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Generally amphibians are defined as
the group that includes the common ancestors of all living
amphibians (frogs, toads, salamanders, etc) and all their
descendants. Amphibians kept as pets include frogs, salamanders
and newts. I'll cover salamanders on this page and frogs
on their own page.
SALMANDERS & NEWTS
There is very little
difference between a salamander and a newt, what is called a
"salamander" in the United States may be called a "newt" in
Europe. So I'll just call them all salamanders.
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QUICK
FACTS: |
Life Span - One to
a few years for the smaller species
Size - Grow 10 -
15cm
Care - Medium
maintenance
Food
-
Mealworms and other insects, crickets, small
fish
Housing - Large
tank or aquarium, light for heating, filter and
lid
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GENERAL
INFO:
 Salamanders are often mistaken for lizards, but they have soft,
moist skin covering their long bodies and even longer tails.
They have no scales, claws or external ear openings. The larva
are sometimes confused with the frog tadpoles, but their heads
do not get as large as the tadpoles. They have feather gill
structures present just behind the head on the sides of the neck
area which can be quite attractive to fish to chew on! Their
front legs develop first; frogs lack the external gill
structures, and their hind legs erupt before their forelegs. Salamanders
are the subject of numerous myths and legends. The name
salamander comes from Greek words meaning fire-lizards.
Ancient peoples linked salamanders to fire because salamanders
often crawled out from logs that had been thrown onto fires,
leading people to believe that these animals could walk through
fire.
The majority
of the salamanders are carnivorous, eating
insects and small invertebrates. Large adults eat fish, frogs
and other salamanders. They are mainly nocturnal, hiding under fallen logs and damp
leaf litter during the daylight hours. The larvae begin feeding
immediately after hatching, devouring tiny aquatic animals. There are
three types of salamanders: totally aquatic, semi-aquatic, and
completely terrestrial; some of the latter are arboreal. The
aquatic salamanders live out their complete life cycle in the water. The
semi-aquatic salamanders live primarily on land, hibernating during the
winter, and enter the water as breeding season begins. After
mating and laying their eggs, they once again return to land.
The terrestrial salamanders spend their entire
lives on land, rarely entering the water though
they are never far from it.
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SETTING UP THE
TANK: |
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 s your salamander aquatic, semi aquatic or
terrestrial? This will indicate what sort of tank
you will need to set up for them. -
A heater
– the water should be the same temperature they
encounter in their normal environment.
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A good filter for aquatic salamanders.
- Some dry ground for a semi aquatic salamander.
The
land side should ideally have a couple of holes
drilled in the bottom of the tank to ensure good
drainage. Put coarse sand or washed aquarium gravel
in the bottom to a depth of about two inches. Top
with sterile potting soil, peat moss or garden loam
(available at nurseries). Top this with a piece of
turf or clumps of moss. Plant some small potted
plants and place pieces of bark, rocks,
"rock" caves or clay pot shards around for the
salamander to hide and sleep under.
- For terrestrial salamanders set
up the tank the same as the land side of the semi
aquatic salamanders.
- Vegetation - they can be rough on plants
so you may need to replace them regularly.
- A lid as salamanders can climb.
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PRO & CONS: |
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You can't handle salamanders as the skin in our hands is
toxic to them.
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It can be difficult to find someone to care for your
salamander if you plan on travelling at all as their tanks
would not be able to be moved easily.
- Their tanks need a fair bit of
maintenance to keep the salamanders healthy.
- You need to feed them at night as they
are nocturnal and remove any left-overs in the morning.
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