Spotted salamander nymph shedding?

[Neena]

We have had our little guy for about a month and he’s always been active and a good eater. We feed brine shrimp and always siphon out the dead to keep water clear. He’s a voracious eater though! Haha
Today though I noticed he’s being still and floating on the surface a lot. When I went to feed him he didn’t even pay attention to the food. He usually goes after it right away and chows down. In the photo I think maybe it’s shed coming off his little arm? I’ve also noticed his gills are nearly completely gone. So here is my question:
Do they get stay still a lot while shedding and not eat? Should I keep offering him shrimp today or stop until tomorrow maybe? I’m just so nervous that he’s not himself and floating so much. I should note that if I get near him he will dart back to the bottom, but I’m just nervous something is wrong. Please help?
Also curious as to when to change the enclosure to a land dwelling environment for him. He has a large hide that actually juts out of the water perfectly so he can get on top of it and climb out when he’s ready.

 

[frank beard]

You should remove it from the water and put it in on the land before it drowns. You can use moist paper towels, moss, moist soil etc but leaving it in the water will likely result in death in the next day or so.

 

[Neena]

You should remove it from the water and put it in on the land before it drowns. You can use moist paper towels, moss, moist soil etc but leaving it in the water will likely result in death in the next day or so.

 

[Neena]

Well he has a big hide that he could walk up on out of the water if he wanted to. I tried to bring him out of the water and he seemed to gasp and wanted back in the water. Are you sure he’s ready to leave the water???

 

[frank beard]

Yes, when their gills are that small and they just float they are ready. They drown very easily at that size.

 

[Neena]

Yes, when their gills are that small and they just float they are ready. They drown very easily at that size.

Well he seems to gasp when I take him out of the water. That’s why I was worried. Plus he’s not eating. What should I start feeding him now if he will be out of water? I’m sorry for asking so many questions!! In the video you can hear the clicking sound he’s making. Is that bad? Is that gasping?

 

[frank beard]

It probably can't eat right now. There is a major reworking of the mouth from the suction feeding larval mouth to the tongue flipping mouth of a terrestrial salamander.

You could also setup something with very shallow water with a gravel ramp or lots of aquatic vegetation. You wouldn't want it to not be able to lift it's head out of water while touching the bottom or supported by a plant. When my Ambystoma are morphing I generally set them up just like you have yours. They do like to hide so you might added a crumpled moist paper towel so that it won't get too stressed out. Over the next week or so the tail shape will change further, the head shape will change even more and the gill nubs will be gone. Once it gets a terrestrial Ambystoma shaped head you can try to offer small crickets and earthworms.

Metamorphosis is a tough time for amphibians and some of them don't make it but keep your fingers crossed.

 

[Neena]

Than

It probably can't eat right now. There is a major reworking of the mouth from the suction feeding larval mouth to the tongue flipping mouth of a terrestrial salamander.

You could also setup something with very shallow water with a gravel ramp or lots of aquatic vegetation. You wouldn't want it to not be able to lift it's head out of water while touching the bottom or supported by a plant. When my Ambystoma are morphing I generally set them up just like you have yours. They do like to hide so you might added a crumpled moist paper towel so that it won't get too stressed out. Over the next week or so the tail shape will change further, the head shape will change even more and the gill nubs will be gone. Once it gets a terrestrial Ambystoma shaped head you can try to offer small crickets and earthworms.

Metamorphosis is a tough time for amphibians and some of them don't make it but keep your fingers crossed

Thank you so much Frank. I really appreciate the advice. I hope he makes it, he’s been a wonderful addition to our family. Idk where I would find crickets or earthworms small enough to feed him but I will do what I need to do!! We were thinking to collect some moss from outside to make him a nice terrarium but is that ok? Or should we try to buy moss??

 

[stanleyc]

Earthworms of any size will do. You can cut them into smaller chunks and feed that way.

Good luck with your salamander!

 

[frank beard]

I always collect my own moss. That being said you might keep the simple paper towels for a month or so until you are sure it is eating and growing. I imagine if you have somewhere you can collect moss then you also have somewhere you can dig up some worms.

Another thing to be aware of is that your salamander will almost certainly be more shy than it was as a larvae. You won't see it as much and it won't be as aggressive of a feeder. You can't just drop some worms or crickets in the terrarium and it runs out and chases them down for instance. You can definitely drop them in there and they will probably get eaten but the chances of you seeing them get eaten are small. You can set up the terrarium so that you have a burrow or a crevice that is easy for you to look in and if you put food right at the opening you can probably see it eat and know that it is eating. They may come out and wander around at night especially if you mist the terrarium.

 

[Neena]

I’m learning so much here! Also, he’s doing much better today. Yesterday I put a smaller container with wet paper towels in his tank just to kind of reduce stress. He was so still for hours I thought he might not make it. This morning when I went to check on him he had disappeared! He crawled out of it and was lounging on top of his rock “hide” in a crevice. That gave me hope that he just might survive the transition. Thank you again, so much, for taking the time to educate me. I really appreciate it