Amphibians

Profile: Fire Salamander (Salamandra salamandra)

The term salamander originates from an Arab term meaning ‘lives in fire’. Traditionally, the species was seen crawling and coming out of logs that were put in campfires while cooking. Myths have it that the fire salamander could endure in fire, but you don’t want to find out the hard way if they can, because their skin does not offer any such protection against fire.

Origin and overview
The fire salamander can trace its origin in southern and central Europe as well as the Middle East and Northern Africa. The species prefer deciduous forests as they will be found in the hilly parts of Central and Southern Europe hiding in fallen leaves. They also can be found in tree trunks. Basically, the species is unnoticeable because they spend a lot of their time hiding under woods, stones, regardless of where they are, be it in water or in terrestrial areas.

Correspondingly, fire salamanders tend to be active at night and during the evening hours but during the rainy season, they become active during the day too. The S. salamandra is the largest species in the Salamandridae family, which explains the reason why they are long, with the height ranging anything between 15-20 and to some extend some species exceed 30cm long. The length of the body exceeds the length of the tail.

Physically, fire salamanders appear to have stout limbs, with large protruding eyes, with the female looking larger than their male counterparts. The heads of fire salamanders is somehow flattened, with a short rounded snout.

Characteristically, fire salamanders are attractive and brightly colored. Their basic color is black, and depending on the sub species, some white, red or orange markings can be spotted to form patterns on their dorsal surface. Some species can even be spotted featuring uneven stripes coming down from the eyes, through the back and joining on the tail. The underside is generally dark grayish with less spots.

The fire Salamanders feature a very long life span, long enough that it is reported in German a salamander had lived for slightly more than 50 years, but on average, the life span is anything between 13-15 years. The general body skin of fire salamanders appear smooth, shiny and rubbery to touch.

General Behavior
Fire salamanders spend most of their time hiding on crevices, under rocks and logs, or any place that will keep them moist and provide protection. This species is very loyal, as it may stay in the same place for many years.

Fire salamanders have oval paratoid glands that extend to the back of their skull, with dotted pores running down on each side of their spine. They use these pores to secrete neurotoxins which they use as their main defense against potential attackers. Normally, they would squirt the poisonous fluid, which appears milky, from the pores up to distances of over one foot. The blast that comes with the squirting is what scares away potential attackers. Although the chemicals do not pose any threat to human health, you may develop some uncomfortable irritation which will disappear after a while.

Another common behavior of the fire salamanders is following land marked paths for their direction. It is believed that the landmarks have a significant role in the fire salamander’s visual cues.
Diet
In captivity, you can feed your fire salamander with foods that are naturally fed to frogs such as waxworms, cockroaches, mealworms, crickets, earthworms, snails, an occasional pinkie mouse and fish. Fire Salamander also feed on hard-bodied preys such as centipedes, millipedes and beetles. They basically will eat a wide variety of invertebrates, and also reptiles, birds and amphibians, anything that can fit in their mouth.

Before feeding your fire salamanders with feeder insects, ensure the insects are well fed with high nutritious meals. Twice or thrice a month, you can dust the insect feeders with either calcium, mineral or vitamin supplements to enhance their nutritional value.

A point to remember is that the metabolism rate of fire salamanders is low, thus, it is advisable to feed them utmost twice a week as you monitor their weight. However, depending on the general health condition of the salamander, you may increase or reduce the feeding rations or the feeding frequency.

Reproduction
Basically, a male identifies a potential female for mating, approaches her and blocks her path, grabbing her by his teeth, then mounts on her and deposits spermatophore in her sexually. It may take a while before ovulation and ultimate fertilization takes place.

This explains the reason why it takes a long gestation period from summer when mating is at peak to when the larvae will be developed in spring after they hibernate from winter. Breeding takes place once a year, in land, and the females end up depositing the new ones in water.

Housing
The key to be able to successfully maintain fire salamanders is keeping an optimal temperature and humidity in their living area in captivity. The optimal temperature is 60-75 degrees F, as they are not fire tolerant and too much heat may cause discomfort and stress.

You can house a pair or a trio in a 15 gallon aquarium, ensure you provide a secure cover, lest they climb up and disappear from the corners of the aquarium. Some fire salamanders like to burrow, thus you should provide a deep substrate that will also hold moisture. You can use potting soil mixed with sand, reptile barks or pulped wood.

Ensure the substrate is always dump, but not too soggy. Equally, place a shallow water bowl in the vicinity, as you frequently change the water, using dechlorinated water. Finally, do not forget to provide places of refuge such as placing coconut shells, cork barks, or some pieces of plant pots.

Conclusion
Fire salamanders are a good addition for pet lovers as they are docile and can be handled occasionally, as they don’t seem to mind. The only thing that you should endeavor to do is to maintain and keep the animals cool.

Video of a Fire Salamander: Click to Download Fire Salamander Video

Tags: Amphibians, animal profiles, fire salamander, Salamandra salamandra