Food for Salamanders

Salamanders make endearing pets, capable of recognizing their owners and begging for food. These amphibian species with slim bodies, short legs and moist skins vary from 2 inches to 2 feet long in the U.S. Captive salamanders rely on owners for a balanced diet that changes as they mature. Suitable foods for salamanders include common creatures found in gardens or purchased from pet stores.

  1. Sources of Foods for Salamanders

    • Salamanders prefer live food. Owners hunt for their pets or buy live creatures and commercial pet foods from pet stores. To ensure the best combination of nutrients, dust several meals a week with vitamin and mineral powders from pet stores. Raise home-raised foods like whiteworms on sterilized soil in covered and ventilated plastic containers and feed them breadcrumbs, mashed potatoes and soaked dry dog or cat food. Remember salamanders are nocturnal, so live food must be made available just before dusk. Hunt for your salamanders meals in the summer, using an insect net. Make sweeping motions to capture insects hidden in locations with long grasses and tall weeds. Raising crickets, whiteworms and mealworms supplies your salamander with food during the winter months. Mealworms are easily available from pet stores, as are commercial fish food pellets and brine shrimp that also suit some salamanders.

    Foods for Different Types of Salamanders

    • General foods accepted by most types of salamanders include spiders, snails, slugs, millipedes, moths and earthworms. Spotted salamanders like a diet rich in crickets, spiders and worms. Redback salamanders enjoy small invertebrates and insects, and blue salamanders eat potato bugs. Other types of salamanders eat butterflies, beetles and centipedes. Your particular species of salamander may prefer other foods, so observe it carefully and research your pet using all available sources of information, such as Internet forums for amphibian or salamander owners. These are rich sources of information about your pet's needs and preferences.

    Foods for Young Salamanders

    • The youngest salamanders eat tiny water creatures like daphnids and cyclopsen. They progress to larger versions of these same foods, then begin to eat mosquito larvae and tubifex worms at between 3 and 4 weeks. By the time these salamanders are 6 to 8 weeks old, they're ready for smaller bites of adult food. Purchased larva need small and frequent meals, since larger amounts will kill store-bought larvae that have not eaten for a while. Try small sections of earthworms, gradually building up the portions.

    Food for Adult Salamanders

    • Adults eat larger prey than larvae, including worms, insects and even small animals. Some adult salamanders will only eat live foods. If no earthworms are available, try wiggling strips of beef heart and liver in front of them. To ensure a correct and balanced diet, supplement live foods by sprinkling every other meal with a vitamin and mineral powder available from pet stores. Initially, feed adult salamanders every day with only as much food as they can comfortably eat at one sitting. These creatures can become obese if over-feed, so monitor them closely and adjust as required. Live foods like earthworms are safe to leave in tanks, but you must remove uneaten slices of meat or dead insects to avoid contaminating the tank.