Salamanders like to live in moist, cool and dark environments. They resemble lizards but do not have scales. They like to eat insects, fish, slugs, worms and tadpoles. Housing should be an aquarium and the water to ground ratio should be determined by the type of salamander. For example, the axolotl is completely aquatic and requires no ground to crawl on. Some types of salamanders in adult form can be kept in a terrestrial tank set up with a substrate suitable for burrowing, along with an area with water for soaking. Many owners use potting soil (no vermiculite), peat, and bark chips, or sphagnum moss. Anything that can be kept moist and will allow burrowing is fine, so gravel is not appropriate. A salamanders' skin is very sensitive and therefore they should not be handled.