What to feed a baby salamander

What Do Salamanders Eat? Complete Diet & Feeding Tips

Correct nutrition and a balanced diet are very important for the health and wellbeing of a Salamander.

A common misconception is that this amphibian should be fed every day.

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Adults only need to be fed twice a week.

They should be fed a carnivorous diet that closely replicates what they eat in the wild (e.g. insects and small invertebrates). However, their exact diet depends on their age, species and natural environment.

When preparing your Salamander’s diet remember to vary what you feed and always cut into very small pieces.

To learn more about how to properly feed your salamander check out the rest of our article below…

Table of Contents

What Do Salamanders Eat?
- What Fruits and Vegetables Can Salamanders Eat?
- Commercial Food
- Supplements
Salamander Diet
- Adult Diet
- Baby Diet
Common Feeding Mistakes
- What Can’t Salamanders Eat?
Summary

What Do Salamanders Eat?

Salamanders are carnivores that eat a variety of insects and small invertebrates. They are vivacious eaters and are rarely picky about what they eat.

They are nocturnal amphibians that come out from their hiding spots at night to hunt for prey. Their natural habitat influences their diet, availability of prey and how often they eat. Most adults will eat once every two or three days.

A Salamander’s diet is mostly influenced by their species.

Salamanders are amphibians that can be divided into two distinct types:

Aquatic
Terrestrial

The terrestrial species has a sticky muscular tongue.

They use their tongue as a tool to catch a wide variety of prey including worms, flies, beetles, and grasshoppers.

Aquatic species don’t have sticky muscular tongues and are more reliant on their teeth to catch food. They eat organisms that are easier to catch such as worms, snails, and shrimp.

Unlike their terrestrial cousins, many aquatic species are omnivores (i.e. not just carnivorous). They will occasionally snack on algae and other plants found in their environment.

Larger species have been known to eat frogs, mice, and are sometimes cannibalistic.

Terrestrial vs. Aquatic Salamander Diet
Terrestrial	Aquatic
A mixture of mealworms	A mixture of brine shrimp
Crickets	Minnows
Snails	Chopped blood worms
Variety of worms	Chopped night crawlers

In captivity their natural feeding pattern should be replicated by using a consistent feeding schedule.

You should feed an adult once every two to three days.

Because juveniles are growing and frequently molting they will need to be fed every day. In captivity, there is an assortment of insects and other invertebrates that can be purchased to feed to them.

What Fruits and Vegetables Can Salamanders Eat?

They should not be fed any fruits or vegetables. Remember, they are carnivorous.

Fruits and vegetables are not a normal part of their diet in the wild.

Their digestive tracts cannot effectively process anything other than meat because they are carnivorous.

If fruits and vegetables are added to your salamander’s diet they will more than likely ignore them. The foods will then spoil and potentially expose your exotic pet to various pathogenic bacteria.

The best way for your pet to get the correct nutrients from fruits and vegetables is to use those food items to gut load insects that you feed them (there is more on gut loading below).

Commercial Food

There are a variety of nutritionally balanced pelleted diets available that are made from a variety of insects.

Despite being healthy to feed occasionally, you should not rely on these diets exclusively.

In captivity you should allow your amphibian to carry out natural hunting behaviors. They will quickly become bored of hunting commercial pellets. So you should only use a commercial diet to supplement your salamander’s diet.

Before feeding check the ingredients of the pellets to ensure it only contains food items from our safe list below.

Some captive species will refuse to eat a pellet-based diet from the start.

In addition to commercial diets it is possible to buy insects freeze dried instead of live.

Although, most freeze-dried insects aren’t as nutritious as live insects and some are not gut loaded.

Like commercial pellets, freeze-dried insects can still be included in their diet but should only be used occasionally.

Supplements

The only necessary supplement for salamanders is calcium powder. You should use calcium powder twice a week (i.e. each time you feed them).

If you decide to use a calcium supplement make sure it doesn’t include vitamin D3.

Vitamin D3 can be toxic at high levels for them so make sure the supplement has limited levels – or ideally none.

Multivitamins and other supplements are not necessary.

It is best to not include multivitamins in your salamander’s diet as they can be harmful.

Just make sure you feed a varied diet of different insects.

Salamander Diet

Black Salamander Eating A Worm

There are a variety of diseases and metabolic conditions that can affect this amphibian if they do not receive correct husbandry and diets.

Like most reptiles kept in captivity, they can develop metabolic bone disease if they do not receive proper amounts of calcium.

An inadequate diet will weaken their immune system and predispose them to many bacterial, fungal, and viral infections.

A Salamander’s nutritional requirements vary greatly throughout their lifetime.

As adults if prey is readily available they will eat lots and build up a large fat deposit. When food is scarce, or environmental conditions are inhospitable, they will enter periods of dormancy and greatly reduce their nutritional intake. They have been known to live for 10 days without food.

Juveniles need significantly more nutrients than adults for energy and growth.

Typically aquatic species tend to require more energy and nutrients than their terrestrial counterparts.

Adult Diet

At two to three months of age this species should be transitioned to an adult diet.

Adult salamanders should be fed two to three times each week.

For salamanders kept in captivity you should rotate their diet by choosing two food items to feed every other feeding session. This will help to keep your pet happy and healthy.

Each species prefers specific types of food. You should speak with a breeder to determine which prey items are best for your species.

Below is an example feeding schedule for an aquatic and terrestrial salamander:

Day	Aquatic	Terrestrial
Monday	2x brine shrimp, 1x inch of bloodworm	1x mealworm, 2x crickets
Tuesday	Fast
Wednesday	Fast
Thursday	Fast
Friday	1x minnow, 1x inch of night crawler	1x waxworm, 1x threadworm
Saturday	Fast
Sunday	Fast

Small Mouth Spotted Mole Salamander

Salamanders have very small mouths. Worms and other larger food items must be finely chopped before being placed in their enclosure.

Because they are nocturnal they should be fed in the evening or at dusk.

When including live insects into your salamander’s diet it is imperative that you gut-load the insects for a couple of days before feeding.

To do this, place sweet potatoes, apples, and other fruits and vegetables in the insects’ enclosure for a few days. Gut loading ensures the insects are full of nutrients before beating eaten.

When kept in captivity, some exotic pets will become obese. This is a result of being fed too many high fat prey options.

Make sure you limit the number of mealworms and other nutrient-dense foods you feed.

Baby Diet

Baby salamanders should have a healthy appetite and readily accept food that is offered to them. If they refuse to eat then change the insects you are feeding or cut them into even smaller pieces.

After hatching, one of the first things a baby will do is eat the remnants of their shell. This is common for other reptiles too. A day or two later they will start eating small microorganisms found in water such as plankton.

At two weeks of age they will be large enough to start consuming larvae of smaller insect species. Mosquito larvae are a favorite snack.

When raising juveniles their diet can consist of:

Baby brine shrimp
Daphnia
Finely chopped worms

Given their size, hatchlings only need a very small amount of food per day:

Day	Feed
Monday	2x brine shrimp
Tuesday	Multiple daphnia
Wednesday	1x inch of chopped earthworm
Thursday	2x brine shrimp
Friday	Multiple daphnia
Saturday	1x inch of chopped earthworm
Sunday	2x brine shrimp

After a week of regular feeding, gradually increase their meal size and start to incorporate other insects and invertebrates. They will need to be fed every day to sustain their fast growth.

At four weeks of age you can transition to feeding every other day and then ultimately to once every two or three days. It takes hatchlings two months to grow large enough to eat the same diet as adults.

If there is excess food in the enclosure after feeding, cut back on how much you are feeding.

Spoiled food can lead to various health issues.

Common Feeding Mistakes

Red Cave Salamander Eating

There are four feeding mistakes that owners commonly make when feeding:

A lot of owners rely heavily on one type of food.

This species needs a variety of food to ensure that they receive a nutritionally balanced diet. Make sure you feed different foods on different days. This will keep your pet healthy and act as a form of enrichment.

Beginners often forgot to gut load insects.

It is important to remember to gut load insects before feeding them. This will ensure your salamander receives proper nutrients.

Don’t rely on a commercial diet.

Commercial diets are nutritionally balanced. However, commercial diets do not allow salamanders to carry out their natural hunting behaviors. If you choose to include a commercial diet in your feeding routine then supplement it with live prey.

Overfeeding is common too.

If you feed an adult more than three times a week then excess food will build up in their enclosure and spoiled food will expose your pet to a variety of harmful bacteria. Make sure excess food isn’t left in the cage.

What Can’t Salamanders Eat?

In addition to fruits and vegetables not being heathy for a salamander, you should not feed red meat, chicken, or large fish. They will negatively affect the good bacteria in their intestine and cause chronic gastrointestinal issues.

Some insects are toxic to salamanders and should be avoided:

Fireflies.
Spiders.
Ticks.
Centipedes.
Millipedes.

Fireflies contain a toxin called lucibufagin which is extremely toxic to reptiles and amphibians. Even ingesting one firefly could kill your salamander.

Chlorine and certain metals in water such as lead and zinc can also be deadly.

Provide them with deionized water or use an amphibian safe water filter to remove toxic substances.

Summary

Terrestrial salamanders have a very different diet than aquatics and enjoy eating worms, flies, beetles, and grasshoppers. Remember each species prefers different insects.

Feeding a suitable diet can be intimidating and overwhelming at first.

However, this exotic pet is actually very easy to feed.

Just make sure you provide them with different types of insects, cut the insects into very small pieces and rotate the insects you feed each meal time.

Don’t forget adults only need to be fed every two or three days!

If you have any questions or want to share your advice for feeding salamanders then let us know below!

What Do Baby Salamanders Eat?

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If you live in an area with bodies of water or small streams, you’ve undoubtedly encountered a salamander in the wild. These adorable little amphibians adore wet places and can be found all across five continents, although they are particularly common in North America.

If you’re considering acquiring a salamander as a pet or want to learn more about them, you should know what they eat.

Salamanders are small, unique amphibians with a wide range of color and adaptation options. They can be as tiny as 0.6 inches to almost 3.8 feet in length! Pygmy salamanders are the tiniest of these endearing little amphibians, while giant Chinese salamanders are the biggest.

Salamanders are aquatic or semi-aquatic in nature, with smooth, slippery bodies that glide well in water. They are purely aquatic as youngsters. Their gills will cease to function when they mature, and they will be equally competent in both land and water.

What Do Baby Salamanders Eat?

Adult salamanders eat frogs, fish, and other animals; while baby salamanders consume only tiny invertebrates. Baby salamanders are known as nymphs.

Only one species of salamander gives birth to live young. The majority of salamander species deposit their eggs in water, and even terrestrials will migrate towards a location with some form of water to lay their eggs. Because baby salamanders are developed in water, what they can eat is restricted.

Nymphs do not have legs at first and appear to be frog tadpoles in terms of appearance. They go through metamorphosis, the changes that occur in amphibians from one stage to another, during which they transform into adults.

Nymphs are naturally carnivorous from birth and are born with teeth. They consume their own eggshell for the first week of life, after which they venture out to eat tiny prey including tiny bacteria, plankton, brine shrimp, or little insects while still remaining in the water.

Nymphs eat progressively larger animals as they develop into their juvenile stage and then into adulthood. This is also when they tend to migrate back to their natural habitat, either remaining aquatic, becoming semi-aquatic, or transitioning to terrestriality. There are many different habitats in which to live. Adult salamanders can be distinguished from tiny tadpole-like youngsters by the external markings on their bodies, as well as size and color. After two months, they become adults.

What Do Baby Salamanders Eat in The Wild? Snails Are Also an Important Meal for Baby Salamanders

The salamander eats a variety of insects and animals in the wild. Its diet is determined by size. It will consume almost anything that moves and is small enough to swallow.

The wild salamander consumes centipedes, spiders, worms, slugs, flies, maggots, termites, and snails. Large salamanders, such as frogs and smaller salamanders, eat them. Aquatic salamanders in the wild consume insect larvae, crayfish, worms, snails, small species of fish, and other small aquatic animals.

Baby salamanders are amphibians that, like adult species, have gills on the sides of their heads. Live tubifex worms, baby brine shrimp, daphnia or water fleas, white worms, and black worms should all be fed to your baby salamander. If you cut a nightcrawler into small pieces, it may be fed. The juvenile salamanders consume ghost shrimp and tiny crayfish as they get older. Freeze-dried or frozen meals are not accepted by the majority of salamanders. They are attracted to live food moving around.

Brine Shrimp Are Eaten By Salamander Nymphs

What Do Smaller Species of Salamanders Eat? Worms Are Eaten By Baby Salamanders

Small terrestrial salamanders would eat smaller insects and worms if they could. Give him fruit flies, pinhead crickets that have been fed a gut loading diet, minute grubs, and earthworms that have been finely chopped. Serve a varied selection of these for adequate nutrition. Before giving your salamander crickets, coat them with vitamin and calcium powder. Waxworms, huge crickets, lesser waxworms, whole earthworms, or newborn mice should not be fed to smaller salamanders.

What Do Baby Tiger Salamanders Eat? Baby Salamanders Love To Eat Insects Like Salamanders

Tiger salamander infants will eat aquatic invertebrates like brine shrimp, daphnia, insects, worms, and small fish.

Adults can be fed a variety of feeder insects, such as crickets, earthworms, wax worms, and wild-caught insects. They may also get a pinkie mouse once in a while. Make sure the area you’re collecting isn’t contaminated with pesticides. Furthermore, be careful not to put these salamanders in any tanks with smaller salamanders since they may become a meal for them.

How To Feed Baby Salamanders? A Baby Salamander in The Wild

Salamanders are lovely, distinctive pets that are simple to care for. Once you know how salamanders eat, feeding them is a straightforward process. Feeding a salamander is as easy as serving live insects and invertebrates every few days.

Feeding Land-Based Baby Salamanders

Land-dwelling salamanders consume a diet consisting of worms and insects. You don’t have to go out in your garden and seek these creatures, though. This salamander food can be found at any pet shop.

Your salamander, on the other hand, will delight in eating crickets, mealworms, earthworms, maggots, mosquito larvae, and buffalo worms. This type of diet is nutritious and full of nutrients for your salamander.

Feeding Water-Based Baby Salamanders

Water animals, such as aquatic salamanders, require water animals. Bugs will not suffice for a water-dwelling salamander. They eat things that float in the water, such as shrimp. You can also get these items at a pet store. Tackle shops may be able to supply them.

The most common diet of an aquatic salamander is brine shrimp. They also like minnows, other types of shrimp, nightcrawlers, and worms such as blackworms and earthworms, among other small fish.

Feeding Salamanders By Hand

Feed a hesitant salamander by hand. If your salamander isn’t eating, consider feeding it yourself. You may feed the live bug to the insect using a toothpick or tweezers. Wait for the salamander to consume the bug after holding it steady above it. When you first acquire a salamander, it’s possible that it won’t consume. They may also be hesitant to try new dishes. Before changing foods or consulting a veterinarian, attempt hand-feeding them.

If you bought your salamander at a pet store, give it food on a daily basis for a while. Salamanders purchased from a pet shop are frequently underfed and thin. This implies that you should feed them every day until your salamander adjusts to its new environment and gains some healthy weight.

Adjust the feeding schedule of your salamander if necessary. There may be various causes for your salamander to require more or less food. They typically require more food in the summer and less in the winter, for example. As a result, you may need to alter your two to three times weekly feeding regimen.

You may need to feed your baby salamander more often. If your salamander is underweight, you should feed it more frequently.

What Are The Natural Predators of Baby Salamanders?

Salamanders of smaller species have more predators than those of greater size. Some of the predators that may be found hunting for the tiny-spotted salamander include raccoons, snakes, skunks, and turtles. Skunks and raccoons frequently visit waterways near which they can dig beneath boulders in search of food. Salamanders are quite typical to find in this region.

Salamanders, like frogs, have a biphasic life cycle, which means that they begin their lives as larvae and later transition to adulthood. They must live in a moist environment near water in order for them to survive as adults. There are several predators that attack salamanders as larvae, but other predators target them when they become adults.

Humans are the primary predators of Chinese salamanders. These enormous salamanders can be caught in fisherman’s nets and sold for food or as pets.

When portions of the Amazon jungle are destroyed by humans, salamanders in these areas are at risk of perishing. In addition, when pollutants enter bodies of water and cause algal blooms, it can have a negative impact on the population of salamanders that reside there. Unfortunately, some salamanders try to traverse busy thoroughfares in order to access a nearby body of water, and they are killed by automobiles as a result.

How Do Baby Salamanders Protect Themselves From Predators? Salamander: A Close-Up

It’s a harsh world out there, and salamanders and newts need ways to defend themselves against predators. They face dangers from a variety of animals including birds, snakes, fish, raccoons, frogs, and even other salamanders that might eat them. Because they have various methods of avoiding being eaten, salamanders and newts are unafraid of this.

Salamanders are nocturnal and more active during the cooler hours of the day. They seek to keep cool by resting under rocks or in trees during the day. At night, they come out to feed.

The bright, vibrant skin of these tiny amphibians functions as a warning to predators that they are poisonous. According to the San Diego Zoo, many salamanders have glands on their necks or tails that exude a bitter-tasting or even deadly liquid. Some species can also protect themselves against predators by pushing their rib bones through their skin and into the enemy’s with their muscles, producing needle-sharp tips that pierce the skin of both animals.

Salamanders and newts can use poisons and poisons to defend themselves against predators. If a salamander or newt could make someone sick or kill them, no one wants to eat it. Some salamanders employ bright colors as a warning sign to predators that they are poisonous. Aposematism is the term for this behavior.

What Are The Differences Between Baby Salamanders and Newts?

Newt and salamander are sometimes considered to be the same animal, and it’s no surprise that some people believe they’re the same species. However, there are differences between them.

Newts are a species of salamander belonging to the Pleurodelinae family of the Salamandridae subfamily. In general, Newts are salamanders, but not all salamanders are newts.

Newts as a whole live a semi-aquatic to aquatic existence as adults, but adult salamanders live mostly on land except when they’re breeding and laying eggs. Most newts have webbed feet and a paddle-shaped tail that helps them to thrive underwater. The tails of salamanders are usually longer and more rounded, with well-developed toes for digging in the dirt.

Despite these physical distinctions, the simplest method to identify what you’re seeing is to familiarize yourself with the species. The amphibian in this shot is a yellow-eyed ensatina, a California salamander species.

Are Baby Salamanders Healthy To Eat?

All species of salamander are poisonous, and they all appear to be harmless. It’s also worth noting that there is a significant distinction between a venomous creature and one that is poisonous.

Animals that are poisonous or dangerous if eaten include those that emit poisons from their glands. Ingesting the animal’s secretion, as well as handling it and then rubbing your eyes or putting your hands in the mouth, can also induce poisoning.

Animals that inject venom directly into their prey to incapacitate them, or in self-defense against a predator, are called venomous. Snakes and scorpions, for example, deliver venoms through bites or stings. Parotoid or granular glands are responsible for the poisons that salamanders generate.

It is thought that salamanders acquire their toxicity by eating or contracting strong germs, such as Vibrio spp. Salamanders, particularly the Pacific or Mountain salamander (Desmognathus fumea), are poisonous if eaten. Adults are more dangerous than youngsters.

Toxicity varies considerably between salamander species, and it may differ considerably among separate populations of the same species. Taricha species, including the Rough-Skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa), all contain tetrodotoxin, one of the most powerful poisons known to humanity. The Rough-Skinned Newt is by far the most toxic of the Taricha species.

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Keeping the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra)

The fire salamander tolerates captivity well. For its maintenance, a horizontal type terrarium is required, closed from above with a reliable lid. It is best to place the terrarium as low as possible to the floor. Leaf soil mixed with peat soil is used as a substrate. Shelters and shallow water are a must. Additional heating is not required.

Fire Salamander Terrarium

Type: horizontal type terrarium (closed on top with a secure lid), with a sufficiently large bottom area. It is best to place the terrarium as low as possible to the floor.
Dimensions: 90x40x30 cm for 2-3 adult salamanders.
Substrate: leafy soil with a small amount of peat. Since salamanders like to burrow in a layer, the substrate should be at least 4-12 cm.
Temperature: daytime - 16-20°C, nighttime - 15-16°C. The fire salamander does not tolerate temperatures above 22-25°C. In winter, the temperature can be reduced to 5°C.
Heating: not required.
Lighting: fluorescent lamps (placed at a distance from the terrarium). In summer it is necessary to provide 12 hours of daylight.
Humidity: 70-95%. Every day, plants and substrate are sprayed with a spray bottle.
Plants: plants with strong branches and foliage.
Reservoir: a shallow reservoir is obligatory (approximately 20x14x5 cm), the descent into the water should be gentle so that the salamanders, once in it, can easily get out of there. Water is changed every day.
Decoration: Covers are required (pieces of bark, moss, shards, smooth cobblestones, grotto, overturned flower pot).

Feeding the fire salamander

You can give: tubifex, bloodworm, earthworms, mealworms, spiders, wood lice, various insects, strips of lean beef, strips of raw liver or heart (all fat and membranes are removed before feeding), small guppies ( 2-3 times a week).

Overfeeding fire salamanders is more dangerous than underfeeding!

When feeding, make sure that all salamanders get the same amount of food. Use a large, flat rock to feed the salamanders so they know where to look.
Do not feed: mealworm larvae and large wax moth.
Feeding frequency: adults - every other day, young (growing) - 2 times a day. Feed salamanders to full satiety.
Mineral supplements/vitamins: give powdered vitamins and minerals once a week.

Socialization / domestication

Domestication: easy to tame, recognize the owner's steps, take food from tongs or hands with pleasure.
Compatibility: two males in one terrarium will not get along, since the individual territory for each male must be at least 10 m ² .
Character: peaceful and harmless, not aggressive towards humans.

Fire salamander larva

Fire salamander breeding

Preparation: stimulate reproduction in several ways: hormonal injections, keep spawners apart, in the winter months lower the temperature in the terrarium to 5-8 ° C, and in late March - early April the temperature is raised up to 18-23°C.
The ratio of males and females: 1:1-2
Feeding young people: starter food - small, inactive insects, enchitreuses. For grown-ups - shrimp larvae, daphnia, mosquito larvae, chopped worms, fish fry.
Offspring: larvae are reared in an aquarium without substrate. Filtration and aeration are required. Water temperature - 12-17°С. It is necessary to regularly replace 40-50% of the water with fresh water of the same composition and temperature. Stocking density of larvae: 4-5 individuals per 1 liter. Lighting is weak, located at a distance from the aquarium. The aquarium is placed away from heat sources (batteries, sunlight, etc.). At a temperature of 18-20°C the larval period lasts 45 days, at 15-18°C - 60 days. Among the larvae, cannibalism is common. Before the end of metamorphosis, the larvae begin to crawl along the bottom; they often rise to the surface of the water for air. Their gills and fin folds disappear, and the larvae emerge from the water. Young salamanders are moved to another aquarium, with a low water level, on the surface of which rafts (bark, foam, wood) float. The aquarium should be well ventilated, carefully monitor the humidity - it should not go down.
Weaning from parents: after the birth of the cubs, the female is transplanted into a common terrarium.

Related article Questions and answers about caring for the fire salamander

Diseases of the fire salamanders

See diseases of amphibians for the main diseases.

Comments: When dealing with a fiery salamander, care should be taken: contact of poison - salamandrin on mucous membranes (for example, in the eyes) causes burning and lacrimation. Remember to wash your hands before (to prevent poisoning with chemicals such as soap, lotion, etc.) and after (to avoid getting the salamander venom on the skin) any contact with the salamander. Handle the salamander as little as possible, as it can get burned!

Tags: amphibians, tailed amphibians, salamanders, amphibian keeping, fire salamander