Axolotls in California

[alfonsoa86]

Hello, forum
My name is Alfonso. I live in N. California and I am interested in obtaining an albino axolotl. If anyone has any suggestions on how to go about finding some around here, please let me know. Your help/feedback will be greatly appreciated. I would post this under "wanted" but for some reason I'm unable to.

Thank you,
Alfonso.

[Otterwoman]

Ads must be approved before they will appear. I think axolotls are illegal in California. If you do a search on the site of "axolotl" and "california" and maybe also "illegal" you should find info.

[axilover]

You should talk the the guys at the Eastbay Vivarium in Berkley, they will know if they are legal or not and if they can get them for you.

[Travis Summers]

Axolots are illegal here in California. I live in Nor Cal myself.

The reasons for their illegality are far and wide. The main reason is because they (and all salamanders of the Ambystoma genus) have the potential of breeding with the native California Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma californiense) which would create hybrids that can potentially survive better than the native species.

[Abberzoo]

I'm trying to find any reference on DFG's website (or any other government website) that says they're illegal. Do you know where I'd find this? I looked the invasive aquatic species management plan on DFG's site (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/plan/) and didn't find any mention of the axolotl (also looked for salamander, and it only mentioned the tiger salamander). I've also heard they're illegal because they're endangered in Mexico and California wants to discourage their harvest and sale from native waters. Again, no documentation of this either.

Gonna contact DFG and ask them directly...

-Abby's husband Rodney

[bewilderbeast]

yeah you pretty much can't buy Ambystoma in CA... And while the vivarium is an excellent establishment, Northern California is a BIG place... I never see caudates at the vivarium. Very rarely I'll see some S. salamandra there...

My suggestion is to consider Dicamptodon, they are tricky to acquire since you pretty much have to find your own but they are native to northern CA. They make hardy captives and they have a very long larval stage which means you can keep them in an aquatic set up for several years.
or if you live far enough north, try and get your hands on Ambystoma gracile, they are a large ambystomid that is often overlooked. The larva of these are very similar to an axy.

[John Clare]

It amazes me that you haven't used the search facility here. This has been discussed so many times, including actual quotation of the relevant law as well as how to report violators. I mean, come on, why do we put this forum up on the net if no one reads it?

[electronfusion]

Originally Posted by t_summ

Axolots are illegal here in California. I live in Nor Cal myself.

The reasons for their illegality are far and wide. The main reason is because they (and all salamanders of the Ambystoma genus) have the potential of breeding with the native California Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma californiense) which would create hybrids that can potentially survive better than the native species.

wow. this legislation is ridiculous.

the concern is that the native tiger salamander is dwindling (presumably because of things humans have done, probably all legal), so they write legislation to keep out stronger, inter-breedable salamanders? that's like saying upper-middle class white people don't reproduce here anymore, so to keep the gene pool clean we should keep out the harder working, more fertile Mexican immigrants. ...oh wait, we do that too. bad example.

do they want salamanders to disappear? it's not like our ecosystems are in perfect balance now &
stronger salamanders could hurt that. our salamanders are suffering & stronger ones might restore a balance.

it seems very clear that the intention of the legislation was to stop tiger salamander import/export/ownership/capture, since the text refers to "Ambystomid (tiger salamander)." why the parantheses? it does NOT say "Ambystomid (like the tiger salamander)" or "Ambystomid (including but not limited to the tiger salamander)." someone just assumed the name ambystomid only includes the tiger salamander.

i'm not going to say the names of the places (so they can stay in business), but I know of several big, reputable, pretty fish stores in Northern California that sell Axolotls. they aren't shifty or trying to hide them, but rather keep them in front because they are so interesting.

Originally Posted by John

It amazes me that you haven't used the search facility here. This has been discussed so many times, including actual quotation of the relevant law as well as how to report violators. I mean, come on, why do we put this forum up on the net if no one reads it?

this quote kind of scares me. sounds like the attitude of someone in a police state. "Are you hiding any Jews!? Any axolotls!?" i searched the forums for the words "report violators" after reading this & only came up with this page. still, yikes!

not every aquatic animal coming into this state is automatically going in the river. the prices alone are enough to deter parents from buying one of these for their snot-nosed kid to play with. responsible adults keep amphibians in covered terrariums with steep glass walls inside closed houses, & don't dump their adorable, expensive pets in the river.

also, whatever happened to peacably objecting to unreasonable laws? aren't governments supposed to answer to us? people who live peacefully & quietly with whatever animals are probably going to be left alone. that's how weed works. it's illegal, but it never hurts anybody, so nobody ever gets in trouble. i would hardly want to live here in California if police came bursting into random houses all the time looking for mudkips & "special" brownies. lol

[John Clare]

Originally Posted by electronfusion

this quote kind of scares me. sounds like the attitude of someone in a police state. "Are you hiding any Jews!? Any axolotls!?" i searched the forums for the words "report violators" after reading this & only came up with this page. still, yikes!

How very dramatic of you, but sadly it's just not that entertaining. I will say one thing for you though, at least you used the search facility, which is more than I can say for everyone else who asks about axolotls in California on this forum.

While we're talking about this "police state" as you call it, you agreed to our rules when you signed up, one of which covers the use of punctuation (you show mastery in that, well done) and capitalisation (where you let yourself down) by native English speakers. Please try using capital letters at the beginning of your sentences so that your posts are more amenable to readers. Thank you.