Captive Bred 2023 Juveniles, 1-2".
Hemidactylium scutatum is a fascinating small salamander frequently active in the daytime, exhibiting behaviors reminiscent of some of its tropical bolitoglossine relatives.
Please note, this species is protected in many states where it is native and buyers should confirm that it is legal to possess before purchase if they reside in these states.
Care & Husbandry
Four-toed salamanders are kept in semiaquatic enclosures with roughly 25% of the tank space consisting of 2-3" deep water and a sloped gravel base layer to create roughly 75% land area. The gravel layer above the water line is topped with an organic substrate mix of pine bark, coconut husk chunks, sphagnum, and oak leaves along with a few bark slabs, live moss, and ferns. Mosses such as live Sphagnum, Thuidium, or any other terrarium adapted moss can be grown on the edge of the water to provide nesting habitat for females during the spring breeding season.
I have an RO drip that turns on for 30 min/day, and route it such that it hydrates one corner of the land area to give them a moisture gradient to choose from. The tank is drilled with a bulkhead and overflow standpipe to maintain the water level. In addition to the RO drip, I spray down the tank around once/week.
Temperatures from 55-70F are fine, though they can handle down into the low 40s or up into the low 70s seasonally without problems.
I feed mainly pinhead crickets and fruit flies to transformed salamanders, dusted with Repashy Calcium Plus and crickets gut loaded with Repashy SuperPig.
Adults can be kept in 10 gallon tanks or larger for breeding groups. Eggs are typically laid in the spring underneath moss clumps overhanging the water. The female attends the eggs until hatching. Hatching is often triggered by heavy rainfall/misting, which assists the larvae in wriggling down into the water below. Larvae eat small foods such as baby brine shrimp, tiny worms, copepods, and daphnia. The larval period is typically short, from 30-60 days depending on available food and temperature.
