Is my Tiger Salamander larvae morphing?

Jackulwulf said:
Great pics :D looks like he/she may have some nice markings once he/she's fully morphed and terrestrial. Seeing your pics makes me want a little larva of my own to watch morph in front of my eyes. Unfortunately they are very hard to find in my area.

Hopefully your other larva will start morphing soon too, that one may be just taking its time lol
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Thank you. They are only in one pet shop here. If you are looking to get yourself a t.s. larvae, I believe you can order one from kingsnake.com. I will keep my eyes and ears open for you. Yea, she may just be taking her dear sweat time. Only time will tell. I will continue to make updates too. :)


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When you haven't provided a land area that is appropriate (large, dry, lots of dirt and hides for burrowing, etc.), it's not much of an incentive to come out of the water. I wouldn't come out either if it was just a big empty expanse.
 
I dont expect him to come "Completely" out of the water still having Gill buds. I do think he would atleast attempt to climb onto his very large rock out of the water if he felt like the water was no longer suitable for him. If he did that I would swap him to his 55 gallon terrestrial setup. I don't think he wants to leave the water just yet.

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He won't. A rock is not a 'secure' place to climb out of water. There are no hides, and a salamander rarely comes out in the open. That's where predators are.
 
Nute said:
Thank you. They are only in one pet shop here. If you are looking to get yourself a t.s. larvae, I believe you can order one from kingsnake.com. I will keep my eyes and ears open for you. Yea, she may just be taking her dear sweat time. Only time will tell. I will continue to make updates too. :)


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That's nice of you ^.^ though since I live in Canada I wouldn't want to go through all the trouble of trying to get something shipped over the border. I'd have to look at places that are in Canada.
 
I believe kingsnake ships everywhere. I will find out for sure tomorrow if you would like.

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"Kingsnake" doesn't ship. It's people who offer animals for sale on that site. The site is just

The scruples of the folks who use kingsnake are generally less than those who are here. And all tiger salamanders in North America are wild-caught specimens.

If you intend on shipping animals across international borders, you need to research which permits are required. I know of at least two, and they're rather expensive.
 
Kaysie said:
"Kingsnake" doesn't ship. It's people who offer animals for sale on that site. The site is just

The scruples of the folks who use kingsnake are generally less than those who are here. And all tiger salamanders in North America are wild-caught specimens.

If you intend on shipping animals across international borders, you need to research which permits are required. I know of at least two, and they're rather expensive.
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Indeed which is why I don't wish to ship an animal over the border. Not only that but it would be such a stress on the animal I'm sure.
 
Kaysie said:
"Kingsnake" doesn't ship. It's people who offer animals for sale on that site. The site is just

The scruples of the folks who use kingsnake are generally less than those who are here. And all tiger salamanders in North America are wild-caught specimens.

If you intend on shipping animals across international borders, you need to research which permits are required. I know of at least two, and they're rather expensive.
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Never the less kingsnake is the Craigslist for critters.

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Sure, if you like animals with unknown origins and animals that were quite possibly gathered en-masse from a breeding pond, leading to declining natural populations.
 
Omg. Look, please butt out of my thread with your negative comments. If anything you would be rescuing them from a life in an over crowded aquarium. So if you have nothing nice to say, or want to critique every post, the please avoid this one and start your own. Thanks.

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Ok, here are some more pictures. I think his metamophosis has for some reason stopped for the moment. I'm confident it will continue, but when, will be up to him, lol. He still has a slight fin on his tail, and small gill buds. I for one will be glad when he decides to finish morphing. The other larvae I have, seems to be developing longer more fluffier gills, and her fin hasn't changed a bit. Any suggestions about her? I really appreciate the constructive critisism, and good conversation I'm getting from everyone, as I'm trying to set the mood for a freindly thread. I just want to document the metamorphosis of the Ambystoma Tigrinum, because I haven't found any on here that shows the stages from start to finish. To Kaysie, If i came off too strong at you I appologise, and hope that we can become freinds. From what I gather you are a very wise keeper of many Caudates, and do appreciate the words of wisdome from you. I hope to hear from everyone soon, and hope these picures are helpful to someone. Thanks again, Nute.

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Great pics ^.^ I'm sure metamorphosing is pretty taxing so perhaps he's taking a short breather lol. Though perhaps set up a terrestrial tank for him with a deep water dish, hides and such so he can feel comfortable. Give him perhaps just enough water in the dish to cover him with, perhaps 4 inches or so, and maybe then he'll continue morphing for you. He may just be too insecure to finish or something and if he has lots of dirt to burrow in and places to hide he may finish.

As for the other, who knows I guess. I've heard that sometimes it takes them a long time to start morphing so that one may just be taking its sweet time doing so. I've heard they can take up to a year or more to start so it may be a while yet.
 
He is in the water in the pics, but his setup has a large land area in it. I think he likes being difficult lol. The terrarium has a land area for him to retreat to, as well as 4 inches of water (would be less but the intake tube on the filter requires 3 3/4 inches of water). Thursday I will finally have a day off so I can take the tanks back down and make one terrestrial with a waterfall and a small "pond" (roughly 2 inches deep). Its gonna be pretty original. What substrate are you using (brand, material, ect)? I can't make my mind up on what substrate I would like to use (forest floor/coconut fiber ect), and I'm open to any suggestions. This morphing situation is very time consuming for me giving the hours I work. I cant wait to see the pay off of all the time I've spent on my little guy during his Metamorphasis. Hope to hear from you again soon. Thanks, Nute.

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I use whichever is cheapest for soil when I go to the pet store. The last couple times I bought the Exo Terra plantation soil, which is basically just coconut fiber. Some people like to use moss in their tanks and it can be mixed in with the coconut fiber but I'm a little leery about using it. I've heard of someone who had a young tiger ingest some of the moss and die because it couldn't digest it. Though it could have been a smaller tiger and a large chunk of moss. And some mosses can also have a high acidity content which can cause problems for your tiger. The moss you can get from the pet store is probably okay on the ph level and mixing moss with coconut fiber would probably limit any chances of your tiger ingesting some and you can probably break up the moss into tinier pieces in case he does ingest a little if you want to go that way.
Some people mix the coconut fiber with some organic top soil from garden centers but you have to be careful which you get though I think some people use Earthgro top soil from Home Depot. Some organic soils will still have vermiculite and fertilizer which is both harmful to tigers. The vermiculite is the small little white rocks that are in most soils sold in garden centers and green houses, which could be ingested and possibly kill your tiger. Also stay away from anything that has anything to do with Miracle Gro.
Me, I just avoid all the possible harmful things by just using straight coconut fiber. It works well and if kept well you can go for months without having to change out the soil, you will have to spray it down whenever it starts getting too dry. It should be moist enough that its damp but not so wet you can wring water out of it. If its too wet it can cause bacterial problems. I've also used forest floor substrate that you get at the pet stores and that's pretty good too. You can also add some play sand into it as well if you like though I'm not sure what the benefits would be, you can get play sand at most places like walmart and such, its usually with all the different soils and rocks and such for gardens.

Don't let the pet store people talk you into getting reptile bark either, that happened to me when I first got my boy and knew nothing about substrates and such. It's not good for burrowing and is somewhat abrasive, your tigers won't like it at all. And there's also the risk of it being ingested as well. I didn't keep my tiger on the reptile bark long, once I found out that it isn't very good I changed to coconut fiber.
 
Thanks. Is the forest floor more of a soil mix or a coconut fiber mix? The coconut fiber is a bit sticky isn't it?

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The stuff that I had was basically the same as the coconut fiber, the only difference I think is it was mulch from cypress trees instead of actual coconut fiber. So it wasn't really a soil type mix. Unfortunately yes, the coco fiber does stick to the tigers. But ya know if I ever want to see my boy's lovely markings and such I just give him a a gentle spray of water with a turkey baster to wash him off. ^.^

A top soil/coco fiber mix may work better to keep the stuff from sticking to them however, I don't know cause I've never tried it. I don't have a Home Depot nearby to pick up the Earthgro top soil to try it out. You may want to try that and see. I did try just moss in my tank once, moss that you get from the pet stores and neither me nor my tiger really liked it. Though it didn't stick to him much at all, it wasn't really good for burrowing in. Its pretty expensive too to get when you need to get multiple boxes to provide enough of a layer on the tank bottom. The coconut fiber is by far cheaper then moss. And I think if you do keep the coconut fiber moist enough, it doesn't cling quite so bad to them as if it was dryer.
 
That makes sense. I appreciate that. Ill go thursday and look at petsmart and home depot and weigh my options. The cost isn't an issue as long as it is for the well being and happiness of my sals. They sure do grow on you quickly. I originally got them for my daughter, but (as children do) she left them for me to tend too. Though she loves feeding them, I care for them for the most part. I have to say, they are very amazing animals. They are now one of my all time favorite pets, and i would recommended them to someone with a little free time and curiosity. Thanks again on the advice about the substrate, it is much appreciated, Nute.

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Indeed, they do grow on you very quickly. I never thought a salamander could have character and personality but they certainly do and its impossible not to grow attached to their cute little faces ^.^

No problem, I'm glad to help. I know I really appreciated the help I got when I first became a tiger owner, it makes it much easier when you can talk to people who have experience.
 
Exactly. You have been a big help to me. I hope I can do the same for someone else.

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