Tiger salamander

[advan]

I see these guys every once in awhile. They pop up right outside my egress window, I believe they burrow under the fountain. Tonight there was four out roaming in the leaves. Here are some pics. Thanks for looking!



Ambystoma tigrinum

 

[moose35]

awesome

i love those guys. your lucky to be able to find them at your house.


moose

 

[cnapple]

Aww, I love ambystomid salamanders! I always find tiger salamanders in wells and similar habitats. That one has a really nice, bright pattern, big one too!

 

[loxoscelesfear]

tigers often show up in window-wells and basements. a sure indication you have a healthy population of tigers nearby. i bet you see many during the spring thaw.

 

[SCORPIONNOOB]

Oh man hes really cool! A friend of mine use to have them in thier basement in an old shallow drain.. I need to get out and look for them more often. I havent in forever! Thanks for the pics!

 

[advan]

Thanks guys, he was fun to work with. I didn't get out the tape measure but I would guess he is at least 6". I collected him to get a ventral look to verify he was a Tiger and not a Spotted. He was returned and hopefully I do see him and his friends in the spring.

 

[zonbonzovi]

Sweet...you're so lucky to have them carrousing in your back yard. I have had a cousin for a few years now- A. mavortium diaboli(although looks more like A. m. melanostictum to me) "Bubba" is nearly a foot long tip to tail & readily comes to the wall of the tank when I'm in the room. Bubba is the bane of large feeder roaches and prefers to have them hand fed. Awesome "pets".

Old pic

 

[findi]

Nice to see that, thanks. They are disappearing in many parts of their range, yet the larvae are sold as fishing bait in Az and elsewhere. Here in NY they are found only on Long Is, in Pine Barrens habitat; they often breed in Feb, sometimes crossing snow to get to the ponds...but I bet they stir a bit later in Minnesota! Best, Frank

 

[GregorSamsa]

Wow! So pretty... I don't think I've ever seen a salamander that big- and certainly not as big as Bubba... Very cool.

 

[angrychair]

salamanders are sweet. I always wanted a hellbender, they are local to missouri, but their populations in the wild are decimated by climate change, even if I found one I wouldnt keep it. Plus I'm sure its protected.

 

[beetleman]

i love sallys,got a decent collection myself,they always bring me back to when i was a kid...........ahhh memorys

 

[Toirtis]

Here is a shot of the fiancee's tiger salamander (Ambystoma mavortium melanostictum) enclosure, with three of the four residents out and about. The photo is about a month old, and the little vacuum cleaners have grown a fair bit since...they will be moving into new digs before Xmas, as they are going to need some serious new room as they approach 8" (they are all current around 6", and were about 4" when this photo was taken.).

 

[pavel]

Very cool!

Bubba reminds me of Jabba the Hutt. heh

 

[zonbonzovi]

Very nice enclosure, Toirtis! Any fighting over prey? I tried keeping live moss but gave up after Bubba tore through every surface to burrow.

The old pic is during Bub's "fat Oprah" period...he's more of a Jack LaLanne figure these days.

 

[Toirtis]

Very nice enclosure, Toirtis! Any fighting over prey?

Thanks. Not so much...the fiancee hand feeds them earthworms, so no real opening for fighting over those...sometimes some competition over the crickets we toss in every week, though, but no real issues as we toss in more than enough for everyone to easily get their fill.

I tried keeping live moss but gave up after Bubba tore through every surface to burrow.

We shall see...the moss was fairly new when that photo was taken...I harvested it in a local, old cemetery, but I suspect that without a wintering period, it will be looking pretty poor come January, at which point I will likely replace it with some scotch moss from the local greenhouse.

The old pic is during Bub's "fat Oprah" period...he's more of a Jack LaLanne figure these days.

Heh...I hope for all four of ours to be around 12" and pleasantly chunky before too long...I like my caudates sizable and hefty. All four are from locations around Calgary, two from the South end of town, and two from a hamlet just East of the city.

I assume that Bubba is from a locality close to you in Washington state? If so, then he is bound to be a A. m. melanostictum, as A. m. diaboli do not range any further West in the USA than the Dakotas, unless some have been transplanted.

 

[Entomancer]

Oh, man.

That third picture in the first post is fantastic.

Reminds me why after all these years, salamanders still make me smile, no matter how crappy I feel.

 

[zonbonzovi]

I assume that Bubba is from a locality close to you in Washington state? If so, then he is bound to be a A. m. melanostictum, as A. m. diaboli do not range any further West in the USA than the Dakotas, unless some have been transplanted.

A. m. diaboli was a suggestion from John at caudata.org. The folks I got it from put it up on craigslist as Dicamptodon atterimus, so naturally I had to investigate. I'm guessing that he was captured in ID, but they couldn't/wouldn't say. I still haven't seen any of the tigers that are supposed to be here. Someday...

I hope you have success with these lads & lasses. The CB output is miniscule compared to those found on various jobber lists.