HELP! TIGER SALAMANDER

[Cwaka]

how do I know if its dead. I just bought it from the pet shop yesterday. Set up a 10 x 10 aquarium with moist might have been little too moist eco earth (not muddy) and a bowl of water with a wood bridge for it to hide under. All day yesterday it was moving even made home under the wood then before I went to sleep he was peeking out of the wood. This morning I found it in the open not moving. Tried to pick it up to see if it would react and it didn't. No movement what so ever. Is it dead? There was a cricket that I couldn't find that I put in there last night. I thought it ate it but i saw the cricket this morning. Hopefully it didn't have any bad effects on having it in there over night! I would hate to tell my kids that it died. HELP! Attached is a photo of my tiger salamander when we got it

 

[MnGuy]

how do I know if its dead. I just bought it from the pet shop yesterday. Set up a 10 x 10 aquarium with moist might have been little too moist eco earth (not muddy) and a bowl of water with a wood bridge for it to hide under. All day yesterday it was moving even made home under the wood then before I went to sleep he was peeking out of the wood. This morning I found it in the open not moving. Tried to pick it up to see if it would react and it didn't. No movement what so ever. Is it dead? There was a cricket that I couldn't find that I put in there last night. I thought it ate it but i saw the cricket this morning. Hopefully it didn't have any bad effects on having it in there over night! I would hate to tell my kids that it died. HELP! Attached is a photo of my tiger salamander when we got it

Sorry to hear you're going through that. I don't have a tiger salamander, but if it's not moving at all when you pick it up the odds are that it's dead. Is it moving at all today?

What do you know about its background:

-How long did the pet shop have it?
-Was it eating there? If so, for how long and what was it eating?
-Did the shop use anything to treat it? It was likely wild caught.


Did you treat your water with dechlorinator before dampening your substrate? And for the water bowl? Amphibians are very sensitive and need water treated with Prime.

I'm guessing that whatever issues caused its decline were there long before you got it, since it went from normal to (presumably) dead so fast. Although for future references, never leave a cricket alone with any animal. They will harm and eat larger animals, although I don't think that's what happened here.

My condolences.

 

[Cwaka]

Thank you. I am totally not sure I tried to follow the care to the T but when I called the pet shop yesterday to ask what kind of water they used and so fourth they said just regular tap and when I told them that its supposed to be treated they said that that was you can but not necessary. Hopefully me treating it didnt affect it. Not sure how long they had it but they were very active at the shop and not so active when I brought it home. I guess it was just not meant to be. I am so sad.

 

[JaceW/Lifer-Log]

I’m sorry I couldn’t imagine losing my tiger, must have been hard. Knowing how sensitive to chemicals amphibians are it is hard to hear that a pet shop, most likely an Exotic Pet Shop would think that and stand by it, even with decent evidence! I feel grateful to have a wonderful pet shop as my local shop. (Can’t believe I have to be grateful for that!) My sympathy to you, maybe one day the shop will realize the mistakes it makes and correct it’s self.