Other pets (pics and discussions)

[BLUESIRTALIS]

Richard, like I tell my kids, can you get the food to feed them? I know many salamanders eat things like spiders and flies and such. We have the king spotted salamanders here, as well as the little blue ones and newts. We will catch them and then release because we can't feed them properly. They like to live near the stream banks, under the rocks.

I won't keep them cause I won't have spiders and such in the house. We had a spring peeper a few years ago, for a night. Not only was that little bugger LOUD but he also had the same menu. So we let him go back into the pond area.

If you decide to get one, let me know how you make out!

They do really well in captivity feeding on worms and medium crickets you just set up the viv about six inches of peat moss and put some plants in and a layer of sphagnum moss on top it is best to put a little gravel on the bottom for drainage. Keep it damp but not too wet and mist once a day with natural spring water. You need to make sure there is plenty of ventilation so it don't mold inside. You can also put a log in for him to hide under. They make awesome pets. Spotteds and marbles are in the mole salamnder family and they spend most of their time underground they take to the water for mating.

[RedSidedSPR]

Hope she's OK.

Sure, I'll run right over to walmart and pick some up.

Wazzat really necessary?

[ConcinusMan]

Thumbilina didn't make it but I'm not really surprised. I was told last night that she likely had brain damage beyond recovery when we brought her in. We still don't know why, and we still don't know what caused her sudden unexpected passing. It's bad enough losing her so suddenly but the not knowing what happened is killing me.

Thumbilina - Nov 5th 2000 - April 13, 2011.

[Stefan-A]

Sorry to hear it.

[BLUESIRTALIS]

Sorry for your losses she was precious. R.I.P Thumbilina.

[drache]

sorry for your loss, Richard

[guidofatherof5]

Very sorry to hear this news.

[Mommy2many]

Richard, I am so sorry that you lost your Thumbelina. Hopefully this wasn't a painful passing for her. I had the same symptoms happen to one of my cats (very young) suddenly. Turned out to be a brain bleed. Thoughts and prayers are with you.

[ConcinusMan]

Thanks everyone. She had been acting a little strangely, drinking and urinating excessively for the past couple of months with some weight loss and dehydration but nothing that seemed to be life threatening or anything that would make her suffer. Vet visits and plenty of tests couldn't find anything wrong.

Other than that, she didn't suffer. She didn't seem to be in pain or discomfort, she was eating well, still playing, still active up to and including the night before I had to take her in. It appears that something did happen very suddenly as she slept. From that point on, I really don't think she was consciously aware of anything. I stopped short of paying a few hundred more for a necropsy but with other evidence, (some bruising) the vet does seem to think it was possibly a sudden aneurysm or clot to her brain so she didn't suffer.

I am heartbroken. I never expected the mild symptoms she's been having would lead to her death and I sure has heck wasn't expecting her to die so soon. My other poms always lived to be 15 or 16 and I knew when it was their time. I had plenty of warning with them. This was unexpected. She was only 10 and full of life. I'll miss her terribly.

[ConcinusMan]

let me know if you get a viv setup and need some sals.

Will do. Thanks.