HELP!

snoopy65

snoopy65

I am Sam aka Snoopy65
Aug 24, 2008
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Where the ducks walk on the fish, PA
What do salamander's need? My husband is digging a ditch in our backyard to replace a pipe. He found one and my 3 year old wants to keep it. I have it in a little 1 gal plastic "pet carrier" right now with a lid with water in it and a few pieces of plants from the back yard. If we are keeping it, I want to do it right. What does it eat, what to put in the carrier, is it big enough????? I have a can of aquatic turtle diet. Can it eat that? All sorts of fish food.

I am a salamander dummy! Please help!
 
It looks like a northern two-lined salamander-Eurycea bislineata
Most salamanders are nocturnal, and hide under tree bark/rocks/leaves during the day. I would recommend putting some potting soil/dirt substrate(preferably moist)and some hiding spots for it. Good luck!
 
jameshilljr said:
It looks like a northern two-lined salamander-Eurycea bislineata
Most salamanders are nocturnal, and hide under tree bark/rocks/leaves during the day. I would recommend putting some potting soil/dirt substrate(preferably moist)and some hiding spots for it. Good luck!
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I agree, it looks like a Two-Lined. They usually live along stream banks under rocks in very moist conditions and then eat tiny LIVE prey. Terrestrial Salamanders usually make quite boring pets because they hide all the time like stated above. If you really want to keep this guy I'd get some EcoEarth substrate for the enclosure and place in a few rocks/pieces of bark for hiding under. Find a couple pieces of moss to place inside to help with the humidity. You're also going to need a shallow water dish. Make sure that you spray the enclosure a couple times a day. Most salamanders don't need heat and room temperature works just fine for them. The next thing is the tricky part. Finding tiny enough live prey for it. You're going to need to feed it wingless fruit flies or tiny pinhead crickets. Petco and Petsmart near me have started selling wingless fruit flies in the last few months. Those are probably your best bet. If all this is too over whelming for you, it's probably best to let the salamander go.
 
They must stay around lakes as well. The only water close is Pymatuning Lake. I think we will let him go. Not that it is too much work, but if they hide all of the time, I think it will quickly lose the interest of my 3 year old.
 
Probably a good idea. :)
 
I have kept two-lineds in both aquatic and moist terrestrial setups. I fed flightless fruit flies and occasionally day-old crickets in the terrestrial setup, juvenile scuds and mosquito larvae in the aquatic setup. I found two-lineds to be subject to fungal infections. As noted they are not very interesting captives, spending most of their time beneath cover. They are also excellent escape artists.

I agree with Vicious that the best course of action is to take the sallie back to his home.

If your three-year-old maintains his interest in salamanders, a newt or axolotl would be a better choice.
 
Well my 3 year old balled his eyes out, but the salamander went back outside. It was so cute. My son "No he can't go there......not there.....not there...etc..." Finally we found the perfect spot down near the lake with just the "right" amount of everything and I helped him let it go. Hopefully it didn't "have" anything because he had to kiss it good-bye!
 
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