Salamander

Question
Hello :)

My family was cleaning under my patio and we found a salamander, which I think is a Tiger salamander. We put him in a clean bucket and it has non toxic leaves, a rock to hide under and a shallow dish filled with water that is around an inch deep. We were thinking about keeping him but realized that its not fair to keep a wild animal in a cage, so we have decided to release him back into the wild, but heres the problem: Under our patio is just slightly moist dirt and pieces of dry wall, we are refinishing under the patio so we destroyed his habitat. does he have a chance at survival if we release him somewhere else on the farm that we live on? My biggest worry is that he would get eaten or die from improper habitat.

From nose to tail tip he is about 5 inches long. I already had crickets because I have a chameleon, So i fed him some and he ate 4 of them with no problem.

Any suggestions that you have would be greatly appreciated because I want what is best for this little guy.

Thanks,
Paige

Answer
Hi Paige,
I can't tell you how refreshing it was to read your post!! I LOVE the fact that you understand the salamander is better off in the wild, where he belongs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They have a wonderful natural ability to find the proper place to live.  If he is not happy with where he is at under your patio, he will move and seek out another place to live. Do you have any areas that have stone walls(hedge rows) that also have trees on them? These are prime place for the salamanders to live if you do need to relocate him to a new area. if he is able to have a place to hide like in the stone walls, he will be fine.
I am VERY surprised that he ate for you!! You surely have a way with reptiles!
Do be sure to wash your hands VERY well after handling the salamander as that they do carry diseases that can harm your cham.