What should I do with this Tiger Salamander?

[Neon Aurora]

So my dogs caught a tiger salamander. It's extremely rare for us to see them here, but this year we have had a ridiculous amount of rain. Anyways, he was almost dead and was covered in dog hair and coated in his own toxin. I'm sure the toxin is the only reason he was still alive at all.


I took him inside and washed him off and let him rest to see if he would live. He did. I can't put him back where he was because it is where my dog are. We also had a pond out there that we destroyed because my dogs got giardia. I'm guessing that was his water source, so I don't want to put him back after destroying his water source.


What do I do with him? Should I release him somewhere else? I'm afraid that wherever I release him will dry up and he will die. He is the only tiger salamander I've ever seen here.

[Jim Smith]

I would find a nice place with plenty of moist leaves and ground cover perhaps near a small creek and let it go. Just my two cents worth...

[David339]

I know they are something you'd wanna look up before trying to keep it. They are listed *state endangered* on the herpetological society where I live.

[Neon Aurora]

Oh, I don't want to keep it. I just don't want it to die if I put it in the wrong place.

I live in a pinion forest high in the mountains of New Mexico. Water is not abundant here. I've lived here for 8 years and have never found a creek.

I guess maybe I should look around for someone to contact and help me figure this out.

[phenyx]

You could try calling your local fish and wildlife department. They'd know what's best to do with him.

[Bandit]

Call fish and wildlife. They have very specific habitats and will likely just die off if just placed somewhere randomly.