Mystery Amphibian eggs Help ID Please

[Frank Castle]

Frank,I have salamanders in my backyard and I am quite aways away from the nearest creek.I have never seen their egg clusters but I come across the salamanders regularly hile I am doing yard work.I have never bothered to identify them though.

Right, same here, but ALL frogs and Toads and MOST Salamanders and Newts NEED WATER TO BREED, because the larvae have GILLS and eventually metamorphose into air-breathing adults. Adult don't NEED water, they simply must stay moist so they don't dry out, since they breathe through their SKIN......as well as lungs....or just skin in the case of Lungless salamanders.

Therefore, my suggestion Dieselhybrid is put them in a big tub Half-water (dechlorinated), Half-moist soil, covered with moist moss, and mist them daily> Keep it out of the rain so it doesn't fill up and place the eggs clusters directly in the MIDDLE, so if they DO need water, it will be right there, if they don't they can go right to the land.

Moisture will not harm them either way, but terrestrial salamanders may drown, especially young that will be weak swimmers.

 

[Dieselhybrid]

Thank you for taking the time to look into this! great to narrow it down. I looked up newt and salamander eggs, they seem to have more of a shell and less of a slimy blob. They look like some sort of frog to me, but I'm a fish and lizard guy, amphibians I don't know much about except the giant bullfrogs down in Arizona we find.

we found them on a worn deer trail, on top of compacted grass and leaves. about 2-3' elevated above the water line. about 20' to the nearest swamp puddle/creek.

 

[Dieselhybrid]

you know who would probably know…Doctor Phil Oddball

Can you bless us with your knowledge please sir?

 

[Frank Castle]

Thank you for taking the time to look into this! great to narrow it down. I looked up newt and salamander eggs, they seem to have more of a shell and less of a slimy blob. They look like some sort of frog to me, but I'm a fish and lizard guy, amphibians I don't know much about except the giant bullfrogs down in Arizona we find.

we found them on a worn deer trail, on top of compacted grass and leaves. about 2-3' elevated above the water line. about 20' to the nearest swamp puddle/creek.

Then the chances are narrowed down to a Salamander that breeds in WINTER....but has no aquatic/larval stage. Let's look at the suspects then, shall we?

I looked at the eggs and there is noo "shell"...it is merely a gelatinous mass of blobs lol It is likely a terrestrial salamander or newt with no larval stage......which makes it rather complicated.

Again, I'm trying to help you but I need you to answer my questions. WHEN was the last time you had a good rain and what has the temperature been the past few days to a week? Deer trails are usually worn down and depressed sections of land capable of holding water. Not only are they deeper imprinted than the rest of the surrounding land from the weight of the deer, but the soil, dirt, clay, etc is much more compact and water-tight as a result of this.

I had many temporary pools on a Deer trail that led to my favorite fishing spot that held water 75% of the year. January to March being the 25% that it did NOT have water ONLY. North American Frogs and Toads NEED water to reproduce, no exceptions. Follow my advice from my previous post and they will then hatch and we will find out in time.

 

[Dieselhybrid]

Then the chances are narrowed down to a Salamander that breeds in WINTER....but has no aquatic/larval stage. Let's look at the suspects then, shall we?

I looked at the eggs and there is noo "shell"...it is merely a gelatinous mass of blobs lol It is likely a terrestrial salamander or newt with no larval stage......which makes it rather complicated.

Again, I'm trying to help you but I need you to answer my questions. WHEN was the last time you had a good rain and what has the temperature been the past few days to a week? Deer trails are usually worn down and depressed sections of land capable of holding water. Not only are they deeper imprinted than the rest of the surrounding land from the weight of the deer, but the soil, dirt, clay, etc is much more compact and water-tight as a result of this.

I had many temporary pools on a Deer trail that led to my favorite fishing spot that held water 75% of the year. January to March being the 25% that it did NOT have water ONLY. North American Frogs and Toads NEED water to reproduce, no exceptions. Follow my advice from my previous post and they will then hatch and we will find out in time.

Thank you Frank for the information. I hope you don't think I was questioning your expertise. I'm doing water changes today as I have to fly back down to the desert for a few days tomorrow. I'll head back out this afternoon and take another look at them. I'll dig around the garage and try to put together a habitat as you described in your earlier post.

The last heavy rain was last week, I'd say Wednesday, but it drizzles nearly everyday to some extent. Lot of fog and low clouds here, tons of dew and moisture on the ground 247 right now.

Thanks for taking the time to post my man. I'll get some updates soon

 

[Dieselhybrid]

Temps near freezing at night and around 45-50 daily

 

[Frank Castle]

Thank you Frank for the information. I hope you don't think I was questioning your expertise. I'm doing water changes today as I have to fly back down to the desert for a few days tomorrow. I'll head back out this afternoon and take another look at them. I'll dig around the garage and try to put together a habitat as you described in your earlier post.

The last heavy rain was last week, I'd say Wednesday, but it drizzles nearly everyday to some extent. Lot of fog and low clouds here, tons of dew and moisture on the ground 247 right now.

Thanks for taking the time to post my man. I'll get some updates soon

Not at all, dude, IDK why I don't get an alert that you quoted me, but I didn't think anything of it....don't really remember the last few posts in this thread either...I think I may have tipped back one too many that night LOL Update plz? They shouldn't take very long to hatch....what's the status? Amphibians eggs are like most fish, they generally only take like 3-7 days to hatch except for a few weird ones - I know Salmon take a few months and Bass are like 3-6 weeks depending on temps.

 

[MonsterFishCreeper]

Did these ever hatch? Just curious what you found