Help the Hellbender

Help the Hellbender Visit our official website helpthehellbender.org This page is open to the public.

We encourage posts related to hellbender conservation, ecology, interesting facts, upcoming events, and photos.

06/25/2026

These hellbenders are waking up after a procedure. We know the anesthesia has worn off when they are able to flip themselves over.

For Hellbender procedures, we soak them in anesthesia, which is absorbed through their skin. We will monitor the hellbenders and place them on their backs when movements slow down. We know the anesthesia is working when they cannot turn themselves back over.

It is the reverse when they are waking up. After the procedure the hellbenders are placed on their backs in the recovery tank. When they are able to flip over we know that they are awake and can be moved back into their home systems.

The two animals that have flipped themselves over are ready to go back, while the one who is upside down needs a little more time.

06/19/2026

Did you know hellbenders are the state amphibian of both Kentucky and Pennsylvania?!
Only 28 states have designated state amphibians.
Ohio and North Carolina have both a state frog and state salamander!

06/11/2026

Good water quality is really important for hellbenders!
We check dissolved oxygen (DO) and temperature every day with the DO probe.
Weekly we use a photometer to check ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. These are produced mainly from eating and 💩.
Nitrifying bacteria in the systems break down the most toxic ammonia into less toxic nitrite then to least toxic nitrate, which can then be removed through water changes.
Hellbender egg systems are checked more frequently to ensure the systems are cycled and all the water parameters are where we want them!

06/04/2026

It's prime crayfish season for our younger hellbenders!
We utilize minnow traps in our half acre aquaculture ponds to catch small crayfish that the one and 2-year-old hellbenders love!
We catch naturally occurring virile and calico crayfish both of which are native to Central Indiana.

05/28/2026

Did you know that hellbenders don't have eyelids?
While most terrestrial amphibians can have three sets of eyelids, fully aquatic salamanders like hellbenders don't have any!

05/21/2026

This 1 and 1/2-year-old hellbender is enjoying a tasty crayfish!
Young hellbenders will eat a variety of small macroinvertebrates including crayfish!

05/15/2026

Farmers Helping Hellbenders is a Regional Conservation Partnership Program that supports local landowners to improve farmland through agricultural conservation practices that also benefit local ecosystems.

One of the main focuses is sedimentation from runoff. Planting field borders, riparian buffer zones and cover crops help keep soil and nutrients on the fields and out of the streams.
Once all the contracted practices are implemented, they will keep 2,500 tons of sediment per year out of the rivers in Southern Indiana!!

Farmers Helping Hellbenders is a Regional Conservation Partnership Program that supports local landowners to improve far...
05/15/2026

Farmers Helping Hellbenders is a Regional Conservation Partnership Program that supports local landowners to improve farmland through agricultural conservation practices that also benefit local ecosystems.
One of the main focuses is sedimentation from runoff.
Planting filed borders, riparian buffer zones and cover crops help keep soil ant its nutrients on the fields and out of the stream
Once all the contracted practices are implemented, they will keep 2,500 TONS of sediment per year out of the river in southern Indiana!
You can read more at the link below.
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/state-offices/indiana/news/restoring-roots-to-save-the-salamanders

05/07/2026

Hellbenders rarely share shelter rocks with other hellbenders in the wild.
In captivity many hellbenders will use the same shelter even though there are empty shelters.

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West Lafayette, IN

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