What are the chances of a wild salamander surviving in captivity?

Question

Yesterday I caught a baby salamander and I brought it home. I have a snake I take good care of and figured I could take just as good care of a salamander. But I didn't realize that I got my snake from a pet store, not the wild.

The problem is I can't take it back to where I caught it. I don't even know where I got it from. Just a woodland creek 2-3 cities away from my house. Now I feel really bad that I took it away from it's home.

I have no creeks near my house similar to where I caught it , and I don't want to mess up the economy somehow by releasing a foreign animal into a different enviroment.

My question is: what are it's chances of being able to survive in captivity? I don't want to let it die, but I don't want to give up on the poor thing.

I know how to care for one, but my mom said I shouldn't feel obligated since it's probably just going to die.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Answer 1

Unless you know what you are doing, its chances of survival are slim. However, it is likely that you found a fairly common one and removing it from the population will just make room for another one to survive in its original population.

Answer 2

ok if taking it back really isn't an opition firs thing we need to do is ID this guy then we can determin if he can be A: released locally or B: oh to give him a chance of living in captivity. you mom seems a cruel woman she should be teaching u the resposibilties of your actions. u pulled it out of the wild so u now have to look after it

ok put it in a set-up like this it should be ok for a few days till we can id it and get this sorted

feed it worms slugs snails (deshell) grubs etc to feed it either feed via tweesers (some dont like this) or just leave in the tank for it to hunt(this come with the risk of escaping bugs or them injuring your pet

u need a 15 gallon tank minimum filled with a deep layer (2") organic potting soil (not pesticides/fertilizers) (microwave first), Eco Earth, mosses or leaf litter preferably a mix. also the tank should have a mesh (screen) escape proof lid ( an normal aquarium will do for a little while

furnish your tank with bits of wood (from a pet store driftwood is good) flat stones and broad leaved plants (fake or real) to make a series of hiding places

temps shouldnt be above 22-23 but 16-20 is better.

for water use a largeish shallow container (the saucer things u put under plant pots are good for this) filled with bottled spring water or dechlorinated tap water water needs to be changed daily (no slacking and thinking ill do it 2moz)

the whole tank needs to be cleaned out and substrate replaced at least once a month.

buy some books find out what it is and research how to keep it.

One last think NEVER mix species of amphibians or reptiles NEVER

and dont handle or "pet" any amphibians (frogs newts salamanders toads except when u absolutely have to the chemicals and salts produced by your skin and anything u put on your skin can harm your pet, (if u really really (and i only mean when u really have to) touch u pet wash your hand carefully before hand this will limit the damage and make it safe(ish) for about 3-5 mins from the time u take your hands out of the water) (also have wet hands during touching)

ok ive sent u an email, lets see if we can sort out this mess please email me back