TIGER SALAMANDER - LITTLE-PEPPERS FIELD GUIDE TO WISCONSIN REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS
The most fearsome and ferocious of all the salamander kinds!
Okay, so maybe it's not that tough, but it is super cool and we sure like it! The Tiger Salamander is the largest land salamander in Wisconsin. It can grow over a foot in length, and is a very impressive amphibian to meet.
As these incredible amphibians grow, they need to shed their skin. Though it is rare to encounter one that is shedding, this one here certainly was. In all of his life, @papa-pepper has only caught a few Tiger Salamanders. The main reason for this is that Tiger Salamanders are "mole" salamanders, and live in burrows for most of the year. This means that they spend the majority of their adult life underground.
If you look underneath the Tiger Salamander, you can see that it has spots on its belly. This is important to know because the Spotted Salamander can look rather similar, but it has a grey belly. In Wisconsin, we had both types of salamanders.
Tiger Salamanders have also been a staple in the pet industry for many years. We have kept some for short periods of time to observe, photograph, and educate with them, but the best place for them to be is out in the wild. Time and time again @papa-pepper tells his @little-peppers, "The more that are out in the wild now, the more will be out there later!"
Here is the page from our Field Guide:
Here are a few short videos:
A Tiger Salamander crawls out of the water.
Face to Face with a Tiger Salamander.
UPVOTE-FOLLOW-RESTEEM
IN CASE YOU MISSED THE PREVIOUS POSTS IN THIS SERIES:
INTRODUCTION
SNAPPING TURTLE
AMERICAN TOAD
GREY TREE FROG
RED-BACKED SALAMADER
GARTER SNAKE
FIVE LINED SKINK
SPINY SOFTSHELL TURTLE
NORTHERN PRAIRIE SKINK
SPRING PEEPER
EASTERN HOGNOSE SNAKE
NORTHERN WATER SNAKE
I've lived in Wisconsin all my 57 years and I've yet to see a Tiger Salamander. And I couldn't have been living under a rock, that's where the Salamanders live! Very interesting, Thank you!
Message only for the @little-peppers - what happened to the rabbit production line? I thought you were going to keep Mummy and Daddy in the style to which they have become accustomed. I suggested that chickens might be good too. You cannot eat those salamanders!! Yeuck! That one has dandruff too. Get some scalp stuff on it - or some olive oil!
Namaste kids.
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