Shallow water creature

A little while ago I went on a rainy spring evening walk in hopes of bringing out my salamander side a bit more. This is something I plan to do more this year since salamanders are most active on rainy nights.

Perhaps it was the still slightly icy trails or the difficult hills on the way back that caused the opposite effect. I didn't feel like a slow moving amphibian creeping out of my shelter to search for food, but rather a clumsy, sweaty, tired human stumbling home before dark on slippery, uneven ground.

The most amphibian I felt that evening was when I stopped to look at a pocket of air stuck under ice and further submerged by the rain. Crouching low to the ground gave me a small creature's point of view, taking a closer look at the forest floor and spending a moment to feel the textures and temperatures of my surroundings.

I learned so much more and made more progress from the salamander section of a "tracking amphibians and reptiles book" and taking notes in a journal than I have with googling salamander types and trying to find documentaries.

Animal ID guides, animal tracking guides, "all about (animal)" type of books, animal encyclopedias, and so much more.

You can get so much information about habitats, diet, behavior, life stages, appearance and seasonal habits of many similar creatures in one book rather than having 20 tabs open on your device.

Take notes! Write little journal entries about the different types of animals you learn about, how their lifestyles differ from one another and how that corresponds to shifts or experiences you have. Consider details you didn't think about before, and if you may feel any connection to them after researching.

I hadn't thought about salamanders having a burrowing behavior until I read about it, but then realized I have always been drawn to tiny gaps and crevices near or in the ground, but never connected the two things.

I highly recommend checking out a few books and learning some things about your animal self!

Note: online research is still a very valid way to learn about your theriotype, I just find books to be compact and efficient, and they have no ads or paywalls.

Appearance

-flat, tadpole-like tail

-likely cryptic coloration for camouflage, probably not bright warning color

-I feel like a relatively small creature, smaller than a hand

Behaviour

-swimming just below the surface and gliding just above the sand at the bottom

-being out in the rain and damp weather

-crawling into small forest places, under rocks, between roots, through undergrowth in the woods

-climbing out of the water and onto shore, rocks, branches, etc.

Habitat

-slow moving or still water like ponds, lakes, streams, puddles

-somewhat humid but not like a rainforest

-plenty of soil, not very rocky terrain

Diet

-no specific food related shifts or feelings

When I draw myself as a salamander it usually involves browns, tans and greys, with a pattern to camouflage with the mud and pebbles of shallower waters I inhabit.