How to care for salamanders

Content

Steps
Part 1 of 4: Lodging for the Salamander
Part 2 of 4: Lighting and Heating
Part 3 of 4: Health and Treatment
Part 4 of 4: Feeding
Tips
Warnings

It is definitely known that salamanders have cute faces. The second thing that is known about them is that they are quite easy to take care of, provided that you know how to do it. Our article will help you with the second point (with the first - no, because the salamanders don't need help to be funny and cute). Go to step 1 to learn about the best way to care for your salamander. Please note: a salamander is not a newt, look for information about newts in other articles, for example, in this one.

Steps

Part 1 of 4: Lodging for the Salamander

1 Use an aquarium or terrarium to keep the salamander. Aquariums or special terrariums for reptiles are best suited for keeping your pet. Use a container with a capacity of 35-40 liters: this volume will provide the salamander with enough space to hide, rummage and doze peacefully all day long. Aquariums are best suited for aquatic and semi-aquatic salamanders. Thoroughly wash your tank before you start building your salamander dwelling.
- If you don't want to buy a glass aquarium, you can use a plastic or acrylic one.
2 Make sure the lid closes securely. Salamanders are excellent climbers, and the walls of the aquarium are not an obstacle for them. Therefore, it is important that the lid is tightly closed, otherwise the salamander may escape. It is best to use mesh covers that provide excellent ventilation.
- If you can't buy a mesh lid, a hole lid will work too.
3 Determine what kind of dwelling your salamander needs - water, near-water, or terrestrial. It depends on the type of salamander you already own or are going to buy. If you are unable to identify the species of your salamander, consult a pet store or search the Internet.
- Aquatic salamanders, such as the axolotl, live in water for their entire life.
- Near-water salamanders need a container, half of which will be occupied by water and half by land.
- For land salamanders, a pond in the terrarium is not required.
4 Equip your terrarium. Again, everything will depend on the type of your salamander. Remember that these are only general guidelines - you can figure out how best to solve certain problems in your terrarium.
- Aquatic Terrarium: Use the aquarium to house your salamander.Place the washed aquarium gravel on the bottom in a layer of 5 centimeters. Slope the gravel so that it goes from 5 to 8 centimeters thick. You can plant aquatic plants, but remember that salamanders can damage them, so be prepared to repot them frequently.
- Semi-aquatic terrarium: Divide your terrarium with a plexiglass sheet so that one half is aquatic and the other half terrestrial. Pour five centimeters of aquarium gravel on the bottom of the water half, plant a few aquarium plants. Create a slope of the gravel so that the salamander can emerge from the water onto land. On the above ground, place 5 centimeters of aquarium gravel on top of which you will lay a substrate consisting of mulch-like soil such as shredded bark or coconut fiber. Top with sterile potting mix or garden soil.
- Earthen Terrarium: Do the same as in the above-ground part of the near-water terrarium, only on the entire bottom area. Plant some plants and mosses.
5 Remember that a land salamander needs a drinking bowl. This drinker should be relatively small and shallow because land-based salamanders do not swim well and may even drown in a deep drinker.
6 Make some shelters. Regardless of the type of salamander you keep, you need to build several reliable shelters. Salamanders can get jittery, so it's important that they have places to relax. Your salamander can be happy with rock caves, large pottery shards, large pieces of bark, as well as purchased ready-made shelters.
7 Clean the terrarium every week. Put on gloves, remove the salamander from the cage and place it in a safe place while cleaning. Then clean the enclosure and its surroundings using hot water and dry before returning the salamander to it.

Part 2 of 4: Lighting and Heating

1 Use a lamp with a wide spectrum. Do not place the salamander cage in direct sunlight, as this can overheat very easily. Use the timer to turn the lights on and off during the hours when the sun rises and sets in your salamander's natural habitat. This means making the "days" and "nights" shorter or longer depending on the time of year so that your salamander feels like it is in the wild in your terrarium.
2 Provide the correct temperature. The required temperature depends on the type of salamander you are keeping. Salamanders, naturally living in temperate climates, do not need any heating at all. Salamanders living in tropical and subtropical climates need additional heating. Ask at the pet store or search online for the temperature your salamander needs. Maintain temperature differences in the enclosure - one end of the enclosure should be warmer than the other. You can arrange heating in one of the following ways:
- Aquarium Heater: This is a water heater that will heat the water and increase the humidity in the terrarium.
- Thermal mat: It can be placed underneath the terrarium.
- Infrared Lamp: These need to be monitored closely because they can kill plants in your terrarium. In addition, heating with an infrared lamp must be adjusted with great care.

Part 3 of 4: Health and Treatment

1 Provide your salamander with filtered water. Water for salamanders needs to be constantly filtered. You can buy a recirculating water filter or install some other filter.
- Give the land salamander filtered water. You can give her tap water, from which chlorine and chloramine have been removed by treatment, or bottled spring water.
2 Don't pick up the salamander. While the cute little faces of the salamanders may make you feel like grabbing them, this is not recommended. Fat secreted by human hands can harm salamanders.Likewise, the secret secreted by the skin of salamanders can harm a person. Therefore, it will be better for both of you if you only observe your salamander, and not take it in your hands.
- If you still need to handle the salamander, for example, to transplant it into another container or if it is sick, wash your hands with hot water and soap. Rinse off the soap thoroughly from your hands.
3 Let the salamander hibernate. Temperate salamanders burrow in the ground during the winter months. Of course, you will be bored to see an "empty" terrarium, but if the salamander does not hibernate as in natural conditions, it will live less.

Part 4 of 4: Feeding

1 Remember that salamanders are nocturnal creatures. Therefore, it is best to feed them at night, when they are most active. When you first become the owner of a salamander, set yourself an alarm so as not to forget to feed it at night.
2 Feed your salamander 2-3 times a week. Remember that the salamander may not eat for several days in the new cage. Salamanders get nervous easily, so once you've moved your salamander into a new home, give it a few days to get used to the new environment. However, some salamanders can immediately get used to and begin to actively eat on the very first day.
- If you bought a young salamander, feed it daily until it stops growing and becomes an adult.
3 Feed your salamander in a balanced way. Salamanders are predators, they love to hunt their prey. Therefore, you need to feed them live food. If you have to buy dead prey, then it is better to buy ice cream rather than dry. Salamanders love:
- Live earthworms, bloodworms (available at the fishing store) and crickets (available at the pet store), maggots, and live slugs. They will also eat bloodworm ice cream, but you may have to wiggle it to get the salamander's attention.
- Give your aquatic salamander brine shrimp. You can also give them daphnia crustaceans.
4 Monitor the amount of feed. Usually, salamanders simply stop eating when they are full. They themselves know better how much they need to eat. For the first few days, give the salamander a certain amount of food (how much - decide for yourself, but count one by one) and after a few hours check how much is left. If there are uneaten worms or crickets in the cage, you will know that the salamander needs less food.
- Keep in mind that fire and tiger salamanders are prone to overeating and obesity.
5 Remove uneaten food from the enclosure. If the salamander has not eaten all of its food in a few hours, then it is full. Remove live prey from the enclosure - if you don't, it can bite or anger your salamander.
- If you are keeping a water salamander, always remove uneaten food from the water to avoid water decay and mold growth.

Tips

Salamanders love dark, damp and humid places.
There should be no sharp-edged objects in the terrarium that could damage the delicate skin of the salamander.
Wash your hands before and after handling the salamander.
If you are feeding crickets to a salamander, do not give it blacks.
You can find earthworms in your garden or buy them inexpensively at a fishing store.
The 35-40 liter terrarium is ideal for any salamander. It will provide enough space for water and shelter, and if necessary, also for a trough and drinker.
A small bivalve shell, like a vongole or oyster, is the ideal drinker for a land-based or near-water salamander. It does not rise too high above the ground, holds enough water and is shallow enough so that the salmandra does not drown in it.
If you can't find worms for your salamander, wood lice will do.
Spray water on the terrarium for land salamanders.
If necessary, you can take the salamander in your hands, but be sure to wash them.

Warnings

If your terrarium is on an open terrace or balcony, make sure it is not exposed to direct sunlight.
Human skin is toxic to salamanders, so don't handle them.