Dkober101
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- Mar 11, 2012
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Hello all!!!
My name is Derek, and I am a greenhorn when it comes taking care of salamanders.
I recently bought a "Baby Dinosaur" from a guy at our local mall. There was a care sheet given that vaguely stated how to take care of said "Baby Dinosaur." Like many other beginners I assumed I had purchased an Axolotl and prepared my self to give him a comfortable home. I began my prep by purchasing things like sand for my substrate, a low flowing filter, a nice test kit to test my waters Ph, Nitrite, Nitrate, ect. and a 20 gallon tank for him to swim around in. So the first 2-3 weeks "Noodle" was very happy and content in his tank feasting on earth worms and rosy red minnows. Now here comes week 4 and I began to notice he his gills were beginning to shrink and spotted pattern began to develop along his whole body. After doing my research here I realized I had indeed purchased a Tiger Salamander Larva and he was in the beginning stages of metamorphosis.
Now fast forward to today, I have his tank at about 80% land (still using the sand a substrate until I can make it to Petsmart tonight) and 20% water. Most of his time is being spent with his body fully submerged with this head out of the water breathing air, as his gills are nearly fully absorbed. He has been showing this behavior for a little over 3 days now. I have also found him completely out of the water a few times, but the majority of his time is still spent up to his shoulders in the water. I should also mention there has been no change in his appetite and gets half of an earth worm every day since he has started to morph.
So here are my questions:
Do you believe he is now ready for a fully terrestrial set up yet? If not, when will I know?
What is the best set up for a substrate? (In my readings I have seen many people suggest coco fiber and topsoil.)
Would I layer these in any specific order? Should I do a mixture of both?
Any other suggestions are also welcomed, so please feel free to share your knowledge!!
I will also try to post some pictures of his transformation once I get home from work.
-Dkober101
My name is Derek, and I am a greenhorn when it comes taking care of salamanders.
I recently bought a "Baby Dinosaur" from a guy at our local mall. There was a care sheet given that vaguely stated how to take care of said "Baby Dinosaur." Like many other beginners I assumed I had purchased an Axolotl and prepared my self to give him a comfortable home. I began my prep by purchasing things like sand for my substrate, a low flowing filter, a nice test kit to test my waters Ph, Nitrite, Nitrate, ect. and a 20 gallon tank for him to swim around in. So the first 2-3 weeks "Noodle" was very happy and content in his tank feasting on earth worms and rosy red minnows. Now here comes week 4 and I began to notice he his gills were beginning to shrink and spotted pattern began to develop along his whole body. After doing my research here I realized I had indeed purchased a Tiger Salamander Larva and he was in the beginning stages of metamorphosis.
Now fast forward to today, I have his tank at about 80% land (still using the sand a substrate until I can make it to Petsmart tonight) and 20% water. Most of his time is being spent with his body fully submerged with this head out of the water breathing air, as his gills are nearly fully absorbed. He has been showing this behavior for a little over 3 days now. I have also found him completely out of the water a few times, but the majority of his time is still spent up to his shoulders in the water. I should also mention there has been no change in his appetite and gets half of an earth worm every day since he has started to morph.
So here are my questions:
Do you believe he is now ready for a fully terrestrial set up yet? If not, when will I know?
What is the best set up for a substrate? (In my readings I have seen many people suggest coco fiber and topsoil.)
Would I layer these in any specific order? Should I do a mixture of both?
Any other suggestions are also welcomed, so please feel free to share your knowledge!!
I will also try to post some pictures of his transformation once I get home from work.
-Dkober101