Eastern Tiger Salamander

Ambystoma tigrinum                    

Presently found           Ranging from Long Island, New York to Northern Florida and from Minnesota to the Gulf Coast.

Habitat                                Sandy soils, moist meadows, burrows of mammals and invertebrates. They spend most of their life underground.  They rarely come above ground except in the evenings after a rain or during breeding season.  At this time there is a mass migration of tiger salamanders to large bodies of water, including ponds, streams, lakes and even temporary pools. 

Size                                      7-8 ¼  inches. Males have slightly longer tails than females.  Tail makes up half of body length.

Lifespan                            12-15 years

Description                     They are often blotched or spotted, they vary in dorsal color from olive green to brown or black, with a yellowish marbled pattern. Their bellies are usually yellow or olive green with dark markings. Most adults have grooved bodies, broad heads, and small eyes. 

Diet                                       Large insects, earthworms, and small mice. Their Zoo diet consists of crickets and pinkies (which are baby hairless mice), which are fed to them twice a week. 

Defense                             Very hard to study because it spends so much time under ground

Some salamanders are capable of shedding their tails, which will then move independently of their bodies to distract their predators. The tail will then regenerate.

Reproduction                 During migration, which is from late fall to early spring, when they arrive near the water, males and females begin a ceremony of pushing and nose rubbing. The female will then lay eggs, which will stick to underwater debris. After they hatch, it takes about three weeks before they lose their gill and become full adults.  They lay 25-50 eggs per year.

Extra fun info                 They are endangered in their native state of New York due to the destruction of critical habitat, use of pesticides and pollution. One of the oldest groups of existing terrestrial vertebrates.  Earliest true salamander lived about 150 million years ago during the Jurassic Period. There are 380 different species.  They are cold-blooded, moist skinned amphibians-ectotherms, which mean animals whose body temperature are dependent in their environment. They are relatives of frogs and toads and caecilians. Their eyesight is well developed and their hearing is poor. They have delicate permeable skin through which water and gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide can enter and leave the body. This makes them sensitive to handle and should only be displayed in a terrarium.