Salamanders and frogs are amphibians. That means that they live part of their life on land, and part of their life in water.
First a female salamander (or frog) lays eggs in the aqua. When the eggs hatch, they look like tadpoles. A salamander tadpoles have their gills sticking out at the sides of their heads. As they grow, they start growing legs (frogs also start losing their tails). When they are full grown, you probably know what a frog look likes. A salamander looks a lot like a lizard but it does not have scaly skin.
Salamanders breathe and absorb things through their skin. They like to stay wet and moist, so they like to stay on land, hidden under logs. Their homes are circles about the size of a nickel or a dime. They eat bugs and worms. They do not have teeth, so they “shake up their food” and swallow it whole!
The biggest land salamander is the Jefferson salamander. I have no idea why it is named that! I did ask Miss Krista, my Nature Nuts teacher, and she said “I do not know!”. She said that a salamander loses its tail or toe sometimes and regenerates it. That is a long 
word that means growing it back!
A hybrid salamander example is a Blue Spotted Salamander Momma and a Jefferson Salamander Daddy. But doesn’t have to be that way; it could be a Blue Spotted and a Tiger Salamander. They both have to be salamanders though!
I held Dino, a salamander in prison! The Naturalist probably obably obably study him (or her) and I know that they bring him (or her) for children to look a
t. Miss Krista thinks that Dino is a girl. Miss Krista told us how to identify if it is a male or a female, but who cares? (Well, a scientist might).
Miss Krista showed us a trap for salamanders. That helps scientists study them when they catch one. They use a trap with liver (I said to use liverwurst so it doesn’t go to waste, it is disgusting!). Salamanders love liver! This time they put bologna in it. They did not like it as much as liverwurst 🙂
After touching an amphibian WASH YOUR HANDS (because Momma says you have to!)
Thank you Miss Krista for teaching me all you know about salamanders.
This is interesting about salamanders. We used to catch them and take them to school, but I wouldn’t hold them. YUCK!!!
Love,
Oma
Oma, they aren’t that bad. They feel like cold wet hot dogs that move 🙂 “Without the bun please!”
Jefferson Salamander
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Jefferson Salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum) is a mole salamander native to the north-eastern United States, southern and central Ontario, and south-western Quebec. It was named for Jefferson College in Pennsylvania, which in turn was named for Thomas Jefferson.
It is typically dark gray, brown, or black on its dorsal surface, but a lighter shade on its anterior. Some individuals may also have silver or blue specks on their sides; the area around the vent is usually gray. These salamanders are slender, with a wide nose and distinctive long toes, and range in size from 11 to 18 cm.
Like other mole salamanders, the Jefferson Salamander are burrowers; they have well developed lungs suited for this purpose. Nocturnal by nature, they can be spotted by day during the mating season. Breeding occurs in early spring, after the snow in the area has melted.