I need help with ID for salamanders

[JeffT206]

I caught 2 salamanders in my friends pool filter over the summer. They were caught in south eastern WI. a google search lead me to believe that they were tiger salamanders but now that they are getting bigger I am not so sure. Would somebody please ID hem for me? thanks.

 

[sde]

Hi,

These are indeed tiger salamanders, and to be more specific eastern tiger salamanders ( Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum ).

Seth

 

[JeffT206]

Thank you for the confirmation. They had started looking like spotted salamanders, but their range did not include the area that I collected them in.

 

[sde]

Yeah they can look a bit like spotted sals.
Here is care sheet for tiger sals if you need any help Caudata Culture Species Entry - Tiger salamander

 

[Sith the turtle]

Yes, Eastern tigers (Ambystoma tigrinium) ones with beautiful coloration at that. Do you have set-up pictures of their tank, and what do you feed them (I can see one of your little guys already eating some worms) Here is a care-sheet for them: Caudata Culture Species Entry - Tiger salamander and good luck with them! Once again, they look very beautiful!

 

[JeffT206]

I have been feeding them earthworms, red wigglers and sometimes meal worms or crickets. I have only seen them eat once, earthworm. They are in a 55 gallon aquarium in the basement. they have minimal light, and cooler temperatures,

 

[sde]

The setup looks good, though adding some more hides like bark and moss would be a good idea. Also, adding more substrate would be ideal. These guys love to burrow so a substrate depth of 5+ inches would be appreciated by them i am sure.
I would skip the mealworms, they are poor nutritionally. Besides that the diet is good :happy:

 

[Sith the turtle]

Okay, sounds great. You seem to have done your research before getting these guys and or gals, unlike most people who get a salamander or newt for the first time