Salamander Pics

Here are some pictures from last week of the salamander tadpoles/larvae. There were around 18 of them in the "tank" at school. Over the week I decided to take home several of them. I also went back to the pond where I got the eggs and went net "fishing" for some invertebrates for salamander food. The pond was dry and I couldn't get to the edge of the swamp so I had to lean into a cistern and carefully try not to fall in. Anyway, I ended up with many, many brine shrimp and the sallies love them. At first it was sort of like watching puppies run, the salamanders had no idea how to hunt. They would see the movement of the brine shrimp and then dash to it and miss it by an inch. Now they are very good at hunting, the have learned that they have to wait for a shrimp to swim past them and then, snap, they eat it. Very funny! I am still not sure what type these guys are but time will tell.



Note: click on the pictures for a larger view