Hobbies And Interests
Feeding Behavior
Tiger salamanders are carnivores that tend to feed at night. According to the University of Michigan's Animal Diversity website, the larvae feed on insect larvae and small crustaceans. Adult tiger salamanders eat insects, slugs, snails, worms, small fish, baby snakes and newborn mice. Tiger salamanders are also cannibalistic and will feed on smaller salamanders.
Breeding Behavior
Salamanders start to mature sexually in their third year. They instinctively leave their holes in the early winter or spring and travel to nearby ponds just to breed. There's competition at the pond as a male will nudge a female away from other males, and the female will nudge the male to stimulate the depositing of spermatophores. The migration to and from the pond, which is typical of salamanders in general, is when the tiger salamander is most likely to put itself in peril from humans. The salamanders travel at night over a stretch of 500 meters or so. The migration paths in many areas go over highways. That means the tiger salamander can easily wind up as road kill.
Reproductive Behavior
During the breeding process, female tiger salamanders move their bodies to allow the males easier access to their cloacas, the area of the body where spermataphores are deposited. The females lay their eggs at night, depositing one, or more, masses of between 25 and 50 eggs. Females attach their eggs to the floor of the breeding pond using decayed grass, leaves and twigs.
Habitat
Tiger salamanders spend a significant amount of time underground in burrows that are up to 2 feet deep. They also find homes in adequately moist areas of prairies and forests, or near bodies of water such as ponds, streams and lakes. Tiger salamanders are one of the only salamanders that can handle the arid climate of North America.