Need Help Iding This

[gidget]

We have a terrarium....we have 2 slate rocks together so we could build an island for our salamander. It has had a slew of frogs in it as well, but Rita is the main guest. The rest has about 2 in. of water in it and it sits in the shade.

We were changing the water in the terrarium and we put Rita (she is much smaller than she was before...I just thought she was hungry) in a bowl of water and took out the slate rocks. I noticed green gunk on the rocks. I thought it was slim. I touched it with my finger and a tee tiny looking worm looking thing moved. They were all over that slate rock. The green gunk was about a 1/8 in. long and it looked like green, algae spaghetti.

Any clue? My kids are thrilled, I don't know what it is.

1. Are the eggs in a ball/glob? neither
2. Do the eggs float or sink? they are on a slate rock in the terrarium, I believe they were under water until we cleaned it out.
3. What are the dimensions of the eggs (diameter if circular, please include the units)? not circular....described above.
4. Are the eggs attached or not and to what (plant, rock, sticks, each other?). They are on a rock
5. Are the eggs scattered or in a clump? scattered
6. Are the eggs all together or all over the place? all over the rock
7. Are the eggs stuck to a solid surface (rock, leaf) or just loose plants? rock
8. Do you have snails, turtles, goldfish, koi, other fish, frogs, toads, salamanders, etc. Salamander is the main thing, but a lot of frogs have been in there over time.
9. Do the eggs contain jelly? more like green slime
10. Are the eggs in or out of the water? in
11. What color are the eggs? green algae and then when touched it is a clearish/yellow piece of spaghetti.
12. What does the inside of the eggs look like (clear, eyes, no eyes, movement, etc.)? no egg
13. Where do you live? Western KY

[Robyn]

Welcome! From the description you have given, I do not think you have found amphibian eggs. Both frog and salamander eggs are in large clumps of jelly. It sounds like the rocks had hair algae and insect larvae, perhaps midges or caddisflies. Insects can fly in to your terrarium and lay eggs in the water. If you can post a photo of the animals in question, we can tell you more. If you just have the one salamander, even if female, her eggs would not be fertile. What species of frogs do you have? Frog eggs normally float while salamander eggs can float or sink in large blobs. Terrariums are a lot of fun!

Good luck!