# spotted salamander eggs (I think)? HELP!



## BugLover (May 1, 2013)

So the last few days I have been in PA and the last day we were there I found these eggs that I brought home and I think they are spotted salamander eggs off of this page (see the fourth picture) : http://npsgnmp.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/amphibians-then-and-now/

The eggs are clear with the salamander tadpoles in there. I have the eggs in a 15 gallon fish tank and they look like they are growing. My question is, Has anybody ever cared for these and can someone give me some care guidelines? I have had frog tadpoles before, but never salamander tadpoles. will they eat fish flakes as tadpoles? fruitflies when they're out of the water? can they live with fish or will the fish be eaten? any advice is needed!


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## Rick (May 1, 2013)

The larvae are carnivorous and eat small inverts. They can also be cannibalistic. Probably best to leave them in their natural habitat.


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## BugLover (May 1, 2013)

Rick said:


> The larvae are carnivorous and eat small inverts. They can also be cannibalistic. Probably best to leave them in their natural habitat.


I'm afraid I can't do that, The eggs are already 4 hours away from where I found them. Since I've gotten them home, how should I care for them? There were plenty of other egg clumps there, so I am guessing I didn't mess up the population too much.


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## Rick (May 1, 2013)

BugLover said:


> I'm afraid I can't do that, The eggs are already 4 hours away from where I found them. Since I've gotten them home, how should I care for them? There were plenty of other egg clumps there, so I am guessing I didn't mess up the population too much.


Well they need inverts as food. I have never kept them in captivity so not sure if they will take anything else.

Here is an informative website. Scroll down for more info on larva feeding:

http://www.uri.edu/cels/nrs/paton/LH_spotted_sal.html


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## BugLover (May 1, 2013)

Would they eat dried bloodworms (made for fish) or fruitflies dumped in the water? I have slugs and "roly polies" in my backyard, but I don't know where I would get the inverts they eat  Any ideas on where I would get them or how I would find them?


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## Rick (May 2, 2013)

The link I sent said they feed on zooplankton when they are small. You would need to get some pond water for that.


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## BugLover (May 2, 2013)

Ok! I will be going to a park later today, so I should be able to get some.


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## BugLover (May 2, 2013)

Ok I got creek water (hopefully that has zooplankton?) and put it in the tank. Do they need a place to go above the water or do they only need that when they're bigger?


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## Rick (May 3, 2013)

BugLover said:


> Ok I got creek water (hopefully that has zooplankton?) and put it in the tank. Do they need a place to go above the water or do they only need that when they're bigger?


I don't think they do since they have external gills. But they would eventually so I'd add something where they can at least support themselves close to the surface. I've never kept them personally so I am just going off of what I know about them.


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## agent A (May 3, 2013)

i've reared young axolotl larvae and here's what i recommend u do

get some aquarium salt, brine shrimp eggs, an air bubbler (i have a smallish one that will work if u want it), algae wafers. and a medium (3-5 gallon) container

fill the container~3/4 of the way with cool tap water

put like a third of a cup aquarium salt per gallon in the water

mix well, put in the air bubbler (no airstone, just the tube) and put it on

add like half a teaspoon brine shrimp eggs and a very tiny, crushed piece of an algae wafer (litterally just a chip of one)

every day, turn the bubbler off (unplug it) for 30 minutes and in 3 days, darken the room and use a flashlight to attract brine shrimp to the light

then collect with a turkey baster, put into a tupperware half filled with spring water to dilute the salt, draw them back to the light and transfer them with the babies

add more eggs to the shrimp thing each day to keep food constant and each week add a bit more algae wafer

if the eggs r already hatched u better set this up ASAP


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## BugLover (May 3, 2013)

Ok thanks! @ agent A, I have an air bubbler and airstone, but the only small "tank" I have is a tiny cricket keeper from petco, would that work? It's not even 1 gallon. Also I have some eggs from some diving beetles, would the larva from that work? The only brine shrimp eggs I can find are on ebay, so it would have to ship. How many eggs should I get (in grams)? . Sorry for all the questions, I want to make sure I get all/most of this right.


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## agent A (May 3, 2013)

dont use an air stone for the brineys

here r the things i use:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010P0ZJK/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000255SXC/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006344U8/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1


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## BugLover (May 7, 2013)

Ok I need emergency food ideas. The eggs are hatching ( ^_^ ) and all I have is fruitflies, fish flakes, and some creekwater (for the zooplankton)( :helpsmilie: ). Would the babies be able to eat those until the brine shrimp eggs get here? the fruitflies look too big for them to me, and I don't know if they've eaten the zooplankton if there was any in the creek water. Also do they eat their eggshells? I read somewhere that they eat their eggshells before they start eating other foods.


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## agent A (May 7, 2013)

Try ff larvae


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## BugLover (May 7, 2013)

How would I get those? aren't the larva in the ff media? I would think all the ff's would get out... If I can think of a way to get to them I will try them


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## agent A (May 7, 2013)

BugLover said:


> How would I get those? aren't the larva in the ff media? I would think all the ff's would get out... If I can think of a way to get to them I will try them


dump out the adults first then use a pin to scoop larvae off the walls of the cup


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## BugLover (May 8, 2013)

agent A said:


> dump out the adults first then use a pin to scoop larvae off the walls of the cup


Ok thanks!


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## BugLover (May 9, 2013)

Thanks for all the help everyone! The salamanders seem to be doing much better, and some eggs are still hatching. I will probably have more questions about them once they start growing more  

One question: once you put zooplankton/pondwater in the tank, do you need to keep adding more or will the zooplankton reproduce?


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## agent A (May 9, 2013)

They'lll likely be eaten too fast to reproduce


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## BugLover (May 9, 2013)

Ok thanks! would they reproduce in an empty tank with algae?


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## agent A (May 9, 2013)

BugLover said:


> Ok thanks! would they reproduce in an empty tank with algae?


Oh yes! My toad tank is infested with dark brown daphnia right now amd they and the tads obliterated the algae


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## BugLover (May 9, 2013)

lol ok in that case I will be spending some time tonight/tomorrow collecting algae from my fish tanks...


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## agent A (May 9, 2013)

BugLover said:


> lol ok in that case I will be spending some time tonight/tomorrow collecting algae from my fish tanks...


Want some green water, algae wafers, and daphnia?


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## brancsikia339 (May 9, 2013)

They'll eat bloodworms. I have some right now actually. Babies and adults


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## BugLover (May 10, 2013)

I tried the dry bloodworms the other day and the babies were too small for them :\ and @ agent A, my tanks have plenty of algae and I do have algae wafers, but I'm tight on money so I won't be buying for a while  I will probably be going to a pond again today to get more zooplankton (and maybe algae if I need some  ). I will tell you if I really need some, though


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## brancsikia339 (May 10, 2013)

Oh i guess my babies are a little older. I lost one to cannibalism


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## BugLover (May 11, 2013)

Yeah these babies just hatched a few days ago (and I think the developed ones might be eating the deformed ones) and some are still hatching o.o

How long does it normally take for them to develop? just so I know when I should add more land space for them


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## Rick (May 12, 2013)

BugLover said:


> Yeah these babies just hatched a few days ago (and I think the developed ones might be eating the deformed ones) and some are still hatching o.o
> 
> How long does it normally take for them to develop? just so I know when I should add more land space for them


I think that information was in one of the link I provided earlier.


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## jrh3 (May 12, 2013)

im curious bug lover , why would you take something from the wild when you have no idea how to care for them? what if you got them home and found later you couldnt care for them, then you have a 4 hour drive to return which wouldnt happen. no pun intended but i would be a good idea to know more about them rather taking them then asking for ideas on care. i wish you the best of luck with raising them, post pics when you can.


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## BugLover (May 12, 2013)

Yeah I wasn't thinking when I took the eggs home, and (lesson learned) I don't plan on taking anything else home (before doing LOADS research on whatever it is) I guess it was impulse... And yes hopefully when they're big enough to see easier on an awful camera I will be able to post pics


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## jrh3 (May 12, 2013)

BugLover said:


> Yeah I wasn't thinking when I took all the eggs home, and (lesson learned) I don't plan on taking anything else home, at least before doing research
> 
> And yes hopefully when they're big enough to see easier on an awful camera I will be able to post pics


I normally see a few salamanders each year,, there pretty cool, i leave them hoping the population will increase in my yard. I have been seeing more and more worm snakes lately. They are very small and neat, lol.


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## BugLover (May 12, 2013)

jrh3 said:


> I normally see a few salamanders each year,, there pretty cool, i leave them hoping the population will increase in my yard. I have been seeing more and more worm snakes lately. They are very small and neat, lol.


the only salamanders I've seen around here are redbacks, and I've only seen them at the state parks. A lot of the wildlife around here only seems to be inside the nature centers :\


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## BugLover (May 14, 2013)

Update on the baby salamanders:

they are growing (not much, but still growing) and now have some mottled brown on them. I should be able to take some pics later tonight/tomorrow, when I get batteries for my camera (it's not a very good camera). All of the eggs have hatched except for one, and the rest of the babies like to hide under the rocks and ornaments in the tank  They also have little things under their gills that look like antennae, could they be tiny legs?


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## Bugmankeith (Dec 13, 2014)

I fed my spotted salamander larva live blackworms, frozen bloodworms/daphnia/oxheart, and if I found it tiny earthworms. These salamanders are pigs the adults can get too obese from eating too much! Be warned they live 25+ years and burrow under soil for most of their lives.


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## Salmonsaladsandwich (Jun 24, 2015)

So long as they haven't been exposed to any other captive amphibians it should be fine to release them back into suitable habitat later on.


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## Mantis Man13 (Jul 6, 2015)

Hope everything goes well for you guys.


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