I have a 8 year old greater siren that needs a new home, I have to travel for several months due to family health issue (my mom). They need a min of a 55 gal tank but should have a 75 gallon tank. He eats snails, worms, various commercial pellets. I use sponge filters in the tank as he does not like current. He is very entertaining and has cute little fore arms he uses to move things around looking for snails. He perfers a large hide during the day. He will be available after April 1st and is located in Centreville 20120.
Description: Greater sirens are large, eel-like, salamanders with two forelimbs, external gills and a flattened tail. Although they can approach a full meter in length, most adults are 50-70 cm total length. They vary in coloration throughout their range but are generally an olive green or grayish color with yellow or green flecking along their sides and dorsum. Smaller greater sirens can be differentiated from sympatric lesser sirens by counting the number of costal grooves between the armpit and anus. Greater sirens typically have 36-40 costal grooves while lesser sirens have 31-35 costal grooves. Amphiuma, while superficially similar in appearance, have a round tail, lack external gills and have four reduced "limbs" that are much less developed than the forelimbs of Siren.
Range and Habitat: Greater siren are found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains from Virginia south through Florida and west to parts of eastern Alabama. The greater siren uses a wide variety of wetlands but is found most often in slow or still bodies of water that are heavily vegetated with a thick layer of organic muck or mud. Because of their ability to aestivate for years at a time (one lab specimen aestivated for 5.2 years), greater siren can thrive in seasonal wetlands.
Habits: Breeding activity has been observed in February and March and fertilization is presumed to be external, however the exact mechanism of breeding has yet to be documented. Greater siren occasionally give off a "yelping" sound when handled that is likened to the distant call of green treefrogs (Hyla cinerea) or young ducks. Clicking sounds have also been reported for Siren lacertina. They feed on many different invertebrates and occasional aquatic vertebrates with a possible preference for snails and other mollusks in some areas. Captives can live up to 25 years but no longevity information for wild animals is available.
Anyone considering this - if you have the room I would recommend considering it. I have had one for a number of years and have found them to be very easy to care for and a lot of fun to have around. When I first got mine I threw in some "feeder" guppies thinking he might eat them. Years later the guppy population is thriving, so if he has eaten some it has been very few, so they can be said to be somewhat fish safe - they generally poke around the bottom looking for food and seem to have very poor eyesight.