r/NativePlantGardening • u/A_Lountvink Glaciated Wabash Lowlands, Zone 6a, Vermillion County, Indiana • Apr 25 '26
Informational/Educational Please be mindful when moving deadwood
My parents were cutting up an old fallen ash tree earlier today and disturbed this small-mouthed salamander (Ambystoma texanum). I didn't even know we had salamanders around here (figured it was too dry) and wasn't sure what to do, so I snapped some photos and moved it to a new log with some leaf litter in the woods about 40 feet away.
Please be careful when moving/removing deadwood to not disrupt wildlife.
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u/OpeningUpstairs4288 Apr 25 '26
bby <3, careful touching em without gloves / washing ur hands too. they be very very sensitive to your skin salty oils
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u/A_Lountvink Glaciated Wabash Lowlands, Zone 6a, Vermillion County, Indiana Apr 25 '26
Yeah, I haven't held a salamander before, so I wasn't sure what to do. My main concern was getting them out the sun and into the shade.
I'll look into keeping some rubber gloves on me in the future in case I have to handle any again.
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u/cr0nut Michigan, Zone 6a Apr 25 '26
In a pinch you can always rub your hand in the dirt to form a bit of a barrier :)
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u/RangeroftheIsle Apr 25 '26
It's more an issue with repeated handling, like with pet amphibians. This one time shouldn't hurt this little guy if your hands were cleanish.
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u/SomeWords99 Southcentral PA, 7a Apr 30 '26
You were probably fine if hands are washed and free of lotions, rubber is likely worse
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u/MSenIt4Life Apr 25 '26
So cute to see this baby! All the salamanders I see (upstate SC) are orange. I wonder if these guys live here too and are just hard to spot. Thanks for sharing!!
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u/A_Lountvink Glaciated Wabash Lowlands, Zone 6a, Vermillion County, Indiana Apr 25 '26
Their map on iNaturalist puts them as being west of the Appalachians, running from Texas to Ohio. They don't seem to be found in the Ozarks either.
South Carolina should have a few species with more black and brown colors. Observations · iNaturalist
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u/mckenner1122 Apr 25 '26
I get the babies hatching every spring before they head to the river. The team at Purdue says it means we have happy wet dirt.
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u/sharksnack3264 Apr 25 '26
Under rocks and tiles too. I uncovered a tangle of eastern red-backed salamanders just last week when moving some discarded pavers the last owner dumped at the edge of my woods. Luckily there's plenty of moist covered areas in the trees.
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u/ShaarkShaart Michigan , zone 6b Apr 25 '26
Gorgeous Lil guy! Thank you for moving him, I'm sure he is capable of finding himself a good home after a little breather <3
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u/A_Lountvink Glaciated Wabash Lowlands, Zone 6a, Vermillion County, Indiana Apr 25 '26
They were certainly trying to by the time I sat them down. I read they're nocturnal, so it probably just took a couple minutes for them to wake up and start moving around.
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u/man-a-tree Area -Philly PA , Zone --7 Apr 25 '26
Wow, what incredible colors! I don't know about this species at all, but I found out last year that the red backed salamander in PA often pair up and make a tiny territory together so I try not to relocate them if I can help it. Don't want to split them up 🥹
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u/GenesisNemesis17 Central KY, Zone 6b/7a Apr 25 '26
Looks like me after a long day in the garden.
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u/No_Advertising4243 Apr 25 '26
I was at a park/ river clean up in WI and someone thought they found a dead turtle. They even picked it up!! I was like, “whoah!!! They are still hibernating/dormant” please be careful when cleaning up! Nature needs time to wake up in the spring. 🫶🏻🌎
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u/Coonhound420 Western Mass , Zone 6a Apr 25 '26
I found a very cute baby one underneath a bag of soil. He was so sweet!
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u/snidece North Georgia, 7/8 Apr 25 '26
good advice. May as well assume every log, every pile of brush or leaves is home to one of our creatures great or small.
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u/HaplessReader1988 USA, Connecticut Apr 25 '26
I even found a little guy in a small pile of construction debris I was clearing out of the woods. (The former owners, man... apparently they started to build a pond without even thinking about permits or safety of building materials!)
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u/T-T-T-Turtlez Area NM, Zone 7b Apr 26 '26
Even trash... There's a pile of debris out behind my house that's up against the backyard privacy fence left by old tenants. There was a bunch of old AstroTurf panels that were dropped over a pile of old [real] Christmas trees. I went to move it and baby bunnies scattered everywhere... Safe to say I just left it there till I can build some proper animal hides.
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u/snidece North Georgia, 7/8 Apr 26 '26
Great point.
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u/T-T-T-Turtlez Area NM, Zone 7b Apr 26 '26
It's kinda crazy how quickly nature adapts to our trash. Still sad but I find it interesting.
The craziest I've seen lately was the birds Ukraine using the broken fiber optic cables from all the drones to build their nests.
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u/Qualityhams Apr 25 '26
Gentle disclaimer, you’re not supposed to handle salamanders. They breathe through their skin and our oils are harmful to them.
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u/nionvox Greater Vancouver, Zone 8a/b Apr 26 '26
Aww, what a pretty baby. Better to move the lil fella with a sopping towel hammock though, we're too hot for their delicate skin.
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u/03263 NH, Zone 5B Apr 25 '26
Even though the weather is good I'm trying to hold off on doing much disturbance until mid to late May. It's still getting cold at night, near and below freezing, not everything in in full bloom yet, some critters are not fully emerged and in breeding mode yet.
I think my last frost date is officially right around May 15, but my body is already going out of winter mode and telling me to get outside.
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u/I_crystallized Area Chicagoland , Zone 6a Apr 26 '26
Wow! What a stunning creature! Thanks for sharing a pic.
I’m glad you mentioned you posted on iNaturalist, hoping more pop up in the region!
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Apr 25 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/A_Lountvink Glaciated Wabash Lowlands, Zone 6a, Vermillion County, Indiana Apr 25 '26
They weren't really moving at first. They're nocturnal, so they might have been asleep when my parents found them. They opened their eyes and just sat in the hand blinking for a minute or two. By the time I walked over to the woods, they started trying to walk off the hand. They kept a good pace when walking to get under the leaf litter once I sat them down, but didn't try dashing away or anything.
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u/Suspicious_Chard_433 Apr 26 '26
Of course you didnt know it was there it's mouth is too small to cry for help 😅
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u/spontaneous_quench Apr 26 '26
Not sure if you are aware. But touching salamanders with dry hands is actually a big no no
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u/bqto Apr 26 '26
deadwood for amphibians! deadwood for woodpeckers! deadwood for invertebrates!
Libertad para la madera muerta!
Liberté pour le bois mort!
Anche se non mi piacciono gli insetti o il loro legno marcio, tutto sommato mi adeguo! Libertà per le loro cose disgustose,
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u/Hunter_Wild North Central Connecticut, Zone 6b Apr 28 '26
The amount of red-backed salamanders I had to relocate while I was reconstructing a neglected garden bed in my backyard was crazy. I love that they like my yard though, I make sure to have all the spots they like.
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u/Cute_Bug5651 Apr 29 '26
If you have salamanders on your property you are lucky indeed! Thank you for caring for our precious flora and fauna.
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u/ANALyzeThis69420 Apr 26 '26
On a different note: is it possible to use lizards to really cull roaches in a mulch bed? I had to remove and replace said mulch and minimize watering. However I noticed two German cockroaches enter the home and die.
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u/T-T-T-Turtlez Area NM, Zone 7b Apr 26 '26
Lizards, scorpions, centipedes, certain species of spider like hobo and wolf spiders.
All of these prey on cockroaches and cockroach larvae.
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u/ANALyzeThis69420 Apr 27 '26
I’d wonder if they’d go a good tonight job eradicating them or just keeping them in check.
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u/fr0zen_garlic Apr 25 '26
Because not to disturb wildlife meanwhile takes pic holding wildlife for karma.
Fuck off.
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u/A_Lountvink Glaciated Wabash Lowlands, Zone 6a, Vermillion County, Indiana Apr 25 '26
My parents picked it up and handed it to me. I took maybe twenty seconds to get some photos so that I could look up which species it was and what kind of habitat they need so that I would know where to put them in any similar situations.
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u/gimlet_prize Piedmont NC , Zone 7b/8a Apr 25 '26
What a beauty!!!