# Are fire salamanders poisonous in captivity?



## TheToad888 (Dec 18, 2008)

I know it may sound like a stupid question but, are fire salamanders poisonous in captivity?
Please answer if you can.


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

yes they are

i often see people say that (insert amphibains name here) is not toxic in captvity this is only true of dartfrogs (who get there toxin from there food) but ive seen it applied to fbt's (which for some reason when CB sometimes have slightly weaker toxins but are still quite toxic) retf's (which arent toxic) and a few salamander and newt species (such as fbn's) :bash:

can i ask were u just wondering or did some1 tell u the above myth :lol2:


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## TheToad888 (Dec 18, 2008)

Its a very long story, I have gone through many amphibians and liked tiger salamanders. They were perfect. But nobody sells them near where I live. So I looked again and saw Fire salamanders. They were good too but i have heard they are poisonous in the wild. I didn't know if they were in captivity. I really don't know what to get now. Any suggestions?


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

what have u got against toxic species, i love my fire sal (and my tiger sal lol)


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## TheToad888 (Dec 18, 2008)

Well, they're poisonous and i don't really want something that can poison me.


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

If you practise hygiene sufficient to prevent you picking up any parasites or bacteria your amphibs could be carrying (which you should already be doing!). The poisoning risk will be covered by simply wearing gloves.


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## herpzane (Apr 1, 2008)

I have a fire sal and as said above, if good hygiene is practised they are brilliant amphibs to keep. GET ONE


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

TheToad888 said:


> Well, they're poisonous and i don't really want something that can poison me.



will you be putting it in your mouth, if not just washing your hands after the small amount of handling (sals shouldnt be handed regularlly) that is required and you should be fine, lets say u didnt wash your hands then u licked them it would only taste bad, if u rubbed your eye it would sting like hell but you wouldnt die (thats if u didnt wash your hands) 

just wash your hands after wards and it should all be fine. for really dangerous levels of toxins to get in your body you would have to eat it oh and dont let it crawl into your eye lol.

btw most reptile shops shoud be able to order in tiger salamanders. just ask around see if any of the ones near you can.


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## herpzane (Apr 1, 2008)

southern aquatics has some in. I think theyre £27.99. I dont know if this is cheap for tiger salamanders. I bought my fire salamander in the same place for £13.


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

£20-30 is about average for tigers so thats not a bad price


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## herpzane (Apr 1, 2008)

ok i didnt know. I only saw them briefly cos i went to pick up my horned frog


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## TheToad888 (Dec 18, 2008)

Thanks people. I will probably be getting 2 tiger sals soon.


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## rigsby (Jan 11, 2008)

I've kept newts and sals for as many years as i can remember and never had a problem but my nephew had some and as young kids do he handled them roughly and then rubbed his eyes which caused some discomfort. Most if not all newts and sals have some degree of "poison" which is used as a defence not a means of attack like snakes. Unless you plan on handling the sal regularly then eating a ham butty without washing your hands you wont have a problem. I have some newts, tarichas, with a poison which if ingested could kill you and there is no know cure but i've had them years now and i'm fine. Think of it this way you can catch salmonella of most animals if your not careful and dont wash after handling them so why fear fire sals.


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

just noticed dartfrog.co.uk have some barred tigers for sale


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## TheToad888 (Dec 18, 2008)

spend_day said:


> just noticed dartfrog.co.uk have some barred tigers for sale


Yeah that was where i was gonna get them


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## IanF94 (Oct 12, 2008)

Plus what everybody has said, I think the only Salamander that poses a real chance of making you badly ill is T. Granulosa. Most others might hurt a little bit and give you an upset stomach but that's the only one that's actually killed someone (and even that was an accident, it crawled into they're coffee pot).


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## rigsby (Jan 11, 2008)

yep taricha granulosa and taricha torosa their the ones i have but no problem lf you only handle them when you really need to and wash your hands afterwards .


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## Ben W (Nov 18, 2008)

I agree with Rigsby on this,

I have kept some large number of Fire sals for a number of years, and yes i have seen them extrude poison, but there really is no concern unless you decide to put your hands near your mouth, which you really wont do unless you handle the sals, and to be fair they do get used to limited handling, such as you would do when cleaning them out.

In short, the risk of poisoning is so slight is not worth thinking about, more a case of salmonella, as is the case with reps and amphibs.

Wash your hands= no problem


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