Starting up a blue-spotted sali terrarium-help

[tiffany]

i've only kept newts and now since i have more room i want to expand and get 2 blue-spotted salamanders. their tank is 20 gallons and i want to know what i'll need, how to set it up, and besides earthworms what else can i feed them? they live in my grandmothers cellar and so i thought it would be ideal to use the same soil in which they live. is it ok to use devil's ivy clippings? can i plant a clipping? what kind of moss can I use? can it be from out side of my granmother's house since that is where these sali's live?

 

[Jan]

This will give you some idea of what their naturally occurring habit is:
http://www.herpnet.net/Minnesota-Herpetology/salamanders/BlueSpottedSalamander.html
As ambystomids they are terrestial and this care sheet can guide you in their captive care:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/faq/FAQhou.shtml
Earthworms are an ideal source of food as are other small insects such as gut loaded or vitamin/calcium dusted crickets...fed a couple of times a week. Live plants are not necessary for the salamanders, but devil's ivy is a nice option if you want a live plant.