James Amberger, age l0, of staten Island, N.Y. for his question:

What should I feed pet salamanders?  

There are more than l30 different salamanders in North America, and many of the medium sized ones make nice little pets. All salamanders are meat eaters so do not feed them vegetables or salad greens. In the wild they hunt for a living and devour their food alive and kicking.
Perhaps your graceful little pets are spotted salamanders with green brown coats adorned with bright yellow spots. Or they may be yellow striped tiger salamanders. These gaudy fellows may be found almost anywhere in the eastern states. The black and white marbled salamander and the drab olive Jefferson salamander also are easterners, but they are not as handsome as their cousins marked with yellow.
Salamanders are amphibians with clammy moist skins. They must avoid the dry heat of direct sunlight, and in the wild they do most of their hunting at night. snails and slugs and worms also avoid daylight and come forth to feed after sunset. The quiet little salamanders lie in wait and pounce upon these slowpokes. They also dine on bugs and beetles, on grubs and crawling caterpillars.
Captive salamanders must have the same kind of foods they enjoy in the wild. You may not wish to supply them with live snails and slugs, but they must have groceries that are just as good for them. All their food must be meat, and it should be served in small bite sized portions. As a rule, salamanders are not fussy about their menus, but their diet must be varied.
Your pets may enjoy a few crumbs of raw hamburger serve it at room temperature and remove all scraps after the meal is finished. Vary the diet with a few beetles and grubs. And every day or so feed them a supply of mealworms. These little grubs are a necessary diet item and the salamanders enjoy them. If your pets refuse to eat hamburger, you will need to keep a supply of mealworms on hand.
This, however, may lead to trouble and make your salamanders very unpopular in the home. Mealworms are the grubs or larvae of certain beetles, and the greedy little wrigglers tend to invade our stores of flour and corn meal. You can buy them at most pet stores, but be sure to keep them in well sealed containers.
Pet salamanders are comfortable and contented in a terrarium type home which you can make yourself. Use an oblong box with glass walls and a glass roof that seals in a supply of moist air. Cover the floor with soil and sink in a bowl big enough for a dunking pool. Have plenty of growing plants either in small pots or rooted in the ground and place the terrarium in filtered sunlight near a window.