You can also use plastic or acrylic tanks if you do not want to purchase a glass tank.
If you cannot purchase a screen top, a hood top will also work.
Aquatic salamanders, like the Axolotl, spend their whole lives in the water. Semi-aquatic salamanders should have a tank that is half water, half land. Terrestrial salamanders should not have a water area in their tank.
Aquatic tank: You should use an aquarium to house your sal in. Layer the bottom of the tank with two inches of washed aquarium gravel. Gradually slope the tank so that the layered gravel goes from two inches to three inches deep. Plant some aquatic plants but know that you will have to replace them every so often because salamanders can be rough on aquatic plants. Semi-aquatic tank: Divide your tank with a half sheet of plexiglass so that one side is aquatic, and one side is terrestrial. Lay two inches of aquarium gravel on the aquatic side, along with some aquatic plants. Create a sloping gradient with the gravel so that the salamander can walk from the water to the land. On the land side, place two inches of aquarium gravel, then top it with substrate (ground covering). This substrate should be mulch-like soil like shredded bark or coconut fiber. Top this with sterile potting soil or garden loam. Terrestrial tank: Do the same as the land side of the semi-aquatic tank, only throughout the whole tank. Add plants, moss and a log
Aquarium water heater: These are submersible heaters that will warm the temperature of the water and increase the humidity in the tank. Heating pad: This can be placed under one side of the tank. Heat lamp: You should monitor these because they may kill the plants in your tank. You will also have to regulate how hot the heat lamp makes the tank.
Give your terrestrial salamanders filtered water. You can give them tap water that has been treated to remove chlorine and chloramine. You can also use bottled spring water.
If you do have to handle a sal, like when picking one out or if yours is injured, wash your hands with very hot, soapy water. Take care to rinse off all of the soap.
If you bought a juvenile salamander, you should feed them daily until they stop growing and mature into an adult.
Live earthworms, nightcrawlers (from a bait shop), bloodworms and crickets (which can be purchased at pet stores), live waxworms, live slugs, live white worms and tubifex worms. They will also eat frozen bloodworms, though you may have to move the bloodworm around to catch your salamanders attention. Give your aquatic salamanders brine shrimp. You can also feed them Daphnia and water fleas.
Note that fire salamanders and tiger salamanders can become obese if overfed.
If you have an aquatic species of salamander, always remember to clean out uneaten food from his water or else you run the risk of dirtying the water or causing mold to grow.
