Need advice on food/tank for long toed salamander

A

angie

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My five year old son has found a northern long-toed salamander (ambystoma macrodactylum). We bought a 10 gal acquarium and filled it with moist dirt, several flat rocks and a small dish of water. Can anyone give us advice on how to keep this little guy alive?
1. What should we feed him, how much, how often, etc?
2. How much water does he need, and does the soil need to be kept moist? Do we need to built a little pond in the acquarium for him, or is a small dish OK?
3. Anything we should be careful to do or avoid doing?!

Sorry for so many questions. I see you have a very active discussion forum, so I am hopeful that I will have someone respond. Thanks in advance!

Kind Regards,
Angie

(Message approved by admin)
 
1. feed it small earth worms. I fed mine 2cm pieces twice a week.

2. keep the soil moist. you dont really need a water dish as long as the soil is moist

3. you shouldnt handle it much at all. salamanders arent really the "cuddly" type pets.

I found macros to be very comical and friendly. Good luck.
 
Kaysie,
Thank you for your reply. Glad to know we don't need to feed this guy every day! :)
Take care,
Angie

(Message approved by admin)
 
My 4 year old daughter and I recently hatched some long-toes here in Elma, Washington. We have been feeding the larvae daphnia, and now one has morphed into an adult! Very exciting. We have given him a rock to climb out on and he hangs out there a lot. Would he be happier with mostly land? Also he no longer seems interested in the daphnia. Should I be feeding differently now? I will try chopped earth worm, but he is very small - only an inch long from nose to tail-tip. I will try to find very small worms! Any other suggestions?
 
Liz, sounds like you are heading in the right directions: more land and terrestrial food. In addition to the worms, you can also try very small crickets and any small bugs you can find.
 
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