First a bit of background; our salamander exhibit in our cave habitat has always been a challenging piece of work for the herpetology department. Home to Atlantic coast slimy salamanders, cave salamanders and a particularly large dusky salamander, the salamander exhibit has required almost constant upkeep to maintain light levels, temperature, water flow and cleanliness. After years of dealing with the headache, we finally buckled down and did a complete overhaul of the exhibit, adding more standing pools, hiding spaces and improving the filtration systems and overall lighting. The results of the renovation compared to the original are like night and day; almost immediately the salamanders became more active, spending more of their time roaming around the exhibit, swimming in the various pools and climbing the walls. In addition to the increase in activity, the salamanders also began breeding and laying eggs...something they never did in the old exhibit. Since the overhaul, our slimy salamanders have laid several clutches of eggs and we have successfully raised a few babies to be introduced as they mature. This morning, during our daily check in, we discovered that one of our female cave salamanders was completely loaded with eggs that could be seen through her skin!
Apologies for low quality! It's hard enough to take good photos of such a small active animal, especially with a terrible cellphone camera!
We will be monitoring the exhibit closely as the salamander should lay her eggs any day now. Some salamanders are very protective of their nests so we will have to be vigilant for any increased aggression or nest guarding once the eggs are laid. Hopefully in mid to late fall we will have some baby cave salamanders (if we do, I will use a better camera!)!
Awesome pictures! Never seen anything like that before. Is this from a Herpetology department at a University?
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
The herpetology department at a museum that features only native species (both presently and those that appear in the fossil record)!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Nice! I gave you a follow, looking forward to more herpetology related posts!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
How cute! I don't suppose you have photos of the actual exhibit? It would be really neat to see, though I understand if you aren't allowed.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Totally allowed! As long as it's something guests can see, it's acceptable on social media (cuz we can't stop people from taking their own photos and posting them!). Things only get a little weird when it comes to behind the scenes stuff.
I'll have to see about getting a good camera in order to get a decent picture though. The exhibit is pretty dark and the gallery itself (picture below) is fairly dark to mimic cave conditions so you need a good low-light camera for the exhibits inside. And of course we can't use flash lol.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Nice work! If animals procreate in captivity, its always a sign that they feel well. So you must be doing something right. :)
You know, ever since I saw the house geckos in Brazil, I was wondering how they do this. I mean, I know they lay eggs - but where? Inside a house they cannot dig them in, or build a nest. So do they simply leave them in a corner under a closet? That would be a bit risky. Or do they have to get outside for that? I didn't find any conclusive answers anywhere yet.
You are the herpetology guy, so if you dont know ... :)
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Depends on the conditions, but some reptiles and amphibians do just lay their eggs out in the open, especially if the temperature is favorable. The salamander will likely lay her eggs in a shallow pool and guard them quite closely until the hatch or are removed by staff.
As for lizards, they may have an outside nest, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were just laying their eggs inside the house, in an area that isn't frequently disturbed.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Yes, I think I heard about salamanders. Don't they have gills at first when they hatch? Or is that only the newts?
But with the house geckos I find it surprising that its not common knowledge how they lay their eggs. They live close to people for millenia already.
Its hard to imagine how they would lay their eggs inside the house, at least not on the floor. But who knows, appearantly they found a method to survive...
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Cool perspective. Do you release some of the salamanders into the wild once they're strong enough as to not overpopulate your exhibit? Also, do salamanders act autonomously in the exhibit or generally stick together by family or other grouping? I had two I found growing up that I built a terrarium for... and they promptly escaped overnight (magically through glass) to never be seen again. Childhood issues.... haha.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Right now they are breeding at a manageable rate. If they breed too quickly and lay too many eggs, we may try to offer them to other facilities or, if no other choice, simply freeze the eggs as soon as they are laid before they develop. Unfortunately, being born in captivity means that they cannot be released into the wild.
Most salamanders are loners. They may live in the same general area if conditions are right, but they really don't interact much outside of breeding. They can actually get pretty nasty toward each other, especially when guarding their eggs.
Yeah, salamanders are incredible escape artists. We have a tight seal on out exhibit because they will squeeze out even through impossibly small holes. Even hellbenders (giant salamanders up to two feet) are a hassle to keep in zoos as they can escape all to easily!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
You've taught me about nature and also exonerated me from the guilt of those little guys escaping. Win win. Thanks for the lesson.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
This post received a 1.5% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @herpetologyguy! For more information, click here!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
This is so cool, upvoted
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
nice i folow ! @herpetologyguy
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Great article, Keep it up.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
great
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
upvoted and followed you if you like cuteaniamals please follow me
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Oh this is exciting. I'll be following this.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
It's so cute! Can I hold it? 😁
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit