salamander, info wanted quite urgent

[nofly]

hi,

an internet friend has found a salamander in her garden -last weekend-, and has taken it into the house.
i don't think this is very wise, but am unsure about what salamanders use to do in winter.
(it is in the netherlands).

what can i advise her to give the animal a chance??

thanks,
nofly
(sala is living yet)

[ron1863]

Check this link:

Salamanders and Newts as Pets - Care of Pet Salamanders

[Gill Catton]

I would suggest let it go again now while its still mild and the animal can find a safe place to hibernate - which is what they naturally do this time of year. Otheriwse she has to look after it all winter and can't change her mind and let it go because it will be too cold for the animal to be able to move itself somewhere safe. Also I'm not sure what the laws are in the Netherlands with regard to such species and this will need to be taken into account.

[nofly]

thank you for your opinions..

i did send the content of gill's mail to them, cannot force them to behave as advised though.
they seem to have the animal in the house, in a glass 'cage', with some care (food, water).

thanks for helping,
nofly

[Gill Catton]

amphibians I believe are particularly susceptable to fungal infections and a glass cage in particular will need to be regularly cleaned out.

I looked into keeping tropical frogs once but decided its too easy to stuff it up and not be able to maintain the delicate microclimate they need to be happy and healthy.

Its a risky business - better to catch one (if legal) during the summer and keep for a few weeks to learn more about the animal and enjoy watching it then you can let it go again whenever you want into an environment where it can instinctively move to a place its comfortable in - something that may be impossible in a cage. If you catch one in the winter you are committed then until spring.

Plus its possible that if the animal is prevented by warmer temperatures from hibernating as it has evolved to do this may make it sick in itself. House martins and swallows kept in britain when everything in their body tells them they should be in Spain / Africa usually suffer high levels of stress as a result that end up making the bird become sick and die......

My advice again would be let it go and learn more about the animal and hunt down breeding habitat and if legal perhaps then take an individual for study for a short time - even better enjoy them in their natural habitat - I totally understand how fascinating these animals are.

perhaps I'm doom mongering here - everything may be fine but I think you have to consider the worst case scenario and decide if its worth the risk. I just personally hate it when an animal suffers because of something I did that I didn't need to do or wasn't the best I could manage.

[nofly]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

I just personally hate it when an animal suffers because of something I did that I didn't need to do or wasn't the best I could manage.

## i fully agree with you.
hope the little animal will survive, but i doubt it will