Tiger salamander sick? PLEASE HELP

[walhofkn]

Hi! I have owned a tiger salamander for over a year and I could be fussing over nothing, but some of the things he has been doing has gotten me kind of worried. I talk to him a lot ( probably because he's the only one who will listen to me for hours on end and won't try to escape) and normally he will just sit there and listen. The last few days, anytime he hears my voice he will run and hide as fast as he can. Also, he is not going in his water, which usually he loves to swim in, and goes in every day. Then, today when I went to feed him, he was holding very still, and I thought he was dead, but he wasn't and he moved super slowly to go get his food. There have not been any changes in his diet or water. Any ideas on what could possibly be happening? Please help if you can! I love him so much it would be a heartbreak to lose him

 

[Bellabelloo]

I think we need a little more information

Could you provide some photo's of him, this is so we can see his body condition.
Also some photo's of his whole enclosure.
What are the temperatures like at the moment?
What are you feeding him?

I also spend time talking to my beasties

 

[walhofkn]

Hi! Thank you so much... honestly I think I was overreacting as he seems to be doing okay tonight. I apologize if the pictures aren't great (I have a bad camera on my phone). I realize that this isn't the usual set up for a tiger salamander's tank but this is how the previous owner had it set up, and is what he's used to. I feed him freeze dried crickets and mealworms. I'm not sure about temp- what do you use to measure that?

 

[Jackulwulf]

First thing I think you should do is get rid of those rocks on the bottom of his tank, they can be ingested by accident and cause impaction issues. They also don't really promote any digging behavior which is something that tigers love to do. A better substrate would be to use moist coco fiber that is sold at many pet stores. They come in dehydrated bricks that you soak in water for a while to turn it into loose soil. It should be moist but now soaking wet. You shouldn't be able to wring more then a few drops of water out of it when you go to put it in the tank. Even though that is what the previous owner used and what he is used to doesn't mean that it is the best for him. He would probably be much more happy if he had some actual dirt to dig around in.

Also the type of food you are feeding him can be an issue. Freeze dried crickets are not good nutritionally and neither are mealworms. The best thing to feed tigers is live earthworms. If you can't get live earthworms then he should at least be fed live crickets that have been gutloaded and dusted with calcium powder. By gutloaded I mean the crickets should be fed before they are fed to your tiger. You can get special cricket food and gel to provided food and water for the crickets but a lot of people just feed them carrots or potatoes. Earthworms don't need to be gutloaded or dusted which is why they are the perfect food.

As for a temp gauge, you can pick those up at a pet store or even a hardware store. Digital ones are the better ones as they are more accurate. Tigers like it to be on the cooler side. Usually in the 60's to low 70's.

It is up to you however if you want to do these changes but I definitely hope that you will consider it so that your tiger can be happier and healthier, and you can have him as your pet for a lot longer.

 

[Sith the turtle]

If he is sick, it's probably stress of not being able to burrow or getting injured trying. These salamanders like to burrow, they only stay on the surface in captivity, pretty much only because they think they can con you out of food, or get fed. f it wasn't for that, they would spend most of their time burrowed into the soil, waiting for rains to come to eat or go breed

 

[walhofkn]

Thanks! I have been making some changes, and he is doing much better now. I guess I never really considered that what the previous owner had, and what he's used to might not be the best for him. The temp in his tank is fine, and now he is eating live worms. I am still working on getting dirt for him. Also, I'm considering getting him a friend. In a tank the size I have would 2 tigers get along ok or would I need to get a bigger tank? Is getting another a good idea if he has been the only one for his whole life? Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[Amcgilbery]

First thing I think you should do is get rid of those rocks on the bottom of his tank, they can be ingested by accident and cause impaction issues. They also don't really promote any digging behavior which is something that tigers love to do. A better substrate would be to use moist coco fiber that is sold at many pet stores. They come in dehydrated bricks that you soak in water for a while to turn it into loose soil. It should be moist but now soaking wet. You shouldn't be able to wring more then a few drops of water out of it when you go to put it in the tank. Even though that is what the previous owner used and what he is used to doesn't mean that it is the best for him. He would probably be much more happy if he had some actual dirt to dig around in.



Also the type of food you are feeding him can be an issue. Freeze dried crickets are not good nutritionally and neither are mealworms. The best thing to feed tigers is live earthworms. If you can't get live earthworms then he should at least be fed live crickets that have been gutloaded and dusted with calcium powder. By gutloaded I mean the crickets should be fed before they are fed to your tiger. You can get special cricket food and gel to provided food and water for the crickets but a lot of people just feed them carrots or potatoes. Earthworms don't need to be gutloaded or dusted which is why they are the perfect food.



As for a temp gauge, you can pick those up at a pet store or even a hardware store. Digital ones are the better ones as they are more accurate. Tigers like it to be on the cooler side. Usually in the 60's to low 70's.



It is up to you however if you want to do these changes but I definitely hope that you will consider it so that your tiger can be happier and healthier, and you can have him as your pet for a lot longer.

Not to step on anyone's toes I'm no newt/salamander expert but in my experience coco fiber is very easy to get mold in, now thanks to this forum I have found a top soil that I use because it doesn't grow mold and still encourages borrowing. Again everyone's experience is different just throw my two sense out just in case it's any help for you ??


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[michael]

Cocofiber or a forest floor mix with some cocofiber should be fine. I'd press the cocofiber down some to avoid it sticking to the salamander to much. For a tiger I would probably use cocofiber, reptile mix wood chips of come kind, and clean topsoil mixed up. Add some isopods as food and to help keep the mix clean. If you don't saturate things and have decent ventilation you will avoid the mold. Gradients of moisture are important. Be sure your set up gives burrowing room. Your salamander will dig in but pop it's head up a lot and come looking for food.

 

[Jackulwulf]

Not to step on anyone's toes I'm no newt/salamander expert but in my experience coco fiber is very easy to get mold in, now thanks to this forum I have found a top soil that I use because it doesn't grow mold and still encourages borrowing. Again everyone's experience is different just throw my two sense out just in case it's any help for you ??


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I will agree that cocofiber can have problems with mold, in my crested gecko tanks I have had issues with mold but I found that it is usually caused by too much moisture. I only tend to have mold in my tiger's tank if there's a bit of shed or poop laying around but once that is removed then it is fine. It should be moist but not dripping wet. But if top soil works for you then that is fine as well, as you say everyone does things the way they have found works best for them. :happy:

 

[Tiger mom Tammy]

My tigers will behave a little out of ordinary when they are about to shed. So monitoring the temperature is important because if its too hot they will shed excessively. So as what was mentioned a temp.gauge is good to have. Not sure what size your tank is now, but if you have a tank buddy, at least 20 gallon I read, is recommended. As far as him being alone for quite awhile, might have to wait for someone to post on adding a new tank buddy for long term bachelor, I myself don't know the answer, but would like to! Hope this helps a little : )

 

[walhofkn]

Thank you to everyone!! Where would you get cocofiber? They don't have it in the pet stores near me. It is great to know about the mold issues, if I have any problems with it I will switch to top soil. Another question: how often should I replace the cocofiber? Thanks so much again! I feel awful that my salamander has had to live in not the proper environment all along, so thanks for helping me change it to a better place! No offense to them, but I don't think the previous owner knew what they were doing either and they didn't know his age so they couldn't tell me that. Is there any way to identify a salamander's age? Also, it was good to know about the excessive shedding. My salamander has shed 4 times this year so far-is that unusual? Oh, and one last thing- how long after you buy the worms are they no good anymore? Thanks!

 

[Tiger mom Tammy]

I buy my eco earth coco fiber from Petco ($13.99 in Hawaii) or Petsmart ($10.99) and a friend just messaged me a link for some good organic top soil which I will get to you . As far as shedding , i mentioned, my tigers shed a few times because hurricanes that passed us made humidity levels soar. Not sure what your situation might be though.

 

[walhofkn]

Thank you! I will go out in search of cocofiber and I would still love the link for the topsoil ... and if your tiger is too hot what do you do to cool him down? Thanks so much!!!

 

[Sith the turtle]

I suggest either you mist his tank, add ice-packs and fans, or just lower your AC

 

[walhofkn]

Thanks for the advice. I now have a new tank setup with cocofiber. Danny is a little nervous, since today is his first day having it like this, and he doesn't really like having it stick to him, but hopefully he will get used to it quickly. I will make sure to keep him cool with some of the techniques you mentioned thanks to everyone