# Mixing Fire Salamanders & Fire Bellied Toads?



## Josh-sama (Sep 26, 2008)

Just curious as the norm is to NOT mix species, yet I see people mixing these two? 

Its alright? No dominance issues etc?


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## Joe1507 (Aug 11, 2008)

Ive often heard of the salamander eating the fbt, which will probablyk ill it.
just dont do it, i only agree with mixing if their from same reigon (e.g smooth newts with palmates)


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## Josh-sama (Sep 26, 2008)

Aye, but I've seen people do it iwthout problems, and it's a lot of people. So like, just curious.


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## bug man (Aug 4, 2008)

yes ame i know a few people who mix them with out a probelm


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## Ben W (Nov 18, 2008)

Dont get me started on this one


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## EdRafferty (May 27, 2009)

Its a risk, you need to think about if you want to take that risk.
They could end up getting on with no problems at all or they could end up eating each other you have to decide if its worth taking that risk or not.
Just make sure they are in a huge tank with lots of hiding places.

Ed


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## badboiboom (Oct 22, 2007)

wait...


fire bellied toads need a paludarium setup like 1/3 land to 2/3 water whereas a fire salamander is a wholly terrestrial/fossorial species...


these species would NEVER come across each other in the wild and both secrete quite nasty toxins..

it just shouldn't be done

:devil:


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

Josh-sama said:


> Just curious as the norm is to NOT mix species, yet I see people mixing these two?
> 
> Its alright? No dominance issues etc?





Josh-sama said:


> Aye, but I've seen people do it iwthout problems, and it's a lot of people. So like, just curious.


 i would honestly like to know where you saw this, and what you mean by "without problems" 

fbt's are a semi aquatic species where fire salamanders easily drown if they cant get out of the water also fire salamanders can be very shy while fbt's are quite active and aggressive. 

I wouldn't be surprised if lifespan is shortened by exposure to each others toxins as there is alot of anecdotal evidence to suggest this happens with fire belly toads and fire bally newts (which used to be commonly mixed as pet shops said "its fine there both fire bellys" but oftne it leads to aggressive and stressed animals as well as the differences in "best" environment. 

finally fbt's do best at a higher temp than fire sals 

It's just not something i would do and I'm fairly sure most keepers wouldn’t do even just for the fact they require different set-ups. I would guess there are likely to be underlying stress and heath issues.


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## EdRafferty (May 27, 2009)

Look on youtube its full of people mixing species, i saw one putting a fire salalamander is a fully aquatic tank witha ll sorts of fish and newts.
Half those people on youtube dont even know how to take care of an amphibian. their jsut trying to show off on youtube and have a good looking tank.

Ed


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

EdRafferty said:


> Look on youtube its full of people mixing species, i saw one putting a fire salalamander is a fully aquatic tank witha ll sorts of fish and newts.
> Half those people on youtube dont even know how to take care of an amphibian. their jsut trying to show off on youtube and have a good looking tank.
> 
> Ed


I know what you mean.


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## Matt Harris (Aug 21, 2007)

Josh-sama said:


> Just curious as the norm is to NOT mix species, yet I see people mixing these two?
> 
> Its alright? No dominance issues etc?


If you're referring to oriental firebelly toads then I can see arguments against this, but the ranges or European firebellies and yellowbellies overlap considerably with that of fire salamanders and I'm certain that they occupy similar habitats in many cases.

I don't know about toxicity isses but if you provide a waterbody for the toads, then you should provide a shallow end for the sallies to exit. These salamanders generally need water to lay their eggs or deposit larvae, although there are some fire salamnders which give birth to fully-formed live young.

I wouldn't say non-mixing is the 'norm' - their are those who are hysterically against mixing and perhaps they shout the loudest in the playground, but certainly years ago mixing species WAS the norm. It just depends upon the skill and experience of the keeper.


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## arthur cooke (Jan 22, 2008)

I have to agree with Matt here, many people seem to be against mixing without realy researching it themselves, they just seem to be anti mixing despite there being lots of evidence that it works, providing you give it some real thought.
cheers arthur


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## axorozzas (Aug 16, 2008)

Must say I've never heard of mixing fire salamanders with fire bellied toads, but I have heard of mixing them fbts with fire bellied newts, which seems like a good idea since they cohabit and have similar requirements, but in many cases the fbts attack them, so it shows how unpredictable mixing species can be.

I would've thought fire sals were big enough to eat fbt's? Even if not, I would think the nocturnal salamander would get stressed from all these little diurnal frogs hopping around when it's trying to sleep.

I don't believe in completely anti-mixing (but a good better safe than sorry policy) But I do think people should be very well informed about both species and think logically outside the box before trying to mix them.


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## EdRafferty (May 27, 2009)

If you are going to do it just make sure you put plenty of hiding places for them to get away from each other.

Ed


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