Tiger+Salamander

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// Ambystoma tigrinum // // Ambystoma californiensis - // CA tiger salamander //Ambystoma mavortium// - Barred tiger salamander

Order: Caudata

=**__Husbandry Information__**=

Housing Requirements

 * Deep coconut husk substrate kept on the wet side of damp. Temperature at or below 70dg.

Diet Requirements

 * Crickets, roaches, mealworms

Notes on Enrichment & Training


=__Programmatic Information__=

Tips on Presentation

 * Presented in a carrier/terrarium. Remove hides and limit substrate so audiences can see the animal.
 * Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium: Our tiger salamanders are displayed in a clear plastic container with a small amount of de-chlorinated water. Staff must wash hands with soap and water immediately prior to handling and hands must be dampened with de-chlorinated water prior to picking up salamanders.

Tips on Handling

 * Handled wearing nitrile gloves wet with decholorinated water.

Potential Messaging


=__Acquisition Information__= UC Davis has a captive-bred colony, including some //A. mavortium x A. californiensis// hybrids.

=__Comments from the Rating System__=
 * Lee Richardson Zoo: We allow small audiences to touch this species with wet fingers and have never seen any negative effects.
 * Pittsburgh Zoo: We use a Barred tiger salamander (//A. t. mavortium//).

=__Natural History Information__=

Range and Habitat
There are three species that are commonly called "tiger salamanders." // Ambystoma tigrinum // is the most widespread, found throughout North America. It is also the most common species in animal collections. //Ambystoma velasci// is found throughout Mexico and into the southwestern United States. //Ambystoma californiense// is found in west-central California.

Physical Description
The hybrid tiger salamander at Happy Hollow is a cross between the California tiger salamander and barred tiger salamander. Both California and barred tiger salamanders are around 7-8 inches long as adults. Hybrids between the two species occur in nature and are generally larger than either of the parent species. All tiger salamanders have a brown to black body and tail, with brown to yellow spots and patches, resembling tiger stripes, giving them their common name.

Life Cycle
Like all amphibians, tiger salamanders have an aquatic larval stage which has external branching gills on the back of the head. After the first heavy rains in winter, tiger salamanders find their way to the shallow pools of their breeding ground where females may lay over 1000 eggs on submerged logs, rocks, and vegetation. The larvae hatch in 2-3 weeks depending on conditions, and eat insects, tadpoles, and other aquatic prey. Larvae begin to metamorphose(change) into adults during the summer. They will be fully mature after 2-3 years, depending on availability of resources.

Behavior
Spend much of the summer and winter underground in order to avoid temperature extremes but will emerge at night or during a rainfall even when temperatures approach freezing. Prefer to hide in burrows or under rocks.

Threats and Conservation Status
Larval salamanders are sometimes called mudpuppies and sold as bait. In this way, the barred tiger salamander (//A. mavortium//) was accidentally introduced by fishermen into the range of the California tiger salamander (//A. californiensis//). Hybrids between these species outcompete their parents for resources. This situation raises difficult questions for managing endangered native salamander populations. Some conservationists might say that hybrids are an acceptable change, since they are favored by natural selection and “improve” the original species. Others might consider hybrids to be genetically impure and regard them as threats to the native salamanders, their competitors and their prey.

=__Did you know…__=

=__Photographs__=



=__Contributors and Citations__=
 * Seneca Park Zoo
 * Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, San Jose