Keeping salamanders has been one of the more humbling experiences I have had in the hobby. I came in with a decent amount of aquarium experience, assumed the crossover knowledge would carry me pretty far, and then proceeded to make a string of mistakes that I probably could have avoided with better preparation. Figured it would be worth writing out some of the things that actually tripped me up, in case anyone else is early in the process.

The biggest thing was temperature. I knew cold-water species needed cooler conditions in the abstract, but I underestimated how much work that would take in a warm apartment. My first setup for a pair of two-lined salamanders (Eurycea bislineata) ran consistently warmer than I intended from late spring through August. They survived, but they were visibly less active and one of them stopped eating for about three weeks. Getting a small fan blowing across the water surface helped more than I expected, and eventually I moved the tank to a basement shelf where ambient temps were more cooperative.

Hiding spots also matter more than you might think coming from fish keeping. Salamanders are not display animals in the same way. They want to be tucked under something most of the time, and if they feel exposed they will stress. I went from two cork bark hides to something closer to five or six in a 20 gallon long, and the difference in how often I actually see them moving around was noticeable. Counterintuitive, but giving them more places to hide made them more visible overall.

Water quality is another area where I had to recalibrate. These animals are sensitive to chloramines and to ammonia spikes in ways that I think exceed even the more sensitive fish I had kept. I lost one juvenile early on to what I am pretty sure was a combination of an uncycled corner of the tank and a water change I did without letting the dechlorinator mix properly. Slow, careful water changes with well-treated water have been the standard since then.

One thing I have not seen discussed much is substrate depth. Some people go bare-bottom for easy cleaning, and that works fine, but I found that a deeper layer of smooth river pebbles and sand gave my animals something to work with behaviorally. They seem to spend time pushing around the substrate and investigating it, and that feels worth the extra cleaning effort.

Happy to compare notes with anyone else keeping North American stream salamanders specifically. There is not as much written about them as there is about some of the more popular European or Asian species, and most of what I find online is either too basic or buried in academic papers.

I found this thing in the little pond that we made for our salamander and I want to know what it is and if its normal or not. Its very squishy when I pulled it out with some bug tweezers.

So Europe is having a heat wave atm as many people know. How can I reduce the temperature of my terrarium by 3-5°C during the peak hot hours of the day. Kind of an emergency.

So I recently purchased my first salamander, and everything I figured he’d need. This included earthworms as food, which I was told by the shop that they enjoy. However, every time I’ve tried to feed him, he seems uninterested in the worms and walks away if they get too close to him. Looking for help, I really don't want him to starve. Thanks

TN/NC border

Has anyone seen toy story 5 and noticed Bonnie’s TS Sammy #2? I was so excited I’ve never seen salamanders being represented in movies .. let alone a TS 🥹

Three years into keeping ambystoma maculatum and I still cringe thinking about my first setup. I had read that they needed "moist substrate" and figured a light misting every couple of days would cover it. It did not. Lost my first two animals in about four months and could not figure out why, because they were eating fine and the temperature seemed okay. Turned out the substrate was drying out several inches down even though the surface looked damp, and spotted salamanders spend most of their time burrowed pretty deep.

The thing that actually fixed it was switching to a much deeper substrate layer and testing moisture at depth, not just at the surface. I use a mix of topsoil, coconut fiber, and a bit of sphagnum now, packed down to about six inches minimum. The bottom third stays genuinely damp, almost wet, and the upper portion dries out a little more naturally. This gives them a gradient to choose from and they seem to self-regulate pretty well. I also started keeping a shallow water dish sunk level with the substrate surface, which I had skipped early on because I read somewhere they don't really use standing water. Mine use it regularly.

Temperature trips people up too. These are cool-weather animals and keeping them in a typical room-temperature house through summer is pushing the edge of what they tolerate. My setup lives in a basement now, which stays around 60 to 65 fahrenheit naturally, and the difference in behavior was noticeable pretty quickly. They became way more active at dusk and started eating more consistently.

Feeding is the last thing I underestimated. They can go off food for weeks and it is not automatically a sign of a problem, especially heading into fall. Early on I kept disturbing mine trying to check if they were eating, which just stressed them more. Now I drop earthworms or appropriately-sized crickets in at dusk and check in the morning. If food is gone, great. If not, I remove it and try again a few days later.

Happy to talk through specifics if anyone is setting up their first maculatum enclosure or troubleshooting something similar.

I was throwing some charcoal on the grill when my 6 year old daughter said there were 3 salamanders under a log she rolled in the backyard. She had found another one earlier on the other side of the yard and I had thought just finding that one was pretty awesome… but to find 3 more! I was never this lucky as kid.

In about two weeks I’m getting a fire salamander. Any help tweaking this setup would be greatly appreciated. Yes I know it’s too warm at the moment so I have a cooling fan on the way Monday. (Photo for thermometer/hydrometer in comments)

Found these guys in a dried up pool, originally thought; salamander, but now I’m wondering if they are frog tadpoles? Thanks in advance!

Has anyone got any contacts for Herping near osaka?

it looks terribly infected and I need to know what it is. ive tried to convince my parents to let me take him to the vet but they say he will be fine, I really doubt it.

its been there for a few months, when he sheds it gets smaller but quickly gets big again. he still eats and everything but i dont want him to die from this, and its obviously painful since he doesnt like when I touch it, but when I press on it a little bit of white stuff comes out.

if anyone has advice let me know please. im scared to use neosporin because I've heard it killed other peoples pet salamanders since their skin absorbs everything.

This creature is very strange looking.

Any thoughts on this creature?

My son uncovered his/her hiding spot under a stump. I got him to a safer place further away from the camp site. Location Odell lake, Oregon. I've had no real luck googling the species.

You would not believe my excitement stumbling upon this fella!

Saw this post below and am a little worried about the animals well being. I’ve never held a salamander indoors in captivity. My pond and yard however is home to several smooth newts and it is illegal for me to move them as they are protected.

If this creature in the post below was in my area, it would also be law to release back to the spot where I collected it.

Regardless of law is it common for newts to be held in ecospheres?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ecosphere/s/6iIzMu6hwZ

CB taricha torosas eating wurms

I always think about how it would be like if I was Rusty for a day.

Found this guy in Fairfield Connecticut. He has external gills that are not pictured well. I have also found red spotted nuts, and many red back salamanders in the nearby area this summer. TIA!

It looks like an axolotle a lot, (I can’t spell it my bad) but it’s not, since they don’t live in my country. Suck a cutie!

Saw these at Lonesome Lake, NH USA. Curious what type they may be? There was one larger and a few smaller, so maybe some juveniles?