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Got a decent picture of my new crestie fired down after work tonight  
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Feb 27, 2012 05:51
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Do you guys know of any other animal that would do well in a poison dart frog style vivarium? I've had a ton of fun constructing and planting my 10 gallon vivarium with moss, ferns, a small orchid, as well as interesting wood and stones, but I'm not ready to commit to keeping tiny expensive frogs alive yet - I'm terrible with cultures of any kind, and I can't imagine fruit flies to be any different. So, tell me, what else would do well? Toads of some kind? A larger sort of frog, tomato or tree or something? Some sort of tiny salamander? Some diminutive lizard? I am also happy to keep it as a small mossy garden if nothing else seems to work, but I'd love to have some life in there.  A few weeks ago - the empty corner to the right is now home of a nice trailing fern, and the moss has colored up and grown in some.
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Feb 27, 2012 19:12
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Angela Manaconda posted:I just got my first reptile ever! A gorgeous little beardie named Paarthurnax. I picked him up at the reptile expo in Etobicoe today. Expect pictures when I am back home at 2 in the goddamn morning. God drat them for not having an ATM!!! Some awesome deals there, and it was really a gecko / ball python orgy, unfortunately animals I have no interests in  I did get a tarantula though after the wife FINALLY gave me the go ahead.
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Feb 27, 2012 19:42
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Terrestrial salamanders would do well in a planted tank. Unfortunately, most of the salamanders available are aquatic or semi-aquatic. You could go with an Ambystomid; tiger salamander, spotted salamander, marbled salamander, etc. Tigers would be your best bet, though they're not always available and it depends on your state. Ambystomids tend to hide most of the time, though, but some will be more bold, especially if food is on the surface. A red eft (Notophthalmus viridescens) would work, but they can be tricky if they're small; you'd need a lot of springtails and eventually move on to fruit flies. One problem with salamanders is obtaining them, though; I checked the caudata.org classifieds, and didn't see any terrestrial animals for sale this year yet, except for the Ambystoma talpoideum/mole salamanders I'm selling (and their best point is that they can be kept aquatically!) I do a bit of work with Ambystomids, raising them from eggs; I'm raising marbled, spotted, and mole salamanders this year, and hoping to possibly get some tigers or blue-spotteds, though not counting on it. Other than through me, most of the terrestrial species are only otherwise available as wild-caught adults. Most salamanders on the market are aquatic; aquatic animals are a lot easier to keep and feed, and they're on the market in the first place because they're also easier to breed. Another negative is that while salamanders can be great to build an aquarium for, usually you want to specifically build the aquarium for that species. Making tanks for things like cave or longtailed salamanders is a blast and can look really nice, and you can make stream tanks for things like two-lined salamanders or duskies. If you'd really like to try salamanders, you might be able to collect a few without doing any harm. Post your state and I might be able to suggest something that would do well in a terrestrial tank, as well as how you might find one. Or, if you wanted to go aquatic with salamanders, I could offer you some better suggestions. You might need a larger tank, but you can plant aquatic tanks, too, and there's a larger selection of available newts out there. Failing salamanders, there are some smaller frogs that aren't quite as expensive as some darts. I don't know what's expensive to you, though; most captive bred animals are around $20-30, and you can generally get D. auratus dart frogs for $20-25 each. With some modifications, you could probably keep firebelly toads, or any of the small, commonly available frogs like pacman or tomato frogs. I just have experience with salamanders and dart frogs, though, so I'll let someone else recommend those in better detail. You could always go invertebrates, too. There are tarantulas, scorpions, and other inverts that would do well in a tank like that.
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Feb 27, 2012 21:42
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I just moved in with my brother. He has what I guess to be about a 50 gallon terrarium (converted aquarium) with an iguana. The main body of the iguana is about 8-9" and his tail is just as long, so that puts him close to around 18-20". He has had this iguana for at least a year, and I have been doing some reading saying that they are supposed to be growing faster than his has. First, the tank has only been cleaned out once that I know of. Second, I don't think it is too small either. He lives in florida and leaves the windows open in summertime (hell year-round) and it gets nice and humid and hot in here. He has just finished shedding his skin, and for the most part he is pretty inactive. Sometimes my brother will fill up the tub about and inch with warm water and put him in there. The only sure way to get any action out of him is to put a hibiscus bloom in his tank (red only). He goes to town on that. He has a reptile specific incandascent light as well as a UVB-A? fluorescent fixture by the brand name zilla. I keep them on most all day and turn them off at night. Anyways, he has developed a spot on his side that I asked him about and he is not sure what it is either. He eats a mixture of broccoli, carrots, squash, stuff like that. No cat or dog food or insects of any kind, basically no protein. I would like to know what the spot may be indicative of, and if there are any other diet modifications that he may not be thinking of or have explored. He has some dried veggie mix from the pet store, but that looks like sawdust, and he does have something called reptocal that I am not sure how often he gives him. I just want to make sure that he is not killing this poor animal and looking for any suggestions on decent resources to read up on stuff like iguana care. Thanks all! http://www.freeimagehosting.net/q2tqt is the link to the picture. Don't know what I am doing wrong. Well, poo poo. I can't get my imgur pic to load. It is a yellow spot with a brown center on his abdomen. peanutbutterunicorn fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Feb 27, 2012 |
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Feb 27, 2012 22:03
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Trilineatus posted:Do you guys know of any other animal that would do well in a poison dart frog style vivarium? What about vampire crabs?
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Feb 27, 2012 22:07
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peanutbutterunicorn posted:I just moved in with my brother. He has what I guess to be about a 50 gallon terrarium (converted aquarium) with an iguana. The main body of the iguana is about 8-9" and his tail is just as long, so that puts him close to around 18-20". He has had this iguana for at least a year, and I have been doing some reading saying that they are supposed to be growing faster than his has. I'm just going to leave this here: http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/index.html
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Feb 27, 2012 22:08
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^^thanks, I will give that a read and subtly show it to my brother..^^ Tell me I am dumb or whatever, but moldy old broccoli is NOT supposed to be left in the tank, right? Are herps susceptible to mold like us wimpy humans?
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Feb 27, 2012 22:16
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OneTwentySix posted:A bunch of awesome helpful stuff Thanks a bunch! I love reading your posts because of your amphibious knowledge - I am actually an aquarium enthusiast by nature, and have a heavily planted Central American biotope tank as well as a 6 gallon planted tank which is home to the world's grumpiest paddletail newt juvenile. This terrarium project was my adventure into keeping terrestrial animals, but every time you post all I want to do is shake you down for all your salamander babies, cost of aquariums be damned. Every time someone posts about sirens or spotteds or axoltls I seriously feel my will to minimize my tank ownership dwindle. For this particular tank, something that wouldn't need to eat fruitflies would be perfect since my main concern is the fact that I am loving terrible at keeping insects alive. So... if I were to, say, set up a salamander tank for something eye catching and interesting, what species would you recommend?  [Edit] Oh, and I am also in San Diego, CA - not exactly newt/salamander central, but we sure do have a ton of alligator lizards.
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Feb 27, 2012 22:37
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peanutbutterunicorn posted:^^thanks, I will give that a read and subtly show it to my brother..^^ In short, iggies should be nowhere near broccoli. You want salads like spring mix. No iceberg lettuce, no butter lettuce. Lots of greens. Check over the site, Kaplan has some good salad recipes.
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Feb 27, 2012 22:50
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peanutbutterunicorn posted:Tell me I am dumb or whatever, but moldy old broccoli is NOT supposed to be left in the tank, right? Are herps susceptible to mold like us wimpy humans? Er, yes, they are. Most animals (humans are animals, you see) will be unhappy having mold spores colonize their lungs. Unless you're raising cockroaches, pets should not be fed rotting filth.
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Feb 28, 2012 00:49
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Trilineatus posted:Thanks a bunch! I love reading your posts because of your amphibious knowledge - I am actually an aquarium enthusiast by nature, and have a heavily planted Central American biotope tank as well as a 6 gallon planted tank which is home to the world's grumpiest paddletail newt juvenile. Thanks, I'm glad to be useful for something, at least! Unfortunately, California prohibits the possession of Ambystoma, so that rules out a lot of animals, including axolotls, that you could legally keep. Although you might be able to legally keep A. macrodactylium and A. gracile, since they're native and not protected; I didn't look at the exact wording on the Ambystoma ban and believe it's just an import ban. So that rules out most of the more popular (an available) terrestrial salamanders. Occasionally, fire salamanders are imported, but I don't recommend that anyone except breeders buy fire salamanders. They're being extremely over-collected, and since they only have a few young a year, they're really vulnerable to collection as adults. They'll probably also never really get established in the pet trade, either. Instead of laying hundreds of eggs, fire salamanders tend to give birth to a couple dozen larvae, or a pair of fully formed juveniles, depending on species. Otherwise, they'd do well in an enclosure like that. Some of the Tylototriton might be a good match, such as T. shanjing. I don't know their status in the US, though, whether anyone is breeding them. I bred mine once, but then lost them with some other animals when my basement froze one year. They're occasionally imported, though. Notophthalmus viridescens (eastern newt) efts would be great for your tank; they're super colorful, but without tons of springtails and later fruit flies, you wouldn't be able to keep them alive. The springtails are easy; just frequently add them to the tank, and maintain a few cultures on the side. They grow agonizingly slow, though, especially if you can't convince them to stay aquatic. You'd have 2-7 years of this, though, and then they'd want to be kept aquatically. Efts are occasionally available as captive bred or wild caught, and I plan on raising some this summer. Slowfoot posted a page or so ago about hers, too. Caresheet: http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Notophthalmus/N_viridescens.shtml Taricha would also be a possible choice, the western newts. T. torosa/sierrae would be your best bet; they're more terrestrial than the other species. A friend of mine from way back in grade school had what was probably a torosa and kept it for over ten years in a terrestrial enclosure. You may have torosa near your area. They're not really available much anymore; granulosa are occasionally bred, but not frequently. I'm currently in talks with someone to try and collect some eggs for me, though, so if it goes through I'll have some for sale this summer/fall, and I'll do what I can to get them firmly established in the hobby. Caresheet: http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Taricha/T_torosa.shtml So, without Ambystomids or Salamandrids (newts and fire salamanders), you're left with the lungless salamanders, so I'll go through the possible groups real quick. Aneides (arboreal salamanders) might be a possible fit, but they're, well, arboreal and tend to like being able to climb. California has some native Aneides, and unlike the eastern species (A. aeneus), they're not in any particular trouble, though you'd only want to remove them from areas where they are doing well; Aneides can become vulnerable to collection. I wouldn't recommend keeping them unless you planned on trying to breed them, though - I don't personally feel it's worth removing them unless you're going to help get them established in the hobby (so that others don't have to collect them). Russ Cormack has had success breeding Aneides, and does tend to offer animals for sale every year, but I have no idea when he would have any, probably in the late summer/fall. Batrachoseps (slender salamanders) are another group of terrestrial salamanders native to the west coast. They have extremely long tails and can be easily found in a number of places, apparently; just flip logs in a forested area. People get them in their gardens sometimes. They're kinda neat looking, though I don't know how often you'd see them; they'd probably hide a lot, except maybe after a misting at night. They're sort of like the eastern redback salamanders. I know someone that had some, and they would wait for fruit flies to land and then grab them. Desmognathus (dusky salamanders) are extremely common in much of their range. They're semi-aquatic stream salamanders, though, so they'd need a land and a large water area, which isn't quite what you wanted with the planted aquarium. You could really make a neat stream tank, too, for Desmogs, and they will breed in captivity with the right enclosure. No one really does it, either, since they're generally so common, so you'd be able to brag about your success on salamander forums, though a stream tank would probably have to be a 20 long, at the smallest. Some day I'd like to make a 55 gallon stream tank, with half land, half water lengthwise, for some red salamanders, and something like that would work great for Desmogs. Expensive, though. Desmogs are occasionally available for sale as wild caught animals. Caresheets, if interested. http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Desmognathus/D_monticola.shtml http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Desmognathus/Desmognathus_sp.shtml I would have totally forgotten them if I hadn't been going down a list, but Ensatinas are another CA native that would do really well in a terrestrial enclosure. They're also really beautiful. Russ Cormack also breeds Ensatinas occasionally, and now I've remembered that I want some, ha. Eurycea are another group of mostly semi-aquatic salamanders. E. cirrigera/bislineata (Southern/Northern two lined salamanders), E. guttolineata (three lined), E. longicauda (longtailed), and E. lucifuga (cave) would be the species to keep. Like Desmogs, though, they're more aquatic than your 10 gallon setup; with the stream salamanders you want mostly water, though you could decorate and landscape a land portion. The two lineds are more aquatic than the others. Lucifuga, longicauda, and guttolineata all follow the same body plan, and could potentially be kept in a drier aquarium, though it would need some water (bowl), and would need to be kept damp. You can find those three all in caves, and they can wander away from the streams outside of breeding. You CAN also find them right next to or in streams, under rocks. None of the Eurycea mentioned above are obligate aquatics, but a semi-aquatic tank would be best for them. Eurycea are occasionally available for sale as wild caught animals. Caresheet: http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Eurycea/Eurycea_sp.shtml You could potentially make a tank for Hemidactylium scutatum. I intend to raise some eggs this year, but the problem is that juveniles are TINY. Like quarter of an inch tiny. So they'd need springtails for a looong time. But you could make a really neat bog-aquarium for them and landscape it really neatly. Hemis are pretty neat animals otherwise. Hydromantes are native to CA, but are a protected genus, so I'll skip them. The genus Plethodon are all terrestrial animals. They're also fairly reclusive, but might come out in an aquarium; I've never really kept them. Species such as the Plethodon glutinosis complex (slimy salamanders) and P. cinereus (redbacked salamanders) are occasionally available as wild caught animals. There are some other neat Plethodons that would work really well, like P. yonahlossee, but these animals aren't ever available unless you collect them yourself, and they're all east coast. Pseudotriton ruber, the red salamander, is a species that you could make a really neat tank around, but I don't think they're commonly available. I used to see them for sale for $60-80. They're a semi-aquatic salamander that can be kept terrestrially; I sometimes find them a few hundred yards from water. You'd probably need to know someone or be out east to keep ruber, unfortunately. So without Ambystomids, you don't really havemany options for terrestrial salamanders. Your best bet would be the three newts (Noto efts, a Taricha, or a Tylototriton), or a Batrachoseps for the enclosure you've designed. A Batrachoseps would probably be pretty cool, but you might need to feed them fruit flies, though they might take small worms; I've never kept Batrachos. Unfortunately, it's pretty hard to get most terrestrial salamanders if you can't personally collect any; since there is so little demand, no one bothers breeding most of them, and when they do, it can be hard to give away eggs. Aneides and Ensatinas would be exceptions, since they're colorful and there are no (legal) eastern equivalents, but they're not really bred much, either. Ambystoma are generally very available (tigers, spotteds, and marbleds, and when I work with a species), but prohibited in California. And that's pretty much it for non-aquatic salamanders. Anyhow, if you want specific care information about any of those groups or species, feel free to ask and I can get down to tank recommendations, food, temperatures, and so on. Trilineatus posted:So... if I were to, say, set up a salamander tank for something eye catching and interesting, what species would you recommend? I'm going to take this question separate from the rest of the post, and broaden it to all salamanders that one could potentially get, since other people in the thread might be interested, too. With that question, I look at it two ways. The first, is that you can have the TANK be eye catching and interesting. A cave tank would do this. With good planning, some experience, a water feature, and some work, you could make a really impressive cave tank. Here's my crumby old lucifuga tank for a basic example of this:  I've got better ideas now, and would like to give it another shot some day. A cave tank would work for any of the Eurycea I mentioned, but especially the long-bodied ones (lucifuga, guttolineata, longicauda). If you swapped the water on the bottom out for something more like your planted tank, you might get a neat little cliff-side tank, instead of a cave tank, and it could be pretty neat; you could use it for any of the Plethodons, too. Another type of impressive tank would be a stream tank. Get a long aquarium, a filter that pumps water from one side to another, and you could design a really beautiful stream tank. There are a lot of cool ways you could do this; have the whole tank be the stream, or have a stream bank made out of clay or great stuff, or design a divider for a stream in glass, or any of a number of ways, this tank would look really neat. Something like this would work for Eurycea or Desmogs, or even red salamanders if it was large/deep enough and had enough land area. Or your paddletail; paddletail newts come from fairly fast moving streams. The other way to look at that question is an impressive salamander. You can never go wrong with a siren or waterdog; they just look so unique and interesting. Red salamanders, Eurycea longicauda and lucifuga, and eastern newt efts are all colorful, very attractive red/orange salamanders that immediately catch you eye; they'd all be somewhat visible, as well. Likewise, Ensatinas are really beautiful, too. Some of the crested newts can be fairly breath-taking, too, when the males are in breeding dress, and Triturus spp. are generally quite available. A planted aquarium can also be fairly attractive. Hardly a great case, but I always liked my old siren tank, heavily planted with plants that would get uprooted and drift down the river by my house.  The thing that stinks about salamanders is that there's generally only a dozen or so species that are commonly available, and the rest are all not available unless you can collect them yourself. I'd like to try some western salamanders, but most aren't available in the east, at least until Russ breeds his again. It's probably very similar in the west for eastern animals! Anyhow, sorry for the long post, detailing salamanders you probably can't get, but hope it helps! OneTwentySix fucked around with this message at 06:17 on Feb 28, 2012 |
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Feb 28, 2012 03:36
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If my boyfriend liked the things I like as much as you like the things I like I don't think he'd ever get out of the closet I'd lock him in. On that note, your cave set up is awesome and I am now entertaining the thought of doing a "cave mouth" stream tank - having the sort of "side cut" view of the cave as you have in yours opening into open water where I could grow low light plants. Your siren is also fantastical and awe inspiring and I want one. On the whole I am big on making the tanks as interesting as possible. I have a track record of making elaborate naturalistic settings for ugly or common inhabitants. This aggravates my one fish buddy who is sad that I won't buy him pretty fish to look at. The paddletail newt is also an elusive and grumpy beast, and for all intents and purposes his tank might as well be empty. He has found a way to wedge himself (or more likely, herself) into a crack in the drift wood. I only know (s)he is there because I can see a tail in the reflection. While the outdoors is something I goon-ishly think of as "that place with the bugs and the golden disc that burns" I am actually a student at the local research university and surrounded by ecology graduate students (best roommate ever included) who regularly tromp around in marshes doing things like collecting bird feathers and falling into mud pits and flailing. So if collection is a thing that I could do, that intrigues me. Those slender salamanders are apparently something my buddies have seen around before as well. If there is anything in the San Diego area (which is also home to the Tijuana river marshes) that you are particularly lusting after or think would make the world's Most Awesome Aquarium Buddy, I can always make a shot at falling into a mudpit hoping one will bite me.
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Feb 28, 2012 07:06
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big dig posted:God drat them for not having an ATM!!! We had to go to that terrifying mall with the lovely fantasy amusement park to finally get some cash. This is after hitting up four or five places. And, yeah. I was hoping to see more diversity in the animals there. Pickings were pretty slim for beardies too, although I did manage to get just what I was looking for. We'll probably be going to the expo in may, anyways.
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Feb 28, 2012 16:11
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I am curious if anyone on here has tried to purchase reptile food online instead of going to the local chain style pet stores? I am hoping to find a really nice place to purchase crickets and waxworms for my gecko without breaking the bank. As it stands right now, I am paying 14 cents per cricket and my lizard can easily eat 5 or more of these in a sitting.
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Feb 28, 2012 16:29
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You don't have any small local pet stores you can go to? I get crickets from the place I bought my gecko and they cost 6 cents a piece.
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Feb 28, 2012 17:54
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Caught Cubs Posting
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How many crickets do you go through a month? Back when I used crickets I would order 1,000 a month and it was cost effective. Its hard to get amounts smaller than that and have it be worth the cost with shipping and all, however. You could also start a B. Dubia colony, which is what I have been doing the past 5ish years. A lot of people don't like the idea of keeping roaches but really its the best thing ever as far as live food for insectivores go. Low maintenance, no smell or noise, etc.
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Feb 28, 2012 18:24
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Trilineatus posted:On that note, your cave set up is awesome and I am now entertaining the thought of doing a "cave mouth" stream tank - having the sort of "side cut" view of the cave as you have in yours opening into open water where I could grow low light plants. There's a couple of ways to do a cave-kinda tank. You can make an expanding foam style thing like Nesbit's gecko tanks. When it starts to harden, put some lightweight rocks on it; it works really well if you have some sticking out as ledges. I did this with my tank, but I don't really like how the covering of coco-fiber or whatever ends up looking, all patchy. And it's a lot of work. Another route is to make the background out of clay kitty litter. You can shape this however you want, and you can insert or carve rock ledges. You might try making most of the structure Styrofoam, and covering this with the clay, for extra strength and lighter weight. The main benefit is I feel it looks nicer than great stuff backgrounds, but the weakness is that you need to be careful curing it or else it can collapse. Hence the Styrofoam. This was a big fad on Dendroboard for a while, though a lot of people gave up on it after theirs deteriorated. The tank I did like this has been good for almost two years, though. Another benefit to this method is that you can mix cut sphagnum moss and peat moss to the surface of the clay, and you'll get little plants and mosses growing naturally. Plus, once cured right (around 2 months), these backgrounds can be submerged under water and will still hold; great for streams. I'd really like to do another tank like this some day. Another method is to use grout and Styrofoam to make fake rocks. You could make the whole background like this if you wanted, or use the fake rocks with the other techniques. I've never done this, though, so I can't offer any advice. Here's a basic guide though, and google turned up a bunch of other things. https://www.ehow.com/how_2310990_make-fake-rocks-.html A rock face can look really nice, though. I want to make one with a stream going across the back (made out of clay, with a plastic lining underneath) that ends in a waterfall, and then continues a second section of stream, running down until it ends in a pool, where the pump would take water from. quote:Your siren is also fantastical and awe inspiring and I want one. I still have a few left, though all the bigger animals are gone. All proceeds go to a good cause; the "let me go herping in Florida again fund!" That animal I posted was a western lesser siren (mine are the smaller easterns), though, which I don't really recommend as pets (unless you just get one). They're really cool, but extremely aggressive towards each others. I wouldn't mind getting a couple for an outdoor pond, though. quote:On the whole I am big on making the tanks as interesting as possible. I have a track record of making elaborate naturalistic settings for ugly or common inhabitants. This aggravates my one fish buddy who is sad that I won't buy him pretty fish to look at. The paddletail newt is also an elusive and grumpy beast, and for all intents and purposes his tank might as well be empty. He has found a way to wedge himself (or more likely, herself) into a crack in the drift wood. I only know (s)he is there because I can see a tail in the reflection. I think the "unattractive" animals deserve to get some love, too! Though personally, I can't see any salamanders as ugly. Paddletails are interesting animals, but I just wish they weren't so aggressive. People've bred them, but more often than not, they just end up killing each other, so you often need a 55+ to keep a pair. quote:While the outdoors is something I goon-ishly think of as "that place with the bugs and the golden disc that burns" I am actually a student at the local research university and surrounded by ecology graduate students (best roommate ever included) who regularly tromp around in marshes doing things like collecting bird feathers and falling into mud pits and flailing. So if collection is a thing that I could do, that intrigues me. Those slender salamanders are apparently something my buddies have seen around before as well. Aww, going herping is way better than keeping animals in captivity! Falling into mud pits and flailing around is also awesome. I went with the local herp group to the Congaree National Park last year, and afterwards I showed them my siren/waterdog site. One of the guys almost immediately fell in; it was hilarious, but then he got to have fun dipnetting with me, while the others just got to dig through the mud for waterdogs. Bobby got some major herping cred, though, which he needed, because he's afraid of snakes. If you've got marshes, you've probably got salamanders. You're too far south for most things; I was going to suggest that you might get some Ambystoma gracile or macrodactylium eggs or larvae (native Ambystomids should be okay, minus A. californiense), but you're too far to the south for them. You'd be able to raise them up, and then keep them terrestrially. There should be Taricha torosa in your area, though; maybe your friends have seen them. Here's a range map:  I don't really like collecting commercially, but usually taking a couple animals for your personal use is okay and not going to hurt the population any. I always go for juveniles, eggs, or larvae if I can, though. Batrachoseps or Taricha are generally really abundant, though, so there's not much harm in taking a couple. California law allows the possession of five of each native species, I believe. Today, I got some more larvae and eggs in the mail. I've decided to go all out with salamanders this year again; I did this a few years back and it went pretty well, so I'm going to try to have a variety of species available this summer/fall. Today I got some GFP axolotls (Green Florescent Protein, they're genetically modified with a jellyfish protein, like glowfish), which aren't a huge interest to me, but some people seem to love them. I prefer the wildtypes over the leucs and albinos myself, so I'm more of a traditionalist. I also got some Pleurodeles nebulosus larvae, which are a type of Spanish ribbed newt that I've never kept before, so that's exciting. Other than those, I have some regular axolotl eggs, which aren't doing the best since a lot went back before they got here, and some Triturus dobrogicus (Danube crested newt) eggs. I'm really hoping to get some Taricha torosa (western newt) eggs from someone, but he hasn't gotten back to me yet, so I'm crossing my fingers. I've got three other Ambystomids this year, too. I collected a few spotted salamander eggs, and I collected some marbled salamander eggs last fall (maculatum and opacum). And now I went outside and saw some talpoideum larvae in with my adults; they bred this year! I'm pretty excited, I didn't know if they would or not. I only found two or three larvae, though, and haven't seen any eggs, but there are probably a bunch in there. I hate how talps lay single eggs; masses are much neater looking and easier to find! I'm planning on raising some eastern newt eggs this year, too. I'm going to make some egg laying strips and I'll throw them out into a nearby pond, and then I'll collect them later and hope they're full of eggs. If not, I get to wade through the plants and spend forever searching plants for tiny little single eggs. And then finally, I'm hoping my sirens breed again. I could get lucky and have my dwarf sirens breed, but I don't think they're old enough. The lessers should, though. I went through the dead plants and things looking for nests, but didn't find anything. I probably won't, until I see little sirens rising to the top for air, later this summer. Or dipnet up a few. I took a few pictures today, but apparently imgur is down. I'll post them later. ^^^ What Nesbit said. Roaches are so much better, and cheaper, than crickets. Roaches are kinda gross, but they're just better in every other way. They're really easy, too; just feed them dog food and table scraps. You could always sell or give away extras if you don't go through very many. OneTwentySix fucked around with this message at 03:33 on Feb 29, 2012 |
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Feb 28, 2012 23:21
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OneTwentySix posted:There's a couple of ways to do a cave-kinda tank. You can make an expanding foam style thing like Nesbit's gecko tanks. When it starts to harden, put some lightweight rocks on it; it works really well if you have some sticking out as ledges. I did this with my tank, but I don't really like how the covering of coco-fiber or whatever ends up looking, all patchy. And it's a lot of work. I don't think I have posted since completing the how-to, but the gecko condo thread now has a how-to for the foam type backgrounds (it is on page 2). As OneTwentySix mentioned, there are a lot of ways to do backgrounds for your animals. The foam is my personal favorite because it is light weight, no worry for collapse, quick, and relatively inexpensive. It also looks pretty organic on its own without you having to do much. The downsides is it can be a bit messy when making it, and you need to stay on it when adding the cocofiber because it can get patchy or look screwed up if your timing is off with the application. There is no right way, just pick what you feel comfortable with and think will work best for your application. Better yet, try all the methods you can find online and then try to invent a better one!
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Feb 29, 2012 15:09
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nesbit37 posted:How many crickets do you go through a month? Back when I used crickets I would order 1,000 a month and it was cost effective. Its hard to get amounts smaller than that and have it be worth the cost with shipping and all, however. I did some looking around and I think I might actually try this. Sadly, I ownly own one lizard at the moment, so I am not certain she can even eat enough of these things to keep it under control. I found some videos of setups and whatnot to contain and breed them online, how many do you suggest I would need to start my own small little colony and try them out?
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Feb 29, 2012 17:37
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Justinen posted:I did some looking around and I think I might actually try this. Sadly, I ownly own one lizard at the moment, so I am not certain she can even eat enough of these things to keep it under control. I found some videos of setups and whatnot to contain and breed them online, how many do you suggest I would need to start my own small little colony and try them out? If you want I could send you a small colony of dubia roaches (about 30-40 nymphs and a few adults) for the cost of shipping (around $6 or so,) just to try them out. Send me a PM if you're interested. If you're worried about them getting out of hand you could see if your LPS will buy them from you, or sell the extras on craigslist. My colony breeds way faster than I can feed them to my tarantulas, so I trade the extras to my LPS for frozen rats. I just sold off about 400+, but I should still have enough to send a few your way.
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Feb 29, 2012 18:18
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Thanks, Nesbit! I have actually followed your Gecko Condo build since you first posted the link in the last herp thread, and the level of detail you put into the backgrounds and scaping really impressed me. I am intrigued by the idea of using a combination of these methods - great stuff with pieces of anchored shale, sealed with silicone and gravel/sand instead of fiber really appeals to me and my current level "Of not at all loving handy" - and I mean it when I say that, it took me an hour just to assemble my canister filter's plumbing  In the terrarium, I started this one as a gardening/landscaping experiment to see if I could actually put it together without completely messing up - in fact, I think you encouraged me a page or two back to build one myself rather than purchase one for sale on craigslist! Now that I've managed that, I'm almost tempted to break it down a little so I can do a cork background or those fern-anchor panels. We'll see how complex I can get without making my buddy do it - he builds things for me as long as I buy animals he likes. He is also the main peer pressure to start a reef tank because god knows I haven't spent enough money on all of this.
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Mar 1, 2012 01:07
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Err, forget that, turns out I'll be out of town during the NE Expo.
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Mar 1, 2012 23:24
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Imgur is working for me again, so thought I'd post some salamander photos. I posted some of them in the Critterquest thread, too. Here are some spotted salamander egg masses. There were a bunch of them, though I need to go back at night some time to see the adults.   I also saw some that were laid too shallow, and on a colder night, it froze and killed the eggs. There were quite a few of these, as well as some that had been eaten by something; they were just masses of jelly full of holes, though I didn't take any photos.  I also caught a greater siren!  There was a leak in my greater siren pool, so I had to get him out. I ended up dumping everything out, since I couldn't seem to net him. (Picture above was after I'd secured him). One problem was that I'd forgotten how slippery they are; he started burrowing through the lawn a bit and I was worried I'd lose him before I finally got a hold of him.      I went through one of my pools and saw a few larvae, so my Ambystoma talpoideum (mole salamanders) are breeding. I got one kinda neat photo of one:  And here are some axolotl eggs, getting ready to hatch.  Here are some Pleurodeles nebulosus (Spanish ribbed newts) larvae. They're too small to eat the blackworms, but I didn't want to keep any in the fridge, so I spread them out into my pools and larvae tubs.  Here are some Triturus dobrogicus eggs, wrapped in plastic egg-laying strips. They're slowly coming along, I'll post some updated photos later maybe.  And here are some of my dwarf sirens, after I set them up in their new pool. Not the best photo, unfortunately; it was raining, too. You can see one of the newts in there, too. I mentioned earlier I was missing some animals, but found them the next day, fortunately. http://i.imgur.com/nCZfD.jpg (linked for size; forgot to resize it before uploading)
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Mar 2, 2012 02:46
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Maaaaaaaaaaaan I want some sallies! But they cook here in AZ. I might have to settle for some lungfish or bichir to get the looks-like-it fix.
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Mar 2, 2012 04:06
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How warm are you talking? Pleurodeles waltl are generally pretty common, and they can take low 80s. Some of the terrestrial salamanders can take low 80s, too. Sirens can survive low 90s. And keep in mind that water temperatures are going to be a few degrees below air temperatures; just avoid using a filter or light. A fan can be employed for evaporative cooling, too. Most salamanders need low 70s, but there are always a few exceptions (well, there are a lot of exceptions, but Pseudoeurycea, Dendrotriton, Bolitoglossa and so on aren't available, ever). Waltl are some of the better aquatic newts, too; very easy to feed, take care of, etc. Michael Shrom is currently selling some. I've sold and bought animals to/from him before. https://www.caudata.org/forum/f49-a...gon-smooth.html I'll hopefully have some Pleurodeles nebulosus at the end of the summer, otherwise, and I have a couple sirens left, though it's one okay-sized animal and three runts.
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Mar 2, 2012 04:26
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I love seeing your salamander pictures. I really would like an axolotl one day, but I'm too worried I'll mess something up. They really are amazing though, at the reptile show I just went to a guy had a giant table full of them, from itty-bitty to huge!
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Mar 2, 2012 04:46
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Thanks! Axolotls are really easy, though. If you want to be absolutely safe, get one animal, put it in a 30 gallon or larger tank with a relatively weak filter/airstone, a bunch of java moss and/or Elodea, and keep it in a basement/area that never gets very hot. Feed chunks of earthworm, and really, I don't see how anything could go wrong. Problems come from a few areas, and you can avoid them if you're careful: temperatures, feeding, fighting/aggression, disease, water quality. Temperature is pretty simple; get a thermometer in the tank, and keep the tank in an air conditioned house, and out of sunlight. Basements work great for this. Keep in mind that water temperature is going to be a few degrees cooler than air temperature; filters and lights can add to this, but generally not by much. Fans can decrease water temps by a few degrees, and in emergencies, you can float frozen water bottles; I've done this for a few weeks back in college. Feeding is easy; worms are a great food for all salamanders big enough to eat them, and you can cut them up for smaller animals usually. Axolotls will also eat pellets, some/most of the time. Fighting isn't generally a big deal with salamanders (outside of the larger animals, like mudpuppies, sirens, and especially amphiumas, or things like Pachytriton - paddletail newts - that are just aggressive by principle). Just watch animals and if necessary, separate them if they nip each other. Disease is generally a sign of other problems; temperatures and water quality mostly. Caudata.org offers health advice on their forums, and there are a number of amphibian vets that frequent the site. Provided you don't mix species or keep chytrid carriers like dwarf frogs, disease isn't a common issue, and is usually treatable. Water quality is generally pretty simple. More tank volume is best, as it provides a buffer zone. Use gravel or sand as a substrate to provide areas for beneficial bacteria to grow (don't use small gravel for things like axies, though; they can swallow it and that causes problems). Plants are excellent filters; I have a friend that jams his tanks full of java moss, that's it for his filter, minus a partial water change a few times a year. Elodea is also a good oxygenator. Use a relatively weak filter to avoid stress (most salamanders don't like current, stream species not counted); an airstone to agitate the surface can work really well. And if you can smell, just keep an eye on what the tank smells like. Salamanders are generally easier than most fish; they're not so susceptible to water quality issues, and don't excrete as toxic waste. Some groups thrive in bad water, and literally die in clean water (one-toed amphiumas Stereochilus). Next time you go to a herp show and see axies, consider picking one up. You would not believe the things retarded keepers do to them that they manage to survive. A little common sense and some preparation in advance can make them really simple and problem free, and they're pretty tough so that if there is a problem, if you pay attention to it and its tank, you can generally see what's wrong and solve it before anything bad happens.
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Mar 2, 2012 06:28
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OneTwentySix posted:Thanks! What would you suggest for a 10 or 15 gal cave setup? Too bad I can't have some kind of olm. Edit: Petition to rename thread "ask OneTwentySix about salamanders" Big Centipede fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Mar 3, 2012 |
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Mar 3, 2012 06:26
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Big Centipede posted:Edit: Petition to rename thread "ask OneTwentySix about salamanders" Duly seconded. Also, olms are that nice balance of devastatingly creepy and also cute and nosy
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Mar 3, 2012 08:04
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My sales writer just came up to me at work asking about tortoises since he heard I had a snake, I warned him when they grow they tend to need a ton of space. Apparently guy has a ranch where he can take the time to build a proper outdoor run for nice days and wants to know what it would take to get into. I said id look into it for him, are there any tortoise resources I can research for him to get him started?
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Mar 3, 2012 22:36
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Dr 14 INCH DICK Md posted:My sales writer just came up to me at work asking about tortoises since he heard I had a snake, I warned him when they grow they tend to need a ton of space. Apparently guy has a ranch where he can take the time to build a proper outdoor run for nice days and wants to know what it would take to get into. I said id look into it for him, are there any tortoise resources I can research for him to get him started? Cowslips Warren breeds leopard tortoises, which would probably be a species he would be interested in.
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Mar 3, 2012 22:39
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Big Centipede posted:What would you suggest for a 10 or 15 gal cave setup? Too bad I can't have some kind of olm. It's nice to see salamanders getting some attention for once! For a cave you might try one or two of the larger Eurycea, or a slimy or closely related species. Eurycea guttolineata (three-lined salamanders) and one of the slimies (Plethodon glutinosis) are the only salamanders off the top of my head that live in your area that would work well for this. Screw it, let me get a species list and go over it. I don't think people really understand how many salamanders are found in the south-eastern United States. And some people might be interested in seeing a rough description of every group. And I had a really good day herping for salamanders with a group from college, and just feel like relaxing and typing for a bit. In GA, you have the following animals: Amphiuma, One-Toed (Amphiuma pholeter) Amphiuma, Two-Toed (Amphiuma means) Black-Bellied Salamander (Desmognathus quadramaculatus) Black-Bellied Salamander, Dwarf (Desmognathus folkertsi) Seal Salamander (Desmognathus monticola) Dusky Salamander, Apalachicola (Desmognathus apalachicolae) Dusky Salamander, Southern (Desmognathus auriculatus) Dusky Salamander, Spotted (Desmognathus conanti) Ocoee Salamander (Desmognathus ocoee) Seepage Salamander (Desmognathus aeneus) Shovel-nosed Salamander (Desmognathus marmoratus) Four-Toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum) Green Salamander (Aneides aeneus) Many-Lined Salamander (Stereochilus marginatus) Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum) Mole Salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum) Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma cingulatum) Newt, Eastern (Notophthalmus viridescens) Newt, Striped (Notophthalmus perstriatus) Blind Salamander, Georgia (Haideotriton wallacei) Cave Salamander (Eurycea lucifuga) Dwarf Salamanders (Eurycea quadridigitata) Long Tailed Salamander (Eurycea longicauda) Three-Lined Salamander (Eurycea guttolineata) Two-Lined Salamander (Eurycea bislineata) Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber) Mud Salamander (Pseudotriton montanus) Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) Cave Salamander, Tennessee (Gyrinophilus palleucus) Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) Waterdog, Alabama (Necturus beyeri) Waterdog, Dwarf (Necturus punctatus) Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) Slimy Salamanders (Plethedon glutinosus) Jordon’s Salamanders (Plethedon jordoni) Pigeon Mountain Salamander (Plethedon petraeus) Red-Backed Salamander, Southern (Plethedon serratus) Webster’s Salamander (Plethedon websteri) Zigzag Salamander, Southern (Plethedon ventralis) Siren, Northern Dwarf (Pseudobranchus striatus) Siren, Greater (Siren lacertian) Siren, Lesser (Siren intermedia) Forty four species, if I counted right, from seven of the ten families (the other two being the Dicamptodontidae and Rhyacotritonidae, both of which are from the NW US, and the Hynobiidae from Asia). So in your state, you have seven percent of all salamander species in the world (assuming 618 species of salamander; depends on your taxonomy; some say around 550). The United States have every family except the Hynobiidae, and we have more salamanders than anywhere else in the world, with 127 species (as of 1998; several more now, since a LOT have been split and a few have been discovered). Amphiuma, One-Toed (Amphiuma pholeter) Amphiuma, Two-Toed (Amphiuma means) The first group are the Amphiumas. These are permanently aquatic salamanders, but they have lungs and can travel a bit over land. Females are sometimes found under logs above the water level. Amphiumas are really neat, and two and three-toed amphiumas get big; two toes can get nearly four feet in length. They also have a really hard bite, extremely painful and serious; I've heard them compared to snapping turtles, of all things. A. pholeter is a more primitive species, with just one toe, and they're not so large. They live in really murky, horrible water, and were only discovered in the 1950s. They barely come into GA, but means can be found throughout the state in swamps and streams. They're not easy to find, though; I've only found five and I've done a lot of dipnetting. I don't recommend keeping 'umas; pholeter just don't seem to survive for anyone, and means need a lot of space and the right conditions; I've tried to keep them like I do with sirens, but I've heard small amphiumas don't seem to do well in captivity. Black-Bellied Salamander (Desmognathus quadramaculatus) Black-Bellied Salamander, Dwarf (Desmognathus folkertsi) Seal Salamander (Desmognathus monticola) Dusky Salamander, Apalachicola (Desmognathus apalachicolae) Dusky Salamander, Southern (Desmognathus auriculatus) Dusky Salamander, Spotted (Desmognathus conanti) Ocoee Salamander (Desmognathus ocoee) Seepage Salamander (Desmognathus aeneus) Shovel-nosed Salamander (Desmognathus marmoratus) Desmogs are a group of stream-dwelling salamanders that all look pretty much alike; brown or black with occasionally some different markings. I see a Desmog and I don't bother to ID it, though I want to change this. Desmogs do best with a stream tank. They're highly aquatic, though you can find them a bit from the water. If you go to any clean stream, especially a clean mountain stream, you will find Desmogs if you flip enough rocks. Some places are better than others, though. You can find a species of Desmognathus pretty much anywhere in the eastern US, with a few of the northern midwest states missing out. Four-Toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum) Hemis are neat. They're found in sphagnum bogs, though they wander outside of them a bit outside the breeding season. The female will lay eggs in the mats, sometimes communal, and then they'll generally guard them until they hatch. The larvae then drop into the water and live there for a few months before transforming into TINY little metamorphs. I'd like to try raising some eggs this year again, but the babies are just so tiny and need tiny food. The adults are neat, though, but they easily lose their tails as a defense mechanism. All in all, they're an interesting animal, they're small, and really kinda pretty. You can find them in the northern part of the state, minus the mountainous areas, so long as you can find good sphagnum habitat. Green Salamander (Aneides aeneus) Green salamanders belong to the Aneides, the arboreal or climbing salamanders. Greens are generally state protected, and found only on cliff-sides. They'd work well for a cave tank, but they're protected and difficult to find. They're found in extreme NE GA. Many-Lined Salamander (Stereochilus marginatus) Stereos are neat; they're facultative neotenes, meaning they sometimes keep their gills, but not always. They're found where you find sirens, 'umas, and other aquatics. Neat animals, but they require specific water quality conditions, so they're difficult to keep in captivity. They're found in SE GA along the coastal plane. Cave Salamander (Eurycea lucifuga) Long Tailed Salamander (Eurycea longicauda) Three-Lined Salamander (Eurycea guttolineata) Two-Lined Salamander (Eurycea bislineata) Dwarf Salamanders (Eurycea quadridigitata) Dwarf salamander (Eurycea chamberlini?) Eurycea are generally stream dwelling salamanders. I break them into two groups; the long bodied Eurycea, and the shorter bodied. And things like the various obligate cave Eurycea, but those aren't on the list. The long-bodied Eurycea are all good for a cave tank. You'll find all three at the entrances to caves, or also around cave streams and the forests around caves, and longicauda and guttolineata are common where there are no caves at all. Lucies can be found further into the caves. In Arkansas, at the opening to the cave we would find longicauda and lucifuga near the entrance, and then after a fifty yards or so in, it was just lucifuga. For another hundred yards, we saw lucifuga, but then we started finding more and more Eurycea spelaea, which are obligate cave dwellers, the grotto salamanders, and they're completely awesome. You can find guttolineata everywhere in GA except for the SE part (though I don't buy that; my map must be off because I've found them in central Florida, and they're not listed anywhere NEAR that area.) Longicauda and lucifuga are all in the far NW part of the state in the mountains. The smaller Eurycea are more stream-going. They're all pretty similar, except for size; the dwarfs are, well, smaller. I added chamberlini to the list, since they may occur in GA. They're a new species that was recently discovered, and ironically, one of the few places they've been identified is on the campus where I do herp stuff out of. Cirrigera is found throughout the state (and most of the SE; with bislineata in the NE), and quads can be found in southern GA. Oh, just thought I'd mention, Eurycea can jump. Some of the others can too, but especially Eurycea. They're neat, have a projectile tongue (not far), and are just kinda cool little guys. Slimy Salamanders (Plethedon glutinosus) Jordon’s Salamanders (Plethedon jordoni) Pigeon Mountain Salamander (Plethedon petraeus) Red-Backed Salamander, Southern (Plethedon serratus) Webster’s Salamander (Plethedon websteri) Zigzag Salamander, Southern (Plethedon ventralis) The Plethodons. These are entirely terrestrial salamanders, and have no larval stage. You could *probably* keep any of them in a cave tank, though they won't be as good as the larger Eurycea; they're more of a forest group in general, though they're ALSO highly associated with mountains. They need humidity, though. They're the most abundant group of salamanders, completely lack lungs (all oxygen through skin), and they're the only group of salamanders to penetrate into the tropics. There are also a lot of species that are only found on one or two mountain-tops; you'll get a mountain with a low altitude species and a high altitude species, and then the next mountain will typically have another high altitude species, etc. You tend to some of them at the openings of caves, but mostly under rocks and logs in forests. I've found some in cliff faces; in areas, Aneides are found high up, while Plethodons and Eurycea (and sometimes Desmogs) are on lower areas. You probably have a couple species of glutinosis all over the state; they all look pretty much alike. They can excrete a really sticky slime that is a huge pain to get out. Jordani are basically black slimy salamanders with no spots, but in some areas they can be really neat looking; red checks, red legs, or both. They're in extreme NE GA, and I found some today (just black ones, none of the really pretty red and black ones). Plethedon petraeus is protected, only found in two spots separated by 7.5 miles in NW GA and nowhere else. Plethedon serratus, websteri, and ventralis are small, southern red-backed salamanders. Serratus can be found in the NW quarter of the state, websteri in the middle NW part, and ventralis was described in 1997 so I have no idea where; probably NW. Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber) Mud Salamander (Pseudotriton montanus) Pseudotriton are neat. They're large red salamanders, commonly associated with mountain streams, with muds, well, occurring more in mud. Muds are more fossorial and are far less frequently encountered, while reds can be found either aquatic or terrestrially. Search rocks and logs near and in streams, as well as leaves alongside streams. Larvae can be frequently encountered. Ruber can be found (three subspecies) in the northern part of the state, with some areas in the south having them; they're probably in your area, or near it. Montanus can be found everywhere except some areas of the NW part of the state, but they're difficult to find and worth getting excited over; I haven't found one yet. Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) Cave Salamander, Tennessee (Gyrinophilus palleucus) Gyrinophilus are spring salamanders, and are neat. They're associated with clean mountain streams, and are found under rocks and logs generally. They're fairly large and fast swimmers. Palleucus is an obligate neotene, and is generally found in caves. They're not really found in GA and are (federally?) protected. Extreme NW GA. Porphyriticus are found in the NW third of the state, and I found my first one today and was very excited. They're a near orange/red color, and are easily identifiable with their nasolabial grooves in in their snouts. Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum) Mole Salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum) Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma cingulatum) Almost skipped the Ambystoma, had to edit them in; hopefully I didn't miss anyone else. Ambystoma are one of my favorite groups. They're the mole salamanders, and have two lifestyles. You've got the terrestrial ones, which breed in the water and then spend most of the rest of their life underground (though you can occasionally find adults under logs in parts of the year, and juveniles frequently under logs in the late summer/fall.) And then you have the neotenes, which stay aquatic and retain their gills. Sometimes, the same species (or population) will have both life-styles, with gills and terrestrial adults. Marbled salamanders are common, and they're fall breeders. They lay their eggs on dry land, and wait for them to fill up with water, guarding them often until they hatch. You'll have them in everywhere, except a section of the SE, more towards the south. The others breed in the spring, mating and laying eggs in the water. Mole salamanders have neotenic and terrestrial populations (I breed them in my backyard and sell the transformed juveniles), and can be found in SE GA, as well as some random places in the NW. Spotteds are found throughout the state, minus the southern fifth and a section of the SE, with one outlier near the coast. Tigers are found throughout the southern part of the state, but are probably uncommon. They sometimes like drier areas, with ponds nearby. Tigers may have neotenic populations, but I don't think they're common, like they are in the western species. Cingulatum are federally endangered and found basically in the parts of the state where spotteds aren't. They like flatwoods, and I'm guessing they'll go extinct in our lifetime; chytrid, drought, development, and other issues are wiping them out, and they're extremely uncommon throughout their range. Newt, Eastern (Notophthalmus viridescens) Newt, Striped (Notophthalmus perstriatus) Two newts in GA. Viridescens is found throughout the state, with v. louisianensis in the NW half, and v. viridescens in the SE. Do well in captivity, are mainly aquatic but have a terrestrial stage. You'll find them in shallow, permanent (or mostly permanent) water with surrounding forests, though the shallow isn't a requirement. We found them today in a fairly deep lake (30 feet?) and they've been found deeper in the wild. We found them near the shore (since we can see there). Perstriatus is protected in GA. They're pretty neat, but they're mostly just like viridescens, minus appearance (they have a stripe and are shaded a bit differently) and they're more touchy. SE part of the state. Blind Salamander, Georgia (Haideotriton wallacei) Protected salamander, found in the extreme SW part of the state. Only in caves, permanently aquatic, with no eyes. My friend saw one cave diving once and didn't even appreciate how awesome it was. Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) Benders of course, are awesome. Protected, only in a few areas in the far north of the state. Waterdog, Alabama (Necturus beyeri) Waterdog, Dwarf (Necturus punctatus) Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) You've got a couple species of mudpuppy, but I'm not up to date on what's what; there was cf. beyeri, and albamensis was all confused, and I'm just not sure what's what, so I'll go with beyeri (though I think it's c.f. beyeri instead). Mudpuppies are large, permanently gilled, aquatic salamanders. They live in small to medium sized rivers, as well as lakes and some ponds. They're awesome and also the best group of salamander; this is a scientific fact and not just my opinion. You've got maculosus in the extreme north; they're probably fairly uncommon, though, since it's the edge of their range. Beyeri/alabamensis/c.f. beyeri are in the western part of the state in a fairly narrow strip. Both of these will be mostly in rivers, under rocks and other cover objects. Check nice areas with 2-3 feet of water and tons of rocks. Punctatus are a little different; they're the smallest Necturus, and are in smaller streams, typically found in leaf packs or mud rather than rocks. They're quite cute, and found in the SE part of the state, minus a section of the south. You probably have them near you; with a good dip net and a good spot (takes a bit to find), you can find a bunch in an hour or so. It's a complete blast, too; you can also find sirens, stereos, and umas in these sites, along with Eurycea guttolineata and bislineata and Desmogs. Siren, Northern Dwarf (Pseudobranchus striatus) Siren, Greater (Siren lacertian) Siren, Lesser (Siren intermedia) And finally, we have the sirens. Sirens were once considered a separate order of amphibians. They're the farthest related to other salamanders as well. They are very different; they don't have hind legs or even the hip bones for rear legs, and they have keratinized beak-like structures in their mouths. They have lungs and they can aestivate for months; if the pond dries up, they form a cocoon and curl up and conserve moisture in the mud under the lake, emerging when the water returns. Studies have found that greater sirens can survive for over five years like this, only dying of starvation. All three are found in the SE and SW parts of the state. Dipnet leaf-packs like you would for 'umas and dwarf waterdogs, set trap arrays (minnow traps or other setups), or get lucky shining with a flashlight. Check ditches, streams, etc. The P. striatus are far less common, and are more associated with cypress pools I believe. TLDR- For a cave tank, Eurycea guttolineata should be near your area and would do well. In the far NW, you have longicauda and lucifuga, which are very attractive salamanders, and they'd do well. Some of the Plethodons might work, particularly glutinosus, though they won't use the cave much, I don't think; they don't climb quite like Eurycea do. So Eurycea are the best choice; especially lucies or longicauda. Outside of your range, the western Aneides. They're arboreal salamanders, and well, they climb. You might have an interesting take for Plethodons if you make it a multi-layered tank with a cliff, rather than a cave, with two flat areas and a cliff separating them. You'd get different microhabitats, and any of the Plethodons would do well in that; they wouldn't need the cliff, but it'd look nice, and any recesses in the cliff would provide hides. You'd probably need a larger tank for this, though. Two animals would work for a 10-15. Maybe one or two more in a 20-30; they can get territorial, so you'd need several good hiding spots per animal. So yeah, that was far more than you asked (or wanted) but I am a salamander nerd. If anyone else wants a rundown of their species in their area, I can find a species list and talk a bit about anything you don't have here, or a basic where/how to find certain groups. And if anyone wants specific care on a specific species, I can give you any advice I might have, direct you to caresheets if they exist, or whatever else. Salamanders are neat and under appreciated, especially our US natives, and I'd be completely thrilled if someone managed to breed any; I know a lot of species probably can be bred in captivity, but no one ever tries because there's no money or demand for it, unfortunately. I'll post some photos from my trip tomorrow, after I've had some time to relax and resize them, etc. OneTwentySix fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Mar 4, 2012 |
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Mar 4, 2012 04:00
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OneTwentySix posted:
I'm digging the lucifuga. I checked out caudata and saw a tank that I'd really like to try, it's Otterwoman's pic http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...-enclosure.html My questions are this, temps in the room I'd like to set this up in can swing from 60 to 80 degrees, can lucifuga tolerate that? How tolerant of water quality are they? How aquatic are they? When I first started thinking about this project, I envisioned a mostly aquatic animal that would occasionally venture up onto the rocks, but this isn't really a big deal.
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Mar 4, 2012 05:29
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That's a pretty cool photo; something like that would work really well for almost any of the lungless salamanders (Plethodon, Eurycea, Desmogs, Pseudotriton, etc). It would be best for the last three groups, though, since Plethodon don't need or use water. Kinda funny to see one of my threads pop up in this thread. Taherman from that thread is a zookeeper at the Toledo zoo, and he's bred a number of Desmogs and Plethodons there, so those enclosures work. Lucifuga would do really well in a tank like that. Lucifuga are more terrestrial than aquatic, from my experience, though. They don't even need water outside of breeding; they've been found over a kilometer from the nearest cave or spring, but at least a waterbowl is good for captivity since things can go wrong otherwise. When I've found them, they've been in caves near water but not in it; the caves had water running through them in Arkansas, but in the one in Alabama, there wasn't water in the cave itself; it was just a huge opening full of rocks, with a pool of water in front of the cave. They were under some damp rocks, and some where quite a ways from the watered area; though the cave was very humid. So lucifuga would be a most terrestrial animal that would frequently venture into the water; if you had a group of five, you'd probably have one of them in the water at any moment, depending on how it's set up/individual preferences. I'm not sure how they'd do in 80 degree temperatures. I would guess they'd be okay for a little bit; if you can install something like a computer fan with screening that they do with dart frogs, that would help things a lot. If I were to guess, I would say they would be okay in the low 80s. Terrestrial salamanders typically tolerate heat better (a cold-blooded animal can radiate heat easier on land than in water), and they are a southern genus; it's going to be hot under the logs in the woods. Caves will be in the 50s to 60s, though, so they'd escape the heat there. I wouldn't risk it for more than 80-82, though, but my best guess is they'd be okay for a little while. As far as water quality, it needs to be pretty clean. A filter attached to the water source would be needed, but something weak. If the water is bad, they just won't go in it, though, which isn't horrible, but defeats the whole purpose of it. Finding lucifuga isn't hard if you're in their range and know where caves might be; when I went to Alabama, I asked my cousin's husband where there might be caves near streams, and the first cave we went to, we found them. We found them in the next cave, too. That was a fun trip, though the Arkansas caving trip was the best. They're my favorite Plethodontid, though, and one of my favorite salamanders. They climb really well, though, so the lid needs to be completely secure. Feed them small insects (around half an inch or so), pieces of worms, waxworms, phoenix worms, house flies, crickets, etc. They do well, and people have bred them, though it's not common at all; Tim posted that pdf on their breeding, which might be of interest, and I think I have a translated german article somewhere, too. Desmognathus and the smaller Eurycea would be more aquatic and would rest on the rocks, but might occasionally hunt on land, if that was what you were aiming for. But in any event, if you went with the tank in that thread, you could put a lot of species in something like that. And as Taherman mentioned, his glutinosis did eventually lay eggs in that tank. He's also bred some Desmogs, so they were probably kept pretty similarly, with a bit more water, possibly. That tank is probably several feet wide, though; I don't think the perspective shows anything for scale.
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Mar 4, 2012 06:08
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In my neighborhood, about once or twice a year, I have to rescue a ribbon snake from cat attack, or almost baking to death when trying to cross a road in the summer. I give them about two or three weeks indoors to heal up, feed em on big fat bait nightcrawlers, then let them back into the wild. This weekend, must've been the warmer day driving it out and about, I wrested one from a neighborhood cat's jaws. It was unfortunately too shredded up by the cat and died overnight despite my efforts. I'm not really writing to depress the poo poo out of you guys but it actually got me wondering about a question I've had but never managed to ask anyone. Can Neosporin be used on a wounded reptile? I've successfully fixed up two battered ribbon snakes in the past by just diligently peroxiding / rinsing until the wound or burn closed up, but I'm wondering if an antibacterial salve may help better.
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Mar 5, 2012 19:45
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We've used it to no ill effect on a bunch of wild snakes. :X That and using diluted chlorhexadine.
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Mar 5, 2012 23:53
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Malalol posted:We've used it to no ill effect on a bunch of wild snakes. :X That and using diluted chlorhexadine. I've used diluted iodine with success several times as well.
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Mar 6, 2012 00:15
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My vet told me to use it on a busted up turtle I found one time, and he got all better so I would say yes.
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Mar 6, 2012 04:17
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Yeah, I would feel comfortable using it on most reptiles. Just no amphibians.
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Mar 7, 2012 04:39
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