In the nick of time

[Buck Rogers]

Before I start off, a really big thanks to John for Axolotls: The Fascinating Mexican Axolotl and the Tiger Salamander - just sucha brilliant and helpful website with all the info from beginer level to pro!

Now the story: At the moment in Gauteng South Africa, our local nature conservation has been on a full blown attack to destroy all exotic amphibians brought into the country and on sale. I went into a 'back alley' pet shop and saw 2 axolotls on display, I returned to that pet shop this weekend to see if they were still there after I heard through the gravevine that nature conservation was on the look out. The guy still had the axolotls and had no idea how to keep them and what to do - he told me that if you want to breed them you just put marbles in the tank. He had them on very small pebbles which could easily be digested and had fish in with them . Unfortunatly the fish have nibbled most of the gills which is worrying. Is there anything that I can do to help, will they be okay?

So after a bit of negotiating we knocked the price to something we both agreed on (about $120 for the pair) and I rushed them home and put them in a spare tank I had. Unfortunatly my filter motor bombed out when I was setting it up, but the important thing is they set up and safe from being exterminated from Nature Conservation - even though its now illegal for me to have them...

Next is to get a bigger tank and a better filter that won't break.

Now the questions:

• they eagerly took hake strips from me today, but I cut them the size of my thumb which I think was too big cause they spat them out afterwards
• can i feed them small koi pellets
• I am certain the white one (leusistic?) is the male and the black the female
• will the gills grow back

Thanks in advance and here are the pics:

[clawed frog]

Don't know much about axolt but have heard they eat bloodworm and trout pellets

[Jace]

Kudos to you for saving them, Darryn. After a quick search, I found the following information that you might find helpful:

They can be fed brine shrimp, small strips of beef or liver, earthworms, bloodworms and salmon/trout pellets.

I know they can grow back damaged limbs, but I could not find anything on gills.

Another member on the Forum, goes by MarshallsMom, has a couple of these herself and was very patient and helpful in answering some of my questions. I am sure she would be more than willing to answer any you have. Best of luck.

[MarshallsMom]

Jo-Anna, thank you for the recommendation. These are my very favorite animals, and I am so glad to hear there is someone out there who is taking an interest in them!

Your tank set up looks nice, I would just make sure all of the edges on that hide are smooth. I would also give each of them their own hide, as they can be territorial. The absolute best food for them is a nice, juicy earthworm. Make sure it comes from a pesticide free environment, and you can just feed it to them by hand. With your new filter, make sure it does not create a lot of current, as they don't like it, and a 30 long tank would probably be best. I do believe the gills should grow back, but it is really Axolotl dependant. I can't tell from the pictures if you have males or females or one of each, and you really can't tell until they are older. Again, I don't know how old yours are, but if they are smaller, there is no point in looking.
I sure hope I helped, and please do not hesitate to contact me if you ever have any Axolotl questions. That goes for everyone!
Also, feel free to root through my photos for setup ideas, I think I have some full tank pictures, and if not, I'll put some up.
Good luck with your new friends!
Hannah

[Buck Rogers]

Thank you so much for the feedback. I replaced the hide in the photo with a PVC tube, all edges are smoothed as it was the first thing I made sure of but thanks for the heads up. I will be getting them a really nice size cage allowing them their own individual space and so they are not on top of each other.

They are around 20cm long so assuming they are adult size, the white one's toe tips have already darkened which I read is a sign of sexual maturity. Been trying to sex them from the photos on line but I know that it is not always that easy.

The hardest part of living in South Africa is we are still a growing herp country and feeder suppliers are not as jacked up as other countries, but on the positive side is we mainly use organic composts and generally pesticide free - very strict laws. My garden is a very good source for earthworms but these will soon run in short supply. Any tips on the size of hake strips I should give them? I think blood worms would be too small for them do you agree? I dropped in some large crickets, but they were struggling to catch them on the water surface due to refraction,

[Angus]

Hi my name is Angus and i'm a fan of axolotls as well.
i was just wanting to know how they are doing?