Take Me to the Salamander!

In case you are wondering, this entire article rates one huge Gecky*!

Speaking of salamanders and newts, have you ever visited the illustrious Tapaboy Newt Page? No? How about the must-see Salamander Chronicles?

I recently discovered about a zillion fun sites and great information all about these types of critters. Lots of wonderful dinner table trivia - for instance, in all seriousness did you know the largest land-dwelling salamander in the world is the Barred Tiger from Texas? (Maybe it really is true that things always grow biiiiig in Texas.)

The only disappointment was a real dearth of audio herpetological recordings. Maybe newts and salamanders are just very quiet herp type critters, so instead, I picked a page of what I personally consider to be top-quality animal sounds - coyote, rattlesnake, mountain lion - that kind of animals. So listen up! What you hear might save your life. You just never know.

Next, if you are considering keeping one (a newt or a salamander, not one of those other animals) as a pet (apparently many folks do, although I consider the albino frog in my kitchen quite enough non-furry house-pet material thank you very much), the Amphibian Information Centre from the UK includes care sheets and some excellent links.

If you're really enthused about newts and salamanders, there's probably a fan club or organizationnear you. They do seem to be nearly everywhere.

How long do they live in captivity? Excellent question! Find out for sure from the Longevity Index for Salamanders, information collected from no less than 233 institutions and 403 private collections. (Courtesy of Frank and Kate's Herpetological Web Page.)

Just to make sure yours live that long, more care sheets are available from the Newt and Salamander Home Page along with some truly excellent pictures including regrowth of a limb of an Eastern Redspotted Newt. That one is awesome, I must say.

Here's a little more on the Red-Spotted Newt, also called a Red Eft, including what this critter has in common with moths and the green water lizards (be sure to scroll down so you don't miss the second part).

Next, get the scoop on what blobs of flattened jelly have to do with Missouri Hellbenders and for Pete's sake be sure to check the Daily Salamander Menu!

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