How to Care For and Feed Salamanders

If you like lizards and similar creatures, and are looking for a small pet that doesn't require a lot of your time and attention, salamanders might be just the companion for you. If you're like most people and you have a busy lifestyle, you'll be pleased to know that it doesn't require much to care for and feed salamanders.

Things You'll Need

• 10-15 gallon tank
• Sand or potting soil
• Plants
• Hiding places
• Insects for food
• Vitamin and mineral supplement
• Water dish
• Non-cholorinated water
• Tank heater

Instructions

1. Supply a humid, room-temperature environment for your salamanders. A 10- to 15-gallon tank filled with sand, potting soil or any substrate that will allow for burrowing will be sufficient.

2. Keep the tank humid. Place plants inside the tank to maintain humidity levels. Add bark or wood to allow places for salamanders to hide.

3. Feed your salamanders a diet of a variety of insects, such as wax-worms, earthworms, crickets or spiders. Give salamanders as much as they will eat at least twice per week.

4. Coat insects to be fed to adult salamanders with a vitamin and mineral supplement for reptiles. Add this supplement every three to four feedings. Feed young salamanders more often than adult ones.

5. Have a shallow dish filled with clean water available to salamanders at all time. Use bottled water or non-chlorinated water. Change the water daily.

6. Note any signs of stress or illness: not shedding old skin properly, bloating or emaciation, or dull and cloudy eyes. A salamander's skin should be clean and free of discoloration.

Tips & Warnings

• Feed salamanders store-bought insects rather than insects caught in your yard, as those caught in the wild may have been exposed to pesticides.

• Avoid overheating the tank. Keep temperature between 60 and 68 degrees F. Note signs of heat stress that include the salamanders circling the tank, or attempting to climb the walls of the tank.

• Add some moist moss to the salamanders' tank to retain humidity.

• Use a five percent bleach solution when cleaning a salamander's tank.

• Do not overhandle salamanders, as oils and salts from your skin may be harmful to the sensitive skin of these creatures, or possibly interrupt the secretion of their own oils.

• Do not use any harsh cleaning chemicals when cleaning your salamanders' tank, which should be done every three to four months.