The Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber) is an amphibian found across the eastern United States. It inhabits moist environments like forested stream-sides, springs, and seepages, relying on clean, cold water sources throughout its life cycle. The diet of the Red Salamander shifts profoundly as the animal undergoes metamorphosis from a fully aquatic larva to a semi-terrestrial adult.
Diet of the Aquatic Larval Stage
The initial years of a Red Salamander’s life are spent exclusively underwater as a gilled larva. During this prolonged aquatic phase, the young salamanders are opportunistic carnivores, feeding on minute invertebrates found within the stream substrate. Their diet is dominated by small, slow-moving aquatic organisms that are easy to capture in the water column and sediment.
Midges from the family Chironomidae are a primary food source for larvae. Another significant portion of their diet consists of fingernail clams from the family Sphaeriidae, which they forage for in the soft bottom of streams and springs. Larvae also consume small amounts of terrestrial prey, such as springtails, that fall into the water. Larger larvae occasionally prey on smaller salamander larvae, demonstrating a generalist predatory strategy dictated by size and availability.
Diet of Terrestrial Juveniles and Adults
Once metamorphosis is complete, the Red Salamander transitions to a semi-terrestrial existence. Terrestrial juveniles and adults primarily forage in the damp soil and leaf litter surrounding their aquatic habitats, often emerging on rainy nights. They remain obligate carnivores, hunting a wide variety of soft-bodied invertebrates that thrive in moist environments.
Primary prey items include earthworms, slugs, and snails, which are abundant in the wet, forested areas where the salamander lives. They also consume smaller arthropods like spiders, springtails, and various beetles, capturing them with a rapid extension of their sticky tongue. These salamanders are ambush predators, often hiding beneath logs, stones, or thick moss and lunging at prey. Larger adult Red Salamanders may occasionally broaden their diet to include small vertebrates, such as juvenile frogs or other smaller salamander species.
Feeding Considerations for Captive Red Salamanders
Providing a captive Red Salamander with a diet that mimics its natural, carnivorous intake is essential. The food offered must be live and appropriately sized, typically no larger than the width of the salamander’s head, to prevent choking. A consistent diet of live invertebrates like small earthworms, crickets, and mealworms is suitable for terrestrial adults.
Variety is important, and owners should routinely “gut-load” feeder insects by providing them with nutritious foods before feeding them to the salamander. This ensures the salamander receives a complete nutritional profile. Aquatic larvae require very small live foods, such as bloodworms, brine shrimp, or Daphnia. Adult salamanders only need to be fed two to three times per week, though younger juveniles require more frequent feedings due to their faster growth rate. The salamander will ignore dead or processed foods, such as pellets, as they are hardwired to hunt live, moving prey.