How to Care for Salamanders

Prepare the salamander's home before you have collected it from nature. Salamanders prefer moist damp habitat with ample hiding places. Choose an aquarium or similar container with ventilation and a snug fitting lid. Select an area in your home out of direct sunlight for the aquarium to live.

Add a shallow layer of small stones to the bottom of the aquarium. Collect moist soil, preferably from where you found the salamander if possible. Add this on top of the stones. Plant small shade and moisture-tolerant plants in the soil. Finish off your salamander habitat with bits of rotting tree bark and larger stones for cool hiding places for the salamander. Scatter leaf litter on top of your soil to hold moisture and create cover.

Fill a small container with water and set it within the soil making it flush against the soil. This will allow a place for the salamander to get a drink and to keep his skin moist should the aquarium get dry.

Identify your salamander using a field guide. Make note of any special living requirements it may have. Make specific notes about where you collected it, so you may recreate their habitat. Also, if you plan to only keep it for a short while you will want to make sure you can return it to the same location that you found it.

Handle the salamander with clean wet hands, free of soap, lotion or perfume residues. If possible hold the salamander on a leaf to create a barrier between your hand and its skin. Salamanders absorb moisture through their skin and can easily dry out or be affected by harmful chemicals. Avoid holding them for extended periods of time.

Feed your salamander in the evening as this is when they are naturally active. A diet in captivity consists of crickets and other small insects. A vitamin supplement can be purchased at a pet store. You can dust the insects with the supplement.

Keep their habitat moist but not too moist. Using a spray bottle, mist the habitat twice a day. Change the container of standing water regularly.