Any has grown a fifth foot

[Steven Wignet]

My friend in Manchester has a five month old axy that has grown another foot at the knee joint., it now has five feet.

how rare is this?

I will add some more pics when I get sent them.

[Julie Ann]

Hiya Steven,

Thats really cool!
I've read that sometimes when axolotls are regrowing lost limbs they can sometimes grow slightly deformed or additional parts. Has yours lost that articular leg previously? I don't know how rare it is though but I'd love to see

[Steven Wignet]

not the best pics but best i could get at this time of night with no natural light

[Steven Wignet]

Originally Posted by axybaby

Hiya Steven,

Thats really cool!
I've read that sometimes when axolotls are regrowing lost limbs they can sometimes grow slightly deformed or additional parts. Has yours lost that articular leg previously? I don't know how rare it is though but I'd love to see

as far as i am aware this was one that never lost any limbs, it has just grown a natural extra foot

[Julie Ann]

That is so amazing!
I'd love to see what people with more expertise than me make of it. What a gorgeous Axolotl by the way

[Steven Wignet]

Here is a better pic

[jessicaanne]

Awwwwwwwwwww that's actually pretty cute! Haha

[tusken raider]

Wow nice, is it causing any difficulties to the normal leg, can the fifth leg move??

[Steven Wignet]

Originally Posted by tusken raider

Wow nice, is it causing any difficulties to the normal leg, can the fifth leg move??

its leg works as normal, it has no problem with it. it stands on its 5th leg, the one at the knee and the other leg just waves at you.

[Dolores]

That's just cute. I've had an axie with 4 gills on one side.

[imzunicorn]

Does this happen due to inbreeding or is it a mutation?

I have one that has 6 toes on one of his back feet.

[Coastal Groovin]

It's not common but it's not uncommon either. It probably happened because of a injury to the leg that was severe enough to start the regeneration process but not enough to lose the original leg. Kind of a perfect set of events, conditions, and some luck. Now I want to cut a wedge out of an Axolotl' s legs with a razor and see if I could make that happen on all four legs.

[ahiggin1]

I agree with a few of the posters :) Its just a random thing. I work for a wildlife center and we currently have "freaky fred" which is a bullfrog with 5 legs, same deal as your axie :) Theres absolutely nothing wrong with it, and it probably wont ever have any ill consequences. It does look pretty cool though haha

[Rodrigo]

I may be remembering incorrectly, but i think extra limbs on bullfrogs were associated to parasitic flukes. If that´s the case, then there is something wrong with freaky fred...
In the case of the axolotl, the most common scenario is a faulty regeneration as has already been suggested. Given that this wasn´t congenital, but rather, developed late, i´d say that´s almost certainly the case.

[linda835]

Coastal groovin please don't cut your axolotl with a razor I don't care if it was a joke its not funny.