Vertebrates of CCAG

The CCAG has been known for keeping several types of invertebrates, ranging from tiny porcelain crabs to large banana slugs.

Today, we proudly present the introduction of several vertebrates into the CCAG, including salamanders, saltwater fish and our lizard.

Disclaimer: the salamanders came from my own front yard. It is illegal for me to take them from parks, and that disrupts the ecosystem too.

Three species of native lungless salamanders have been introduced over the past three months.

The first one is the Yellow Eyed Ensatina.

Charmander the Ensatina

This Ensatina, who is named Charmander, comes from a family of lungless salamanders who do not have lungs. Instead they breathe from their skin. Additionally, these guys do not go through a tadpole stage.

Several Ensatina subspecies have been identified, all stemming from the central species Ensatina eschscholtzii. The Ensatina is endemic to the West coast. Yellow eyed Ensatinas live in the Bay area, and can be distinguished from other spp. by a yellow lid above their eye.

Arbie the Arboreal Salamander

The second species is the Arboreal Salamander named Arbie. Arboreal Salamanders, hence their name like to climb trees. This one as found on the sidewalk, backwards, next to the large palm tree that lives in the front yard. We suspect Arbie was trying to climb the tree, but failed. Like Charmander, Aribe is a juvenile, and since Arbie is a species of lungless salamander, Arbie favors moist conditions too.

While Ensatinas are widespread throughout the west coast (a spp. from Arizona exists too), Arboreal Salamanders are mostly endemic to California, except for a small population existing in northern Baja California, Mexico.

Lastly, the California Slender Salamanders. They have been here for at least two years; however, they spend most of their time under foliage and sometimes are too hard to find.

An unknown Slender salamander

They are arguably the most common salamander in California. They are adapted to urban environments and we found these underneath rocks in the backyard. These lungless salamanders differ because of their worm-like appearance and four toes instead of five.

What do the amphibians eat.

A large colony of Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) provide most food for our amphibians. There are several reasons why these ants are great food sources for our animals

1. they are invasive, so we are helping the ecosystem by feeding them.

2. Ant colonies can't function without the queen ant. So if we continue feeding the worker ants, the Queen will produce more without knowing what happened to her workers 😈 So basically we are using the queen as a free ant factory

3. They are a good protein source

   The Lizard

   We have a new pet Southern Alligator lizard. These lizards are common and native to the west coast, but this one was obtained from the pet store. Lots of time, care and dedication must go in to take care of a complicated animal.

   Our lizard's gender and name are yet to be determined, but the CCAG has devised a plan for keeping it

   
   

   There isn't much info on how to keep a lizard online, but we've invested in a large 50 gallon tank, which is about the same size as the happy nature sanctuary

   
   

   The lizard needs two sides of the tank, a hot, dry side and a cool, humid side. Since lizards love to bask and they are cold blooded, they will also need a warm side