While working on the flowerbed around the koi pond this past weekend, Ted found this little guy. We had no idea what he was, and then I remembered that I’d downloaded an app called Seek earlier. I took a picture of the little guy with the app’s camera feature, and it immediately identified him as a mole salamander.

According to savethesalamanders.com , salamanders can be poisonous but not venomous which means they may secrete something through their skin that can then irritate the eyes or mucus membranes of someone who handles them and then touches his/her eyes, nose, or mouth. The salamander may also absorb salts and other things from a person’s hands which may hurt the salamander. Because of this, we opted to not touch it and left it in the flowerbed.

I noticed the salamander moved so slowly (like a snail!), and eventually I saw it going into a small hole near the base of a host. We put extra thick mulch in that area to keep its home moist and then went on fixing up the flowerbed and pond.

It was neat to see something we’ve not seen on the farm before!