My new tiger salamander

[Mavortium5698]

Hey everyone i went to my local bait shop a couple hours ago and picked up 5 waterdogs. My smallest one is 9 1/2 inches, my largest 11 1/2 inches. The pictures below are of my largest. Who I' ve named Big Boy. All 5 are already feasting on nightcrawlers.

 

[Mavortium5698]

Here is a picture of the whole bunch.

 

[JessKB]

They look great! If I were you though, I would fill up the tank. More water makes parameters easier to maintain and keep cool. I've also read that it can help to keep them from morphing as quickly. I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with them. I love my tiger. :happy:

 

[RPM]

Nice looking Tigers.
I've often wondered, how much do waterdogs cost in bait stores? I'm from the northest and they are not available out here.

 

[xxianxx]

Since you brought those guys in a bait shop i assume fishermen use them for fishing? If so are they that common they are not protected by law?

 

[Neotenic_Jaymes]

Since you brought those guys in a bait shop i assume fishermen use them for fishing? If so are they that common they are not protected by law?

In some states its legal. For a lot of fishermen its common to see Tiger Salamander larvae as bait. The ones you see above might be paedomorphic or even neotenic. The very act of extracting them and transporting usually leads to morphing. Where I live you won't see salamander larvae as bait anymore.

 

[FRANCOIS]

Nice looking Tigers.
I've often wondered, how much do waterdogs cost in bait stores? I'm from the northest and they are not available out here.

They used to be very cheap like $1 around here but now they are more like $4 a piece. They used to be common in bait stores but now they are much harder to find.
Of course for a fisherman $4 is not much as a waterdog is a THE bait if you are trying to catch a trophy bass....

 

[Molch]

I must be a trophy bass myself, because my first instinctive reaction upon seeing these monster newts was, "yum!"

I bet they'd be really tasty in the right sauce....