# Salamander Enrichment



## Seagulls (Feb 23, 2014)

I recently acquired my first amphibian, an adult female fire salamander. Unfortunately her enclosure is quite small and there is little stimulus for her. With my reptiles I use different enrichment techniques to keep them stimulated and ensure they don't become bored or unhappy such as letting them roam freely. While I can tell that most of my reptiles enjoy this experience, it's harder to gauge with a salamander whether you're helping them or not. I am aware that they are much more hands off than most reptiles but feel that she still needs some stimulus to keep her occupied or else she will spend all her time sat in her hide. Can anyone suggest some enrichment techniques appropriate for Fire Salamanders?


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## Stupot1610 (Jul 6, 2013)

Have a look at this: Caudata Culture Species Entry - Salamandra salamandra - Fire Salamander
If it doesn't help, feel free to ask me about them.

Stuart


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## Kiwibird (Mar 27, 2014)

I have a fire belly newt who's tank I recently re-did to both be more aesthetically pleasing and to provide a better utilization of space for my newt. The new tank decor includes a wider variety of color, texture and lighting he never had before. For the first 5/6 years I had my newt, he was in a fairly "standard" setup as recommend by a large chain petstore (and quite surprisingly, most amphibian enthusiast I've met too!). He was very inactive, and hid most of the time. I figured that was "just how newts were". When his old tank decor became ratty and needed replacement, I opted for a totally non-traditional tank arrangement. My newt has responded noticeably! He is much more active, comes out of the water more (fire belly newts are mostly aquatic), and very much seem to like the new overhead light on his tank (just an LED, they do not need UVA/UVB nor do they like the warmth reptiles do) as well as being quite attracted to the LED volcano I put in the tank. I see him swimming more, climbing more and (as crazy as this sounds) he seems "happier" with the brighter, more stimulating environment. I also learned live prey is a good treat to offer newts on occasion, and they really like earthworms!

This is some before/after pics from my thread:
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/amphibians/1034989-completed-my-one-kind-newt.html

Understanding not everyone likes a "tropical" looking tank, hopefully it will give some ideas on just how to add more climbing area vertically (in a small tank) and more color (even if it's not quite as much:whistling2


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## Stupot1610 (Jul 6, 2013)

Kiwibird said:


> I have a fire belly newt who's tank I recently re-did to both be more aesthetically pleasing and to provide a better utilization of space for my newt. The new tank decor includes a wider variety of color, texture and lighting he never had before. For the first 5/6 years I had my newt, he was in a fairly "standard" setup as recommend by a large chain petstore (and quite surprisingly, most amphibian enthusiast I've met too!). He was very inactive, and hid most of the time. I figured that was "just how newts were". When his old tank decor became ratty and needed replacement, I opted for a totally non-traditional tank arrangement. My newt has responded noticeably! He is much more active, comes out of the water more (fire belly newts are mostly aquatic), and very much seem to like the new overhead light on his tank (just an LED, they do not need UVA/UVB nor do they like the warmth reptiles do) as well as being quite attracted to the LED volcano I put in the tank. I see him swimming more, climbing more and (as crazy as this sounds) he seems "happier" with the brighter, more stimulating environment. I also learned live prey is a good treat to offer newts on occasion, and they really like earthworms!
> 
> This is some before/after pics from my thread:
> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/amphibians/1034989-completed-my-one-kind-newt.html
> ...


Ah yes, the colourful tank.

Stuart


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## Kiwibird (Mar 27, 2014)

Stupot1610 said:


> Ah yes, the colourful tank.
> 
> Stuart


My newt has become more active since re-doing and seems to enjoy the colors, lights and texture, so he must share my love of bright colors: victory:


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## Stupot1610 (Jul 6, 2013)

I'm sure he does!

Stuart


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