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Salamander Food

Batul Nafisa Baxamusa

















Salamanders are amphibians that eat a variety of food. This article covers some information related to a salamander's food habits and other facts, so that you can take better care of your pet amphibian.
A salamander is very commonly kept as a pet. It is very easy to take care of and interesting to watch. Many people who bring in one as a pet want to know more about the kind of food that it eats. It needs proper food to live a healthy life. Its eating habits depend upon the type of salamander you have as a pet and its age.

Habitat

Habitat is the area where you need to house your pet. You should provide it with both water and land as it is an amphibian. You should keep it in an aquarium tank that will have enough space. A water dish or tray should be provided to help the amphibian soak in it. You should cover the tank with a lid with air holes to prevent the animal from escaping.
The temperature of the tank should be about 69 to 75 ºF. The floor should be filled with a suitable substrate that is about 3 inches deep. You should place some non-toxic plants in the aquarium as it will help in maintaining the humidity of the tank.
The humidity should be maintained at about 80%. The tank should be cleaned once a week to remove all the waste material. The tank should be cleaned totally by removing the gravel and other decorative objects in it.

Food

In the wild, a salamander is a carnivore and eats invertebrates and insects. It consumes small fish in the water and eat insects on land. Thus, before you bring home food for your pet, make sure of the type and the age of the salamander.
When it is in its early stages, you can feed it daphids and cyclopsen. As it grows, you can feed it red mosquito larvae. After your pet has crossed the 6th week stage, you can begin with an adult diet by increasing the portion of the food offered.
If you own a water salamander, you can feed it rain worms and maggots. The food consists of fruit flies and spiders. The food you can give to your pet includes crickets, worms, slugs, and cockroaches. The land salamander can also feed on beetles and pill bugs.
You can catch these bugs in your garden or around your house to feed them to your pet. You can even bring some bloodworms, white worms, king worms, and meal worms for your pet. It is advisable to feed meal worms to a minimum, as their shells are hard to digest.
It can also be fed food sold at pet stores. There is no harm in feeding it frozen insects or fish, but it loves to catch its prey. It would be better to feed it live food to keep the instinct of tracking and catching live prey alive. Also, you will enjoy seeing your pet walking behind its prey before a meal.
A water salamander will enjoy eating live shrimp and fish in water. You can introduce some fish in the tank environment. This way, you do not need to add food every day and it can feed on the fish as it would in its natural habitat.
You can give your pet this type of food three or four times a week. A growing salamander may need frequent feeding and one that has lost a limb may feed more often during the regeneration phase. You should feed your pet different meals of insects, worms, and fish. A change in taste will ensure a stimulation of its taste buds.

Facts

  • The word salamander means 'fire lover'.
  • The number of salamanders in the south eastern US is more than any other region in the world.
  • Its skin is very sensitive and is easily affected by air pollution. If the population in an area is healthy, it means that the level of air pollution is minimum.
  • It has the ability to regenerate a lost limb or tail.
  • It comes in a variety of colors that are really bright with many different patterns. This serves as a warning to predators that it contains a lethal poison.
  • In some species, when a salamander is caught by a predator, it detaches its tail, that continues to twitch. This distracts the predator, helping the salamander escape.
A salamander is an interesting pet to keep that needs minimum pet care. Having one at home becomes a fun experience.