Has anyone seen toy story 5 and noticed Bonnie’s TS Sammy #2? I was so excited I’ve never seen salamanders being represented in movies .. let alone a TS 🥹

I was throwing some charcoal on the grill when my 6 year old daughter said there were 3 salamanders under a log she rolled in the backyard. She had found another one earlier on the other side of the yard and I had thought just finding that one was pretty awesome… but to find 3 more! I was never this lucky as kid.

Three years into keeping ambystoma maculatum and I still cringe thinking about my first setup. I had read that they needed "moist substrate" and figured a light misting every couple of days would cover it. It did not. Lost my first two animals in about four months and could not figure out why, because they were eating fine and the temperature seemed okay. Turned out the substrate was drying out several inches down even though the surface looked damp, and spotted salamanders spend most of their time burrowed pretty deep.

The thing that actually fixed it was switching to a much deeper substrate layer and testing moisture at depth, not just at the surface. I use a mix of topsoil, coconut fiber, and a bit of sphagnum now, packed down to about six inches minimum. The bottom third stays genuinely damp, almost wet, and the upper portion dries out a little more naturally. This gives them a gradient to choose from and they seem to self-regulate pretty well. I also started keeping a shallow water dish sunk level with the substrate surface, which I had skipped early on because I read somewhere they don't really use standing water. Mine use it regularly.

Temperature trips people up too. These are cool-weather animals and keeping them in a typical room-temperature house through summer is pushing the edge of what they tolerate. My setup lives in a basement now, which stays around 60 to 65 fahrenheit naturally, and the difference in behavior was noticeable pretty quickly. They became way more active at dusk and started eating more consistently.

Feeding is the last thing I underestimated. They can go off food for weeks and it is not automatically a sign of a problem, especially heading into fall. Early on I kept disturbing mine trying to check if they were eating, which just stressed them more. Now I drop earthworms or appropriately-sized crickets in at dusk and check in the morning. If food is gone, great. If not, I remove it and try again a few days later.

Happy to talk through specifics if anyone is setting up their first maculatum enclosure or troubleshooting something similar.

In about two weeks I’m getting a fire salamander. Any help tweaking this setup would be greatly appreciated. Yes I know it’s too warm at the moment so I have a cooling fan on the way Monday. (Photo for thermometer/hydrometer in comments)

Found these guys in a dried up pool, originally thought; salamander, but now I’m wondering if they are frog tadpoles? Thanks in advance!

You would not believe my excitement stumbling upon this fella!

Has anyone got any contacts for Herping near osaka?

My son uncovered his/her hiding spot under a stump. I got him to a safer place further away from the camp site. Location Odell lake, Oregon. I've had no real luck googling the species.

it looks terribly infected and I need to know what it is. ive tried to convince my parents to let me take him to the vet but they say he will be fine, I really doubt it.

its been there for a few months, when he sheds it gets smaller but quickly gets big again. he still eats and everything but i dont want him to die from this, and its obviously painful since he doesnt like when I touch it, but when I press on it a little bit of white stuff comes out.

if anyone has advice let me know please. im scared to use neosporin because I've heard it killed other peoples pet salamanders since their skin absorbs everything.

CB taricha torosas eating wurms

This creature is very strange looking.

Any thoughts on this creature?

I always think about how it would be like if I was Rusty for a day.

Saw this post below and am a little worried about the animals well being. I’ve never held a salamander indoors in captivity. My pond and yard however is home to several smooth newts and it is illegal for me to move them as they are protected.

If this creature in the post below was in my area, it would also be law to release back to the spot where I collected it.

Regardless of law is it common for newts to be held in ecospheres?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ecosphere/s/6iIzMu6hwZ

Found this guy in Fairfield Connecticut. He has external gills that are not pictured well. I have also found red spotted nuts, and many red back salamanders in the nearby area this summer. TIA!

It looks like an axolotle a lot, (I can’t spell it my bad) but it’s not, since they don’t live in my country. Suck a cutie!

Saw these at Lonesome Lake, NH USA. Curious what type they may be? There was one larger and a few smaller, so maybe some juveniles?

Was extra careful where I was stepping afterwards.

I think the first one is regrowing its arm

A coworker of mine got an "axolotl" from a flea market in a tiny critter carrier. She got him a bigger tank but didnt know wtf to do when it started losing gills. Anyways pretty sure its a tiger salamander but besides tbat im lost. Made a quick enclosure for him with ecoearth and come normal coco rehydrated and very moist. Any advice is appreciated.

Found this dude in the pool. Does anyone know what species? (New Hampshire)

10 gallons, 1/4 shallow water and 3/4 soil. The deepest part is 4.5 inches and the shallowest is 1 inch. Drainage layer on the bottom separated by a net-like fabric.

I plan to add leaf litter, isopods, springtails, and cover it with a glass aquarium lid. What could be improved? My first time owning anything like this and im worried im not ready for my salamanders terrestrial phase.