widely. Like others of this genus, it migrates toward its breeding 

 pond when the first warm spring rains come. The breeding pond 

 is usually a temporary woodland pool or a slow stream, but it may 

 go to bog ponds or lake marshes. 



Breeding Habits. Its breeding habits are essentially like those 

 of the Tiger Salamander, except that when Spotted Salamanders 

 have gathered in numbers they make the water "boil" as they swim 

 over and over one another in their nuptial play in late March or 

 early April. 



The eggs are deposited in oval or rectangular masses about 1 1 

 mm. long and attached to submerged branches or vegetation, often 

 with as many as 1 50 in a mass. The egg is about 3 mm. in diameter, 

 brown at one end, yellowish at the other. The eggs appear as dark 

 balls enclosed in a milky gelatin. Covering the eggs and their sup- 

 port is a clear or milky gelatinous mass. 



¥ood. The adults eat much the same small land creatures as the 

 Tiger Salamander does — earthworms, slugs, snails, ground insects, 

 etc. Unlike the Tiger Salamander, they seldom or never catch 

 frogs or other salamanders. In captivity this species will eat bits of 

 meat, but not readily. The larval Spotted Salamander eats water in- 

 sects, crustaceans, and small fish. 



This species is hardy in the vivarium or aquarium. I prefer to 

 keep it in an aquarium containing an inch or so of water, with one 

 or more flat stones protruding. The temperature should be under 

 70° F., and may be much cooler. Like other ambystomas, this 

 species is torpid in daytime and only slightly more active at night. 



Tiger Salamander (Amby stoma figrhiiim) 



Appearance. A chunky, blunt-headed salamander covered by a 

 glistening coat of mucous, typical of the Ambystomas. The head 

 is widest just back of the eyes and tapers gradually to the neck, 

 which is marked by a deep and narrow groove. The toes are blunt- 

 ly tapering and short. The ground color of the sides and back is 

 dark brown or dull black, with numerous light yellow-brown or 

 olive brown spots about the si/e of the eyes. These spots are irreg- 

 ular in size and shape and frequently fuse to form light blotches 



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