A Surprising Find in Our Yard.

A while ago my mom was mowing the lawn and came across a salamander that was scurrying across the grass. After we took photos, I uploaded them to an app called Seek, which told us that it was a long-toed salamander. 

I have seen some salamanders around the neighborhood pond before, but I never knew what they were.

I looked the salamander up online and here is what I found.

There are four different species of long-toed salamanders in the United States: southern, eastern, and western, plus the Santa Cruz. In Oregon we have the western Long-Toed Salamander.

Because I had held the salamander, the first thing my mom told me was to wash my hands. The adult long toed salamanders produce a sticky secretion from the glands on their tails to ward off predators. This liquid is nontoxic, but it is irritating when eaten by humans or pets.

Another way they protect themselves is by dropping their tails to distract predators so they can escape. They are not harmed by this, and the tail grows back in a couple of weeks.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, northern California, or western Canada, you might come across the long-toed salamander. You can identify them by their long toe on each of their hind feet, hence the name. They are also known for their stripe on their backs. The stripe on the back isn’t always a solid line. It can be broken up or it can be a spotted line.

They live in warm and moist environments like temperate rainforests or coniferous forests. They are found in southern Alaska, southern Oregon, northern California, and southeast Idaho and Montana. Adults can be found under debris like rocks and logs; in the shallow water of rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds; and in small mammal burrows. During the spring, they come out of hibernation to find a mate. 

Long-toed salamanders, like most salamanders lay eggs in clumps in the water. When their eggs hatch the larvae will stay in the water for 1 or 2 years before they start to grow limbs and lungs and turn into an adult. Once the salamander is an adult it usually lives between six and ten years.

The long-toed salamander will eat worms, tadpoles, snails, slugs, and insects. The larvae will eat aquatic insects. 

There are so many variations of the line on the long-toed salamander’s back. I hope to see as many as I can.