Salamanders?

[Amaltheas_Attic]

Does anyone here keep salamanders for pets? I found one in my yard the other day, and today I made him a home (in the meantime he was living with my venus flytraps) and I want to make sure he's happy in there. Anyone have any care tips for terrestrial salamanders?

[Anarkey]

humm if ya look online you should find some info i think,,
i know they like moist inviroments,like some peat moss and a little water they can get into to stay hydrated. but im not to sure all the stuff they eat like small worms and stuff?

[Anarkey]

bet Eva would know , but havent seen she on in a long time .
hope she's ok?

[Amaltheas_Attic]

I figured out what they eat. I looked all that up. What I've done is taken a large plastic fish bowl, filled it partially with the dirt I found it in, then soaked that, and put peat moss over the top. Tomorrow I'm going to scatter some bark under the peat moss. Once I had that set up, I put in a little glass water dish and went outside hunting. I found a bunch of baby worms, so I put those in, along with some other small insects and a big worm and a big cricket (hoping I'll get some baby insects going.)
The whole thing is covered with plastic wrap with some holes for air punched in it and I'm keeping it by an eastern exposure window, so it'll keep cool (from what I read online, they like that.)
I just want to make sure I'm keeping him as happy as I can. I'll probably just keep him through the winter, so long as he's happy.

[Anarkey]

get a aquarium bout, oh im not sure but he needs room so he dont feel traped im sure,maybe a 10 gal would do it .
A
im sure you can find 1 cheap

[Anarkey]

dohh just seen you said fish bowl ,,, nvm

[Velvet-Tongue]

Salamanders seem like interesting creatures

[aXa]

salamangers are cuties. i tried a few times to keep ones i found as pets. however i could never get them to eat anything. sounds like yours is eating in captivity tho. good luck.

[mmmcherry]

my brother used to have salamanders when he was a kid... hed go out hunting them in his forest, and every couple days hed just go out and find a new chunk of rotted out log or peat moss or whatever to stick in the fish tank... i guess it worked cause he had them forever...

then we moved and found one that had escaped, all dried up and crusty behind one of the dressers... EWWW...

oh and beware... they SMELL!!

[Amaltheas_Attic]

I mixed in some charcoal with the dirt to keep the smell to a minimum and went out and hunted up some more worms today. Hopefully they'll breed and keep him fed all winter. I haven't seen him eat yet, but they're nocturnal so he's likely done it while I wasn't watching. I'll keep an eye on him though.

[mmmcherry]

aw yeah i hope he eats. theyre cute little fuckers, even if they are smelly... hah i hope the charcoal helps, i really do... cause *gag* hehe... ew.
hmm is he big enough to eat grasshoppers and mealworms n stuff? pet store bugs might come in handy...
my aunt used to have a hedgehog and she bought him mealworms as little treats... hed sit there munching on them smacking his lips hahaa... it was adorable.

[Amaltheas_Attic]

He could probably handle a mealworm, or maybe a small cricket, so that's definitely an option. This morning he'd buried himself in the mud and while he's moved, he's still buried, so he's "behaving normally." I'll see about picking him up some super tiny crickets in a day or so. Then I have to figure out how to keep my cat away from him!

[mmmcherry]

haha kitty is all like "awwwww, you found me a snack!... why cant i eat him?"

[Amaltheas_Attic]

Definitely, my kitty is an evildoer and thinks everything wants to play thunderdome with him.

[mmmcherry]

HAH oh god i just got a mental picture of a cat taking on some cat sized lizard underneath an overturned laundry basket... hehee...
old school mad max style... "TWO GO IN, ONE COMES OUT!!"

[Amaltheas_Attic]

Well, it's been a week and he's still crawling around looking happy If I go out tomorrow, I'll pick him up more crickets. Between that and the worms, it looks like I can keep him. And no smell so far!

[Bondage Clown]

did as a kid.. but don' no mo'

[mmmcherry]

yaaaay no smelly salamanders! maybe theyre a different kind than the ones my brother had or something... cause damn those reeked.

or heres a thought... maybe the smell came from the one that escaped? hahaa... we did find it later enough for it to be all dried up and nasty behind the dresser... sick...

[Amaltheas_Attic]

It's possible that it was from the bedding or whatever it was living in. You have to keep them very damp, and unless you're careful, that can create a bad smell. I've put some live plants in there, and between them and the worms it's keeping the smell down I think.