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The tiger is the world's largest terrestrial salamander. The range of nose-to-tail lengths given by one field guide (Petersen's) is 7-13 inches (18-33 cm), though I once had a runty sickly albino that was only 4.5 inches (11cm) long.
Tigers are named for their coloration, which differs with subspecies but which generally contains a dark color and a yellowish color, arranged in a pattern of spots or stripes. The Blotched Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum melanostictum) is olive-green with thin branched splotches of black; the Barred Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum mavortium) has a black background with wide orange stripes. There are other subspecies with distinctive color patterns.
There is a neotenic (perpetually larval) form of the the tiger -- this is not the same thing as an axolotl. Neotenic tigers can be larger than terrestrial adults.
Tigers (Ambystoma tigrinum) are close relatives of axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum), and were once considered to be the same species. Indeed, larvae of the two are hard to distinguish, but axolotls tend to be a little pudgy; larval tigers are flatter in the head and gills. Albino axolotls are more common in the pet and bait trades than albino tigers. Wild color of both species is brownish-green, but axolotls are speckled or mottled, while tiger larvae are more of a uniform color (my blotched was a dark green before he matured and got his spots). The undersides are lighter, as with most aquatic animals.
Tigers sell for $5-$15 in pet shops, and larvals may occasionally be found in bait shops for less. Larval tigers are often misidentified as axolotls or waterdogs.
Larval tigers are completely aquatic, and will reach their full adult size before morphing. Keep them in a tank full of water, no more than two big tigers to a 5-gallon tank (4 in a 10-gallon). Provide a land area as they start to lose their gills. Even adults need some water to soak in; all amphibians absorb water through their skin rather than drinking it. If any salamander is allowed to dry out, it will die. Keep a tight lid on the tank -- I lost a crested newt once when it escaped and hid under a desk; I found it a few hours later, dead of dehydration. Don't let this happen to you.
Tigers are a member of the Ambystomatidae, or mole salamanders; they burrow into leaf litter and under rocks. Adults have claws on the ends of all of their toes. These are not sharp and are shed with the skin, much like the claws on Xenopus laevis, the African Clawed Frog. Some tigers seem not to mind a lack of digging material, but many will appreciate a substrate they can dig through. They will also ruin any landscaping you do with gravel or river rocks. Aquarium gravel is not a good substrate for tigers, especially the larvae; they can ingest it. A few pieces of gravel will pass through the digestive system, but too many in a salamander's gut can kill it. A good substrate for larval tigers is gravel (such as construction-grade gravel) that has no pieces smaller than the salamanders' mouths. If the tank is small enough, you can collect rocks individually from a stream or from someone's gravel driveway.
Adults and larvae have very different eating habits. Larvae are voracious and carnivorous; they prefer live food but will also eat pellets. Guppies, rosy reds, and very small goldfish are of appropriate sizes, and they will eat anything they can find, including snails (shell and all). They will try to eat animals much larger than can fit in their mouths, and are persistent in trying to swallow them. Some larval tigers will eat their friends and siblings, so don't put a big tiger and a little tiger in the same tank. Daphnia (water fleas) and Artemia (brine shrimp/sea monkeys) can be given to very young or small larval tigers. Adults are much slower, lazier animals than larvae, and live fish don't excite them; apparently pellets are easier to catch. I feed my adults floating food sticks like ReptoMin or Wardley Reptile Food.
