# Other Animals > Other Amphibians >  Major over haul needed for salamander terrarium. Conflicting information incoming.

## SweetApples

Recently I was at a reptile show. When one of the venders asked what kind of reptiles I was keeping, I said "none" and I mentioned my salamanders. This leads to the vender advises me that my temps for my salamanders are all wrong and they will starve slowly starve to death in my setup. Naturally I am very alarmed and concerned to hear this, I'm trying to raise these to adulthood not kill them off.  I was told that my salamanders being kept at 60F room temps are too warm to hibernate and too cold to eat and function normally. So I bought them a heater, came home and started to check around again concerning heating, only to find information that says don't heat a spotted salamander terrarium. AGGGHHHH!!. '

I did a head count recently on my salamanders when I moved them a couple of days ago and all land salamanders were accounted for( their mortality rates seem to drop once they get on land as none of my land salamanders have died so far). I'm thinking what to do?. Don't fix what isn't broke?. But the thought of them slowly starving is worrisome and I limit handling them and since they normally hide, it can be difficult to monitor them as much as my fish. 

I was also told they need a special reptile bulb for a light /day cycle. So I bought them a special reptile bulb. OK, so I figure this can't hurt if I'm wrong and if it ends up they don't need it, I can use it for my crested geckos. Of course I am also trying to raise crickets to feed my salamanders  and failing miserably at this. I got a crucial piece of information from Petco, the crickets sold in stores are all tropical species and that's why they need so much heat. So now I need a heat lamp so my crickets can breed. And here I was trying to save money by breeding crickets instead of buying more at the store. 
 I swear I'm now spending more money on my salamander setup then my new cresties here. 

In the meantime I've turned up the house thermostat for all of the critters here who seem to need more heat then expected and what happens?, it gets colder in here. I've even concerned for the  new baby cresties who are supposed to thrive at room temps, when my room temps are now 55- 60 F. 
I was so very temped to buy a cane toad at the reptile show, but I'm glad I didn't because I am keeping busy problem solving  and spending a lot of money on my current two herp setups here. Maybe a cane toad will be "in the cards" for next time. I will also need a larger terrarium, since I don't have proper housing for an adult cane toad, could only house a small one. 

Ok, so I most tempted at the cane toads, luckily my favorite frogs were not for sale there at all( temperate species). Granted I did enjoy seeing a grey tree frog setup!. Sorry to say, tropical frogs are cute, but I tend to see them as substitutes for the frogs I prefer.  It happens, I am more attracted to some species then others. 
In the case of frogs, the temperate species are the ones I used to keep temp as a child. 
 I'm working on a couple different insect cultures, including culturing a steady supply of fruit flies so maybe I work towards having grey tree frogs :Smile: . I've been hesitate to bring in critters who rely on live foods  to survive when I have live food cultures "crash" on me. Thus why cane toads are an attractive choice.

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## Heather

> Recently I was at a reptile show. When one of the venders asked what kind of reptiles I was keeping, I said "none" and I mentioned my salamanders. This leads to the vender advises me that my temps for my salamanders are all wrong and they will starve slowly starve to death in my setup. Naturally I am very alarmed and concerned to hear this, I'm trying to raise these to adulthood not kill them off.  I was told that my salamanders being kept at 60F room temps are too warm to hibernate and too cold to eat and function normally. So I bought them a heater, came home and started to check around again concerning heating, only to find information that says don't heat a spotted salamander terrarium. AGGGHHHH!!. '
> 
> I did a head count recently on my salamanders when I moved them a couple of days ago and all land salamanders were accounted for( their mortality rates seem to drop once they get on land as none of my land salamanders have died so far). I'm thinking what to do?. Don't fix what isn't broke?. But the thought of them slowly starving is worrisome and I limit handling them and since they normally hide, it can be difficult to monitor them as much as my fish. 
> 
> I was also told they need a special reptile bulb for a light /day cycle. So I bought them a special reptile bulb. OK, so I figure this can't hurt if I'm wrong and if it ends up they don't need it, I can use it for my crested geckos. Of course I am also trying to raise crickets to feed my salamanders  and failing miserably at this. I got a crucial piece of information from Petco, the crickets sold in stores are all tropical species and that's why they need so much heat. So now I need a heat lamp so my crickets can breed. And here I was trying to save money by breeding crickets instead of buying more at the store. 
>  I swear I'm now spending more money on my salamander setup then my new cresties here. 
> 
> In the meantime I've turned up the house thermostat for all of the critters here who seem to need more heat then expected and what happens?, it gets colder in here. I've even concerned for the  new baby cresties who are supposed to thrive at room temps, when my room temps are now 55- 60 F. 
> I was so very temped to buy a cane toad at the reptile show, but I'm glad I didn't because I am keeping busy problem solving  and spending a lot of money on my current two herp setups here. Maybe a cane toad will be "in the cards" for next time. I will also need a larger terrarium, since I don't have proper housing for an adult cane toad, could only house a small one. 
> ...


Welcome, Sweetapples. Lets take a look at each question separately.

All animals that hibernate naturally will want to do so as the temperatures drop and barometric pressures change. If your tank temperatures ranges fall below the recommended ranges, your salamanders may start to prepare for hibernation. Cooler temps also slow down their metabolism so they will process or digest their food slower and become less hungry. Their activity levels will also decrease. The goal is to keep them at the recommended temperatures, unless you know how to safely allow a hibernation season. Keep in mind that many salamander and newt species prefer cooler temps. You just have to learn the proper temp ranges for the particular species you have.

To heat a tank you can use side-wall heat pads called under tank heaters (do not place on the underside of the tank though, place on a side wall to prevent animal burns and cracking of the glass) or some lamps with dimmer switches in which you can use ceramic heater bulbs, inflated heat bulbs, or black light heat bulbs. During the day you can use regular white heat bulbs or UVB bulbs, depending on the needs of your salamander species. Many salamander species do not need UVB light. I will add a caresheet below on this species needs. Be careful that the bulb wattages so they're not too hot. A dimmer dome lamp is recommended so you can turn down the heat as needed. Always have a thermometer at the level of the tank where the salamanders live. For tropical species, adding a heat source will dry the surrounds, so misting the tank more often may be needed to keep accurate humidity levels. 

Here is an article by our good friend, Frank, who is an awesome herpetologist. He is very well educated with amphibian and reptile species. 
http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatre...tivity-part-1/

My recommendations on the cane toads are that you should first get all husbandry needs and tank settings (temp and humidity) accurate for your salamanders and geckos. Once you are sure their different tanks are good, then you could consider another animal  :Smile: . You don't want to get yourself into a whirlwind of issues at the same time that will stress you out. One animal species and tank needs at a time. Once you master one, then you may add another tank  :Smile: . 

Another great forum for salamander and newt species is www.caudata.org, in case you need further care information or have questions. A few of us have had salamanders also, but Caudata is dedicated to such animals  :Smile: . 

Let us know how things work out for your sallies  :Smile: .

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## carsona246

I'm not sure what kind of salamanders you are keeping, but many like it cool.  I've kept axolotls before, and 60f was not too cold for them at all.  Axolotls certainly do not need uv lighting, but I'm not familiar with terrestrial salmanders

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## Heather

Here is the data provides by Frank about temperatures for spotted salamanders...

"Light, Heat and Humidity
Spotted salamanders favor cool temperatures, retreating far below-ground during the summer months.  They do best at 60-70 F, and are stressed by temperatures over 76 F.  Cool basements make ideal sites for their terrariums, especially during the summer months.  My own basement maintains an air temperature of 50-54 F in the winter, during which time the salamanders continue to feed.  The drop in temperature is good for their health, and helps to maintain normal activity patterns and to spur breeding."

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## SweetApples

Which contradicts the info I just got at the reptile show. I guess if I could warm their tank up to 70F, then I'd be following both of their advice. Conflicting advice is quite a problem for me, especially when dealing with a less commonly kept critter. 

BTW, the type of heater I got for the salamanders is a type meant be kept inside a terrarium.  It's called humidaheat.  When I was reading the directions, I figured out that the substrate needs to be in layers and  it needs to be placed partly into some kind of specialized clay based substrate to draw out water at the bottom. 
So I ordered some of that specialized clay substrate for the humidaheat heater. I also have a so called dimmable heating lamp on order, but it was supposed to be for the geckos. 

It's ironic that I wanted to avoid heating terrariums so I choose species that would thrive in more temperate climates and now I'm finding it's even more difficult to do a low heat terrarium then a typical tropical one as there's less margin for error.

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## NatureLady

Hi Sweetapples. 

Heather had referenced Frank. Frank is a guru to say the least. I do not know who you spoke to at the show, but I can speak from my own experience and say that just because they are selling at a reptile show does NOT make them an expert. I would be leary of taking his advice over true scientific know how when it comes to animal husbandy like Frank's know how. Here is the same articel that Heather referenced...

The Spotted Salamander, Ambystoma maculatum, â Care in Captivity - Part 1 | That Reptile Blog

I personally keep a marbled sal and have kept tiger sals before as well. I do not have a heater nor do I have any special lighting...just a regualar old aquarium light with a low output bulb. I would use the above care sheet and go with that...forget what others say and follow the man who is an expert! I would also say NO to the heater. Sal's burrow to avoid heat so putting that in the substrate is not going to help their natural insticts. 

I also keep crested geckos and I have NO heater for them either. My house never drops below 68*F and if it did I would place a room heater in the "Frog Room" before I heater either of these mentioned tanks.

Raising food...try raising dubia roaches. They are much easier to raise then crickets and they stink way less. That is my main staple and crickets are a treat.

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## NatureLady

> Hi Sweetapples. 
> 
> Heather had referenced Frank. Frank is a guru to say the least. I do not know who you spoke to at the show, but I can speak from my own experience and say that just because they are selling at a reptile show does NOT make them an expert. I would be leary of taking his advice over true scientific know how when it comes to animal husbandy like Frank's know how. Here is the same articel that Heather referenced...
> 
> The Spotted Salamander, Ambystoma maculatum, â€“ Care in Captivity - Part 1 | That Reptile Blog
> 
> I personally keep a marbled sal and have kept tiger sals before as well. I do not have a heater nor do I have any special lighting...just a regualar old aquarium light with a low output bulb. I would use the above care sheet and go with that...forget what others say and follow the man who is an expert! I would also say NO to the heater. Sal's burrow to avoid heat so putting that in the substrate is not going to help their natural insticts. 
> 
> I also keep crested geckos and I have NO heater for them either. My house never drops below 68*F and if it did I would place a room heater in the "Frog Room" before I heater either of these mentioned tanks.
> ...


Egads! Sorry about the massive amount of typos! I am at work and don't time to fix them. lol

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## Heather

Thanks Amanda! I knew someone would know  :Smile: . 

We never heated our red-spotted newts either.

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## SweetApples

Problem with my cresties is their temp is going between 55-60F. So when I read that babies are more sensitive to temps, I was concerned they would be too cold.

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## NatureLady

> Problem with my cresties is their temp is going between 55-60F. So when I read that babies are more sensitive to temps, I was concerned they would be too cold.


Yeah they should not go below 60 and preferably not below 65 in the day time. If you already have the soil heater...put it in the gecko tank!!! Or do a UTH on the back glass of their tank.

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## SweetApples

I have two of the soil heaters, since I thought I'd heat the gecko tank and the salamander tank. Then when I couldn't figure out the soil type heaters, I bought another heater( ceramic type) for the geckos. Then I ended up moving the geckos into my bathroom and figured out the temps there are warm enough for them at 65-70F. I did not realize the bathroom was warmer then the bedroom or I would have put them there in the first place. So I'm not doing very well with equipment purchases, but when you have some new geckos as newbies and reason that they'll die without proper temps, you end up with some not so good planning. But that's alright, I will be moving the geckos into the basement fish room later when they are larger and then they could use a heater again. It's OK, I can use one of the heaters for future potential critters. 
If I wanted to, I would be setup for a critter that eats  crickets , likes some heat and can live in 20-29 gal tank.

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## NatureLady

If only you knew the amount of stuff I have that I do not use. I have once...some of it only once. We all learn as we go!!!

It is great that you found a warm spot in the house! The bathroom is one of the few rooms in my house that does not have a tank in it. lol

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## Ashley

When I had yellow spotted salamander's, I used to keep them in the bathroom during the winter because it was the most humid room!

Don't sweat the sallies.  They are the easiest critters I have ever cared for.  Just give them deep moist soil (I use eco earth) to burrow in.  Feed them and they are happy.

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