Illness/Sickness: Tiger Salamander skin problem

[007LBZ]

Hi all, new to the forum and did some searching on the skin problems my salamander has. Couldn't find anyone with similar problems so wanted to ask here before I go to the vet. I have had him for probably 6 years, pretty sure he was very young when I found him. The last 2 years he has started to develop this big black spot on his skin.. I try to replace the water as often as I can but there have been times it gets fairly nasty. Recently he has developed some kind of yellow spot on his nose as well. I have pictures but the attachment upload feature won't work for me. Thanks in advance for any help, just want to take good care of him!

Edit: I was able to load pictures to my gallery if you all can see them.

 

[Rupert]

Can't find any pictures but from your post you change the water regularly - perhaps you are keeping your tiger too humid/wet?

 

[007LBZ]

Got it! I wouldn't think I keep him too wet, I tend to soak the dirt down pretty good about once a week, then let it dry out. Basically I just make sure the dirt is always moist for him to burrow, only time it would really be too wet is after I soak it all down. I should have been more clear, now that you can see the pic I change the water in the bowl when it gets dirty as thats where he does his biz. However he doesn't go in the bowl too often. I have noticed that he never sheds his skin anymore, he use to go in the bowl and swim around all crazy getting a layer of skin off. I did save two more baby ones this last summer and have had them in there for several months now, their skin seems to be fine but time could tell. As you can see he's not looking too great, I feel bad and don't want the other two to get the same way. I feed them crickets with the calcium powder, I read yesterday that maybe I shouldn't be doing the calcium? Thanks!

 

[jewett]

I will start off by saying I do not know what the oddly pigmented patches of skin on your animal may be, and that if the changes have been taking place over a 2 year time span then they may be normal pigment changes, or at least not too pathogenic. But I question if part of the problem may be inappropriate husbandry.

Now that I see the pictures I wonder if the habitat is too dry - the soil looks somewhat packed down with little to no moisture. Tiger salamanders prefer to burrow under the soil, so with that in mind do you think your soil is loose, deep and moist enough to allow that?

My tiger salamander is kept in a large Rubbermaid (about 3 feet long and 18 inches wide) on a mix of damp coco fiber and organic potting mix about 6 inches deep. I keep the soil mix damp enough that I can form a ball out of it, but not dripping water when it is squeezed. I also try and do a moisture gradient, meaning that when I add water to the soil, I only add to one end. That way, one end is more moist than the other and the animal can choose for itself where it would like to be. I keep cork bark hides as well, but mostly the salamander burrows pretty deep into the bedding and doesn't mess with the hides at all. And to be honest, a lot of the time I don't keep a water bowl in with mine - I often forget or procrastinate putting the water dish back in after cleaning it, and I bet its the majority of the time that there is no bowl in the habitat. But I feel that since in the wild a tiger salamander pretty much just goes to water to breed and the rest of the time is hiding under ground, and as long as the substrate is the appropriate moisture level, a water bowl is not crucial.

If you feel that the skin changes occurring on your animal are effecting its health then do not hesitate to seek veterinary care. However, in addition to that some housing modifications may be in order.

Good luck!

HJ

 

[007LBZ]

Thanks much for the help! They definitely burrow in the soil as its plenty loose for them to do so, but I think you may be right that its not staying moist enough. Its really dry here in colorado so I suppose it drys out very quick. Is there something I can buy to keep the moisture level stable? I live a pretty busy lifestyle so spraying the cage down everyday is hard for me to do. The soil is about 4 inches deep of plain topsoil from HD and coconut fiber, however I rarely ever change the soil as I've never felt the need to since they do the business I think in the water bowl every time. How often should I change the soil? So maybe remove the water bowl and keep one end of the tank moist and leave the other end dry, I do notice they rarely go in the water bowl and I am concerned about them breeding since I don't know the sex of the two new ones. Anything I can get to help his skin out other than keeping it more moist, I wonder if his skin will come back?

 

[jewett]

Oh, I hear you about being really dry – I live in Utah! I don’t know what kind of lid you have but because I use a Rubbermaid I have a solid plastic lid that I cut a 4x4 inch square hole out of in the middle. This way there is not near as much evaporation but still air flow. With this set up I don’t ever spray, just add water to the soil when the drier end of the tub’s soil is dry about 2 inches down. When that happens I pour in about a quart of aged water. I add water maybe every other month with this technique.

How often you change the soil will vary on the amount of animals housed in there and how often you spot clean the enclosure (there are probably other variables). I remove all soil only about once a year, but I spot clean and scoop out poop once a week. Perhaps others would recommend more frequent soil changes but this has worked for me and I feel my salamander is doing well in the 13 years (criminy – has it really been that long?!) I’ve had her. The tub’s smell is woodsy and earthy, but if it ever smelled sour or “off” in any other way, I would do a complete soil change.

As long as you feel the soil is damp enough then I think removing the water bowl can be at your discretion. And you shouldn’t worry about them breeding – this species RARELY breed in captivity, as in basically never.

And I really have no idea what the skin patch may be, so I don’t know if will ever go back to normal. I think a visit to an exotic vet experienced in caudates would not be amiss.

HJ

 

[007LBZ]

Changed the soil out last night and put the smaller water bowl in there that I had. Also added the towel on top to keep the moisture in with a small area uncovered on the very end to keep air flow. They seem to be very happy! I may make some kind of permanent cover for the lid so I don't have to deal with the towel every time, for now it works! I also soaked the end where the logs are and will leave the other end dry. What do you feed your salamander? I have been doing crickets with the calcium powder on them, should I be skipping the powder? I will probably take the oldest one into a vet one of these days and see what they think. Thanks!