Is it possible to find suitable substrate, for salamander and newts, outdoors?

Question

Thinking cost of pet store products can be expensive. Or any suggestions for the cleanest habitat for tiger salamanders and how to divide substrate from water without using a water dish? And any suggestions on size of tank and suitable habitat for at least 10 or more fire bellied newts? Do fire bellied newts need a land and water area? The newts I do have live mainly in an aquatic setting. After morphing do newts need more water or land?

Answer 1

I wouldn't recommend most outside materials for use in terreria - there are too many bacteria and fungi you can introduce, especially with the moisture level that salamanders & newts need.

Your tiger salamander doesn't really require a water area (unless he's still larval, with gills). The only time they use water is for breeding. I have a marbled salamender (smaller, but similar requirements) set up in a 10 gallon tank. On the bottom I have aquarium gravel (and well-cleaned stones would do) up to where I can see about 1/4 inch of rock above the bottom trim. This is so I can keep a layer of water just below the level of the bedding to keep it moist and the tank humid. Over this I have a piece of fiverglass screen (like window screen) and top this off with about 3" of EcoEarth (or "Bed-a-Beast" depending on what it's called where you live) - this is a shredded coconut fiber that allows them to burrow, which is their natural behavior. I've gone months between sightings of my marbled, but everytime I clean her substrate (a few times a year I do a complete change), she's always there and annoyed that i took away her hiding spots. I've got some driftwood and a water dish for decoration. I add water to the dish so it overfills whenever I can no longer see water in the top part of the rock layer till its just below the level of the the screen again. I also have a reproducing colony of redworms in the bedding which is a natural food for the salamander.

The fire-bellied newts, on the other hand, will stay mostly aquatic, but should be given an area where they can get out of the water if they want. They don't like overcrowding and can get aggressive with their tankmates if too many are kept in too small of a space. I wouldn't even try less than a 30 gallon tank, but a 40 gallon breeder might be even better for the number you want to keep. They don't like a lot of water movement. You could add one of the floating turtle logs, or aquatic plants with floating leaves to make a natural-looking environment for them.

Answer 2

You can go use outside substrate, but it isn't a good idea because you need to go through an extensive hassle of treating it so you don't bring any outside parasites to your animals. It isn't worth the risk in my opinion. You can buy a piece of plexiglass the size you need to fit your tank and use tank sealer to put it in a ramp like angle and put the water on that one side. I think, not sure, think that newts should have both. I don't think the land area needs to be big, maybe half and half of the tank. Not sure about morph question. Tried to answer the ones I could.

Answer 3

You can use substrate from outdoors as long as you freeze it for a few days to kill any parasites and pick out the big dead bugs. Let it thaw before you put it in the cage. If you are using gravel for substrate, just pour the water in on top of the rocks. Make sure you have an elevated dry spot by piling more rocks on and a nice swimming area with a thin layer of rocks. Have hidey holes by using big plastic leaves (they are cleaner and just as good as real) to float on the water and some kind of cave on their dry area. Ten or more salamanders should have plenty of room to move around, but they don't need a whole lot of height to their cage. They should be able to move around without climbing over one another.

Answer 4

I don't keep amphibians, so info on tank size, etc. I'll pass on, but I do have some comments on substrate.

If you're gathering substrate from outdoors, you increase the chances of exposing your animals to bacteria/fungi/viruses that they have no immunity from. This doesn't even begin to touch on pesticides, fertilizers and other nasty things we put in the environment. Considering the fact (if the owner of the pet store I worked in was right) that handling a frog after smoking a cigarette will introduce nicotene into the frog's system and over time cause it's death, I wouldn't run any risks on putting "wild" substrate in with any amphibian.

As for dividing substrate from water and keeping environment clean, I've seen tank dividers that also have filteration systems that feed up through a little "river"... plastic divider with slots on the vertical part, fill with gravel, put whatever substrate on top of the gravel and turn it on. I can't remember what brand, but I don't remember them being too awfully expensive (my aunt got one a few years ago.)

Always better to spend a little more money and keep your animals healthy than to kill your pets because you want to save a bit of money...


Edited to add......
Freezing won't do anything to remove chemical pollutants, it may kill off bacteria and such, but even so.....

Answer 5

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