Northwestern Salamander breeding

[ACamphibians13]

Know let's get this out of the way I have down extensive research on northwestern salamanders and I have kept many in the past and I have even metamorphed one recently. This spring I have been planning on breeding 2 together and getting them to lay eggs in an outdoor setup because otherwise they would not have the environmental queues to mate. My question is how would I make a breeding setup what would I use, how would I use it and how would I introduce them to each other.

 

[Otterwoman]

Do some reading on their natural history and try to recreate what you read there.

 

[sde]

This isn't going to be easy.

Not many people at all have bred these salamanders in captivity. They will need a very substantial winter cooling period (which should have already started). A few months of temperatures below 45F and sometimes as low as freezing are likely necessary for breeding success in the spring. You'll need a relatively large tank i'd assume, considering this species usual only breeds in permanent larger bodies of water, like ponds and lakes.

The rest, as Otterwoman said, can be figured out by reading about their habitats and natural history. But from my experience with wild northwesterns, they'll need cold, relatively deep water (10 inches minimum i'd say), leaves and sticks in the water, and perhaps plants.

Also, you might need more than just 2 to breed. Sometimes having multiple pairs helps stimulate breeding, perhaps because of competition among males or simply increased contact. However, i also can't say i'd recommend collecting more, since it's not legal in BC (or at least it wasn't last i heard). I'll let you do that research yourself haha

-Seth