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 #2166532


Posted5
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 I need help with fire salamanders

Does anyone know where i can buy fire salamanders for cheap or if ou are willing to let me adopt or buy yours.I want to buy 2 in order to breed them.So if anyone has info on a place to buy them onlin for cheap in america,because im not made of money,please tell me.It will be greatly appretiated and make my day,thanks!
08/01/10  11:29pm

 #2166603


Crotus
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   Message To: Posted5   In reference to Message Id: 2166532


 I need help with fire salamanders

I have bought them from reptilesncritters.com, and also from a place called swaneesexotics.com, located in Washington State... I find that they can be a little bit delicate, I experienced a definite learning curve and sadly lost a few... but eventually I realized that they need cool temperatures and high humidity, which can be achieved by keeping them on the floor in an air-conditioned room, giving them flat rocks and clumps of sheet moss to hide under, and misting the tank regularly with spring water. So with better knowledge now, the ones I have now are doing OK.
08/02/10  11:19am

 #2166607


Crotus
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   Message To: Crotus   In reference to Message Id: 2166603


 I need help with fire salamanders

Unfortunately I don’t know of any place where you can buy these cheaply, although I once got a deal on them for $25 each... they will have to be shipped overnight so you have to count on $40 for that... I have only 2 specimens myself right now and they are my favorites, so sorry... I myself don’t have any for sale or trade.

If you see them being offered anywhere at a low price, I would be interested too, so please let me know.
08/02/10  11:39am

 #2166617


Posted5
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   Message To: Crotus   In reference to Message Id: 2166607


 I need help with fire salamanders

thanks for your help and i saw a few italian fire salamander babies for like £9 or £12 but i dont know what "£" means.I think its for the UK and now i cant find the site again.But if I do,then i will tell you.Does anyone else know?
08/02/10  12:14pm

 #2166621


Crotus
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   Message To: Crotus   In reference to Message Id: 2166607


 I need help with fire salamanders

I want to show you some pictures of the fire salamanders in my collection -- I have a big one, which I think is a male, named Namor (after a certain Marvel Comics character). He is very fat and healthy but quite shy:




Also I have a baby one (named Nemo) that was born from a gravid female about 1 year ago, and I raised it from a larva to an adult (not yet sure if it’s a male or female):

I’ll post some pictures of it later because my computer is acting up... :-P





08/02/10  12:18pm

 #2166625


Posted5
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   Message To: Crotus   In reference to Message Id: 2166621


 I need help with fire salamanders

thanks,your salamander is quite pretty!I am wondering if they might be for sale at the sacramento reptile show because i see amphibians there all the time!
08/02/10  12:30pm

 #2166702


Crotus
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   Message To: Posted5   In reference to Message Id: 2166625


 I need help with fire salamanders

Here is my juvenile fire salamander, I named him (her?) Nemo when she was still an aquatic larva:






This one was born to an apparently pregnant female salamander that I received in a shipment a little over 1 year ago. It seems she had already had her litter, which can be 2 dozen or more, but there was one still left inside her! Unfortunately I later lost the mother salamander, she may have been too stressed or perhaps overheated, but I made it my special project to raise this little guy (girl?) and I feel almost as though it’s my own child!

Fire salamanders have a unique habit among salamanders of giving birth to live young instead of laying eggs, usually in the form of aquatic larvae but in some cases, as miniature adults... here is what this one looked like as an aquatic larva:








You can see it here in the process of transforming into a miniature adult; the whole process took just a little over 2 months. It was pretty awesome to observe. He (she) is now about 6 inches long (1 year later); it will probably grow to about 8" total length, which is the size of the large one.
08/02/10  04:52pm

 #2166723


Posted5
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   Message To: Crotus   In reference to Message Id: 2166702


 I need help with fire salamanders

its intresting how much they look like their adult form as a larvae



08/02/10  06:03pm

 #2166845


Crotus
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   Message To: Posted5   In reference to Message Id: 2166723


 I need help with fire salamanders

Yes, they are born at a very advanced stage, take only 2 months to transform... the adult coloration starts to develop at transformation time, as you can see.

When this one transformed (about 1 year ago), it was only about 2" long... now it has grown to about 6 inches and is still growing. It has a big appetite and eats a lot of small crickets and earthworms.
08/03/10  10:37am

 #2166903


Posted5
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   Message To: Crotus   In reference to Message Id: 2166845


 I need help with fire salamanders

jeez it grew fast,how many crickets do you feed it a week
08/03/10  03:03pm

 #2166962


Crotus
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   Message To: Posted5   In reference to Message Id: 2166903


 I need help with fire salamanders

Well, when he was a larva, I had to look for extremely tiny baby earthworms only 1" long, eventually he graduated to pinhead-size crickets, then after transformation as he began to grow larger, I was able to step up the size food items he’ll take... I must say that at this point his appetite really surprises me sometimes, he will take at least one medium sized cricket (sometimes more than one) and/or a small earthworm every day! He seems to really enjoy those big nightcrawlers also, but those have to be cut into smaller pieces (1" long or so) for him to be able to eat them.

Use only nightcrawlers, not the so-called "red wigglers" which can be toxic. Nightcrawlers seem to be an all-time favorite for these guys, but seem to only keep well if kept cold.
08/03/10  06:18pm


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