saw 2 Giant japenise salamanders in 2 differant places (both of which were zoos)
I was wondering if it is legal to keep these as pets and where you can get them
and any other info possable.
Thanks

 

[edward]

Hi,
Both of the Andrias species are on the endangered species list and are not legally available in the pet trade (at least here in the USA). They also have very specific requirements to thrive which may be hard for the average person to supply.
Ed

 

[kai]

Yup, they are both in CITES Appendix I (http://www.cites.org/), the highest protection category - no commercial trade allowed (in general).

Very few folks are keeping davidianus over here. Both species are growing fast and need really big tanks - so only a few very dedicated people will be able to provide an adequate environment for Andrias.

The American hellbenders (Cryptobranchus spp.) are pretty similar and significantly "smaller" but probably still too large for most folks. Better stick with other aquatic caudates like Necturus, etc.

Best wishes,
kai