Salamanders not eating...

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queenofsparta

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Hello.
Firstly can I just say what a lovely web site this is. All your salamanders and frogs, lizards look fab.
Ok my spelling isn't great so sorry before I start. I bought two fire salamanders now 4 and a half weeks ago only one of them have eaten a single cricket. They are kept in a plastic tank 15 gallon, they have two hides a not to deep water bowl but big enough to fit both in at the same time. Their substrate is organic top soil (I changed it from the moss they came in because I read they like to dig) I mist them every day with chilled boiled water and change their water every couple of days. I have changed the size of their live crickets as I thought they were to big I also have tried them with earth worms but still nothing. I don't leave live crickets in the tank as I know it stresses them out. I was advised by someone to bath them in honey water to relax them and give them an energy boost so I tried to feed them the next day. Still nothing.
If anyone can give me any more advice it would be great. I don't want to have to try and force feed them incase the stress kills them. How long have I got before they become beyond help. I'm starting to really get worried.
Hope that's enough info
I look forward to your input.
Kind regards
Michelle
 
P.s they are kept in my bedroom which is a very cold 18oC and I keep them as much as I can out of the light. They are mostly kept in darkness.
Thanks again
Shell
 
It seems a lot of salamanders are picky about crickets. Try plain ol' earthworms (best if they're 1/2 to 1/4 the length of your critters) and see if they like them. Sometimes you have to gently brush the worm against their chins to stimulate them to eat it. Earthworms seem to be a good universal food. "Nightcrawlers" are pretty big and aggressive, so smaller species are best to start with.
 
How big or old are they?
I tend to find that many caudates get stressed when re-homed and take a while to feed. I personally would leave them some live food, such as earthworms, small woodlice or wax worms and then leave them alone. Give them a few days then have a look and see if the live food has gone.
 
Thanks for the advice but I have tried all of this and still nothing. I don't know how old they are but they are about the length of my palm. If I can manage I will post some pics of them. Even when it's dark and I creep up to the tank to look in they are just huddled under their hide. One is even starting to shake as it moves. I'm really at a loss. So do you advice some waxworms? I will get some. I just don't want them to die I was so looking forward to owning them, did all the research then this. It's awful.
Thanks again
Shell
 
Photo's would be good , give the wax worms a try too . Caudates can go a reasonable length of time without feeding, but a photo will show us how they are. Could you also post one of their set up please?
 
I will buy some waxworks today and I will sort out photos. Thanks.
 
In case you haven't seen this caresheet, you may want to take a look:

Caudata Culture Species Entry - Salamandra salamandra - Fire Salamander

Have never heard of a honey water bath and 'sweet water' is certainly not part of their natural environment....I personally wouldn't use this. Dark, moist areas with sugar is a breeding ground for microbes, and thus potential infection...and handling leads to further stress.
 
Hi I took them out their tank to do this, I do not leave honey water in for them all the time it is fresh cold boiled water. She just said because they obsorbe things threw thier skin that the honey water (I spoon to two cups of water) would give them some extra cals and maybe incurage them to eat, I will try anything.
I will buy them some waxworms today. I have read so may care sheets and none are helping, if I take them to a vet will they know anything about these creatures as I live in a small village in England. If not do you think a exotic pet shop would have any ideas?
Thanks for the advice guys I will try putting some pics up later.
Thank you all again
:)
 
P.S I think I have read this care sheet three times already when I have been looking on line for facts, before and after I got them. Great care sheet :)
 
Sometimes it takes a lot of patience and some gentle experimentation to see what works. It's not uncommon for salamanders, newts (or any pet for that matter) to be stressed and act strangely after changing their environment, sometimes even just a little bit.

I would also advise against the 'honey treatment', since I've found no sound scientific proof as to whether or not it works. It could actually be toxic to the animals.

The tremors during movement can be a sign of malnutrition causing a neurological or muscular deficit (since the muscles and nerves need nutrition to function.)

What I would suggest is to just try and keep things as calm and quiet as possible, and let them acclimate and see what happens. Offering a dish with some different live foods and placing it quietly in the enclosure near them (perhaps even under something that they can hide under). I prefer misting my amphibians with distilled water, since boiling water may actually leak chemicals from the pan or container it's boiled in.

I would definitely suggest calling around to area vets to see if anyone has any experience with amphibians. You may also want to find area Herpetological clubs or societies to ask them for any advice on getting them care.

Good luck! We'll be waiting for photos.
 
See if the waxworms work. I've had waxworms help me in these types of situations where newts wouldn't touch ANYTHING offered. Let us know if they take them! Also they're not very good at hiding, so you may want to try leaving them in the tank over night so that the sals will feel more comfortable hunting. Drop them right outside their hide and observe.
Best,
Eric.
 
Thanks ever so much, well I have only done the honey thing once thank goodness would hate to hurt them I just figured it made sense. About the movement I feared that would be the reason, can I reverse it if I get them to eat?? I have bought some critical care stuff to put in their water, I left a cricket in their tank last night and its gone, it was dusted but then again I dont know which one ate it :( but I think a little progress as the one that did feed is the one acting strange and the one who did not eat is the more active of the two. I'm going to do the same tonight so fingers crossed. I dont go to bed till silly oclock in the morning so they were not left long with the cricket in.

Is leaving the tap water for 48 hours excepterbul for removing the cloriean from the water I was advised to do this also, ok so I will buy them a good bottal of shop water, this is ok isn't it?? Will ring the exotic pets shop in a couple of days as if the cricket has gone perhaps this is the turning point. Im trying to figure out how to put pics up.

I was going to pop in some real moss but I gathered I didn't want to change their environment again so soon if they are stressed. It is a basic set up you will see when I figure out how to put them up.

I carn't say how thankful I am, other forums are full of people that are rather rude its lovley here.

Kind regards
Shell
 
Thanks everyone I have bought the waxworms and they will be here in a couple days.
:blob:
 
I put photos in members album it wont let me attach them here for some reason. Thanks again
Shell :eek:
 
I suspect your salamanders are wild-caught. Unfortunately, in the UK it has been very common in the past to find WC S.salamandra as well as many other european species in the pet trade. Since laws were changed in the recent past, imports of wild S.salamandra had been prohibited, but the market seems to haven´t fully taken the hint yet. Your animals appear to be S.s.bernardezi, or possibly S.s.fastuosa, which while very common in captivity and often bred, are fully protected in the wild and there are no legal importations. That means if the animals are WC, they were, for a certainty, illegally collected. I say that i think they may be WC because whenever adult salamanders have been offered in the UK market, that was the norm. It would be extremely unusual for a pet-shop to provide captive bred adult specimens. Also, the fact that they refuse to eat and seem stressed also hints that the animals may be new to captivity, specially since this has persisted for a month.

The conclussion is that you have severely stressed animals and that needs to change if they are to thrive in captivity. You have to try your very best to offer them optimal conditions and reduce stress levels as soon as possible. Keep them away from strong light, disturb them as little as possible, make sure they have plenty of hiding options and sufficient space, good ventilation, etc. Do not insist too often in offering food. If they are not interested, the interaction may actually distress them, prolonging the refusal to eat. Once or twice a day, preferably at dusk or at night is more than enough. If they don´t want it, no amount of insisting will work.
 
Oh my god how is this legal then, if I would have known this I would never have bought them I thought all that are sold in the Uk are bred from breeders like with Leopard Gecko's.
I feel awful now, I bought them from a local paper, he was not a breeder himself he was a young lad and said he had lost his job hence why he was selling them, I bet the non eating was a reason why he sold them, if what you say could be true as the crickets he gave me were far to big for them. I must be very nieve it wont happen again.
They are kept in my cold bedroom and shut away all day with bearly any light. I will do things very sensitivly now and do everything, everyone is say on here :( Please look at my photos to see if they are really suffering, is there any way of releasing them if this is the case or give them to a person who specialises in these creatures???
I just wanted to provide a long loved home for these two and I would hate to course them any more halm :(
 
P.S how can avoid this in the future? thanks again :uhoh:
 
It is recommended that nobody releases any captive amphibians into the wild, even if they are wild-caught. Just keep them in the cool dark room and leave the waxworms in there with them, because your sals may just wander over for a nibble.

P.S. In future if you want to avoid wild-caught, buy directly from breeders, there's a lot of them on this forum
 
They may not be wild caught, so don't panic. Certainly don't release them, they are not native to us.
Give the wax worms a try, leave plenty of small earthworms in with them and try to leave them alone for a few days. I don't think they look to bad.
 
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