Habitat of the Tiger Salamander

Video Transcript

"Even though tiger salamanders get fairly large, they don't need a huge enclosure. They're not a very active species like lizards, which are reptiles, which actively run around and forge for food. These guys are pretty sedentary. They don't move around a lot, so you don't need a large enclosure for them. You can keep one tiger salamander in a 10 gallon tank, 2 tiger salamanders in about a 20 gallon tank, or equivalent to a 20 gallon tank. Here I have him setup in an 18 by 18 terrarium. That's probably more than enough room for 2 tiger salamanders. Now, when they're smaller, you can use smaller containers such as this. This is just a little storage box. In here I have some metamorphs, which are actually newly emerged newts. These are crocodile newts that just emerged from the water not too long ago. It's a very easy simple setup. All I have is a paper towel on the bottom, which I dampen. I don't fill a lot of water in here. I put some cork bark in here so they have places to hide. Cork bark also helps retain the humidity. Holes on the side. You don't need a lot of ventilation, but you do need a little ventilation. You can just take a hot nail. Warm it up underneath the flame and poke it through that way you don't crack the plastic if you were to drill holes in it. Make sure you have a secure lid. This will also help retain the humidity. As these guys get larger, of course you'll need to move them into a larger container or a larger enclosure."