Red Salamander

[Cloppy]

So, I just went herping less than an hour ago at a small trickle of a spring that was drying up. And I had been out there about 7 minutes when I flipped over a small log and there it was, sitting right in front of me. The first red salamander I have ever seen in the wild. Since the creek is almost completely dried up, I have it in a temporary habitat and was wondering if there were any care sheet for them. So I was wondering if anyone could give me any pointers

 

[Chinadog]

Are you sure it's legal to collect salamanders in Georgia?

 

[Sith the turtle]

I think, just like a lot of states, it's technically legal to collect a few species, I just can't remember if the Red salamander is. What I do know is that Red salamanders are a difficult species to keep in captivity, they need a lot of cold, flowing water, and, as such, is hard to keep. Here is a care-sheet on the similar stream-dwelling Plethodontid species, which have almost the exact same care-needs: Caudata Culture Species Entry - Desmognathus - Blackbelly and Shovelnose Caudata Culture Species Entry - Eurycea - Two-lined and Junaluska

EDIT: After looking at this article, I think the Red salamander is perfectly legal to own. Just as long as you don't collect a whole population I think it should be fine to own a few animals: http://gadnrle.org/node/86

 

[PDONTnAMBY]

Congratulations, reds are awesome! First, definitely agree that they need cool water... best to keep it under 60 if possible, but mine has been very healthy and active in temps from 62-68 through the winter, and even some day-long spikes up into the mid-70s during summer. If you find that the temperature is staying above 70 for more than a day at a time, though, it's probably best to transfer its enclosure to a fridge set at high temperature (45 degrees). (Or a wine cooler works even better) Mine stays in a nearly completely aquatic environment, and most ppl seem to agree that reds are much more gregarious in this kind of setup than a terrestrial one. Mine takes nightcrawler pieces readily and will accept red wrigglers and blackworms. Larger daphnia and other small aquatic arthropods are good too.

 

[Cloppy]

Yeah, already checked that and they are legal.

 

[Cloppy]

So I found this specimen in Georgia, what do they do in the wild when its summer and the temperature gets above 90F?

 

[PDONTnAMBY]

For the most part, reds live in or near groundwater-fed streams and springs, which tend to be thermally stable even when air temperatures get very high; they also tend to have deep cracks that retain water and stay cool even when the surface dries out. Additionally, if you're in Georgia I'm guessing the spring where you found yours was in a forested ravine, which also tends to moderate temperatures. Finally, terrestrial adults borrow deep burrows from other animals when temperatures rise too high.

 

[ndbug]

Hey Cloppy! Post some pictures would like to see them! And congrads, nothing is better than running into a species you've never found in the wild before, awesome!!