Strangely coloured albino

[Neil C]

Not sure what this is apart from being some kind of albino. Pretty sure another Aussie keeper has something similar but I couldn't find the post again, please pipe up if it's you. The last photo shows its pattern at a young age. If anyone has any idea what mutation it might I'd be interested to hear. Anyway enjoy.




Regards Neil

[Jenste]

Sorry I can't help figure out what type it is, but it is a lovely little lotl

[Elena]

It looks like he has freckles! I wouldn't be surprised if it's just a random spot of pigmentation, since my black melanoid has a random white patch on her nose.

[Rachel]

Mere B has one exactly like that, i'll try to find some pictures of it, i'm sure she'd know more

[Meredyth]

I get quite a few of those out of my adult breeding pair. From the last batch of eggs that I raised I still have 2 one a darker grey than the other. I'll attach pics for you.
They are beautiful aren't they mine never had such dark black dots as babies though but they did have the dots.

As for what they are there are 2 possibilities but I'm waiting for mine to get to breeding age before I can say which for sure. They are about 10 months old at present.

1st was Kaysies first though that they are hypomelanistic Melanoids
2nd and the way I'm leaning because of the red eyes is that they are a Melanoid that inherited the T+ gene that the coppers/Olives get making them a form of albino but not the usual true Melanoid albino if that makes any sense at all. I will of course have to wait till one of them lays eggs to know one way or the other.

I also got some Gold ones with grey/brown patches that are very cool but also have the red eye. I don't believe they are copper/olive but who knows. They have a lot of variation in the intensity of the patches too but the gold is always VERY yellow. Will add a couple of pics of a light and dark one of these too.

These are the norm for my primary breeding pair along with regular and low irridophor expression Wild types and regular old Melanoids

Parents are Golden albino (mother) and a mostly black and silver wild type (father) Both beautiful in their own rite but nothing out of the ordinary to look at really.
I don't get true albinos from them though so I guess Dad isn't a carrier of the albino gene.

Pics.
1st 3 are the same axie at different ages.
4th is the axie from the first 3 pics (left) with the lighter version (right) and one of the golds (Back)
5th is Lemmony the light version of the Gold
6th is Leopard the one in the back of Pic 4 and darkest of the golds from that clutch.
7th is one of the ones you have there as a baby that's just got it's back legs starting to grow.

[Neil C]

Thanks so much for posting those and all the info. Yours were the photos I remember seeing recently but just couldn't find them again. The spots on yours look quite a bit darker than mine but maybe they darken up as they get older?

I would be very surprised if these aren't some kind of albino, like the Coppers you can see it in their eyes. Your axolotl called Leopard is very interesting, it has the same pattern on it as the grey/purplish coppers but clearly possesses iridophores. I suspect this patterning is usually present on some wildtypes but is just not obvious as it is obscured by all the other patterns and colours that are expressed.

Regards Neil

[Rachel]

that... is... so... cool *explodes

[dad of axle]

Wow you must be planing an axolotl park(zoo) with so many wonderful little creatures.

Isn't it amazing how diverse they can be,

here is a photo of my axle, I have just the one but the more I see i think i would like to learn about breeding down the trak,

[Katie]

Crazy! very awesome looking.

is it maybe expressing both Copper and Leucistic?
Like the White Albinos expressing Axanthic(or Melanoid) and Leucistic.

[Rachel]

that is a very interesting point katie! I dont see why it couldn't happen seeing as copper is another form of albino. A Melanoid Albino is said to have colouring very similar to these odd ones over time, allthough these seem to have darker eyes.

[Meredyth]

You're very welcome Neil. It's nice to see I'm not the only one who's axies are capable of this mutation Yes they have darkened as they got older. The lighter one was almost white for ages but has in the last few month turned more of a light grey. I am tending towards the copper type albino too but will have to wait until I can breed them in a hope to narrow it down. Mine should all carry the proper albino gene from their mother a gene which evidently daddy did not share or I should have gotten some albinos too.

I don't think they are leucistic at all as the leucistics only have the dark freckles on the tops of their bodies while these guys have the dark all over and don't express any yellow as far as I know.
I believe they are just melanoids but Leopard well that's any-ones guess. I suspect a wild with something else going on since they all had a LOT of shiny pigment going on.
It's quite possible and normal for Melanoids to have yellow spots on the tops of their bodies such as you see in the Melanoid Albinos but the black soon covers it over and you can't see them any more. My little Hoo-Dee-Nee used to have these yellow spots but is now a beautiful velvet black all over. You'd never know the yellow was ever there.
I'll see if I can find a pic of baby hoo-dee with her yellow.


Here she is. as a tiny baby then as she is now

oh and a pic of a grey one and a gold one together when they really looked like they were each others opposites. Just because it's cute

[Rissa1980]

Originally Posted by Neil C

Not sure what this is apart from being some kind of albino. Pretty sure another Aussie keeper has something similar but I couldn't find the post again, please pipe up if it's you. The last photo shows its pattern at a young age. If anyone has any idea what mutation it might I'd be interested to hear. Anyway enjoy.

Regards Neil

i had 4 that colour, i still have 1 left ill post a pic. im not sure what type it is either. if you find out can you let me know. thanks. they say the colour looks lilac. ive never seen this colour before. im not sure if it came from my grey male and golden albino female or grey male and pink female

[natjobe]

Whatever it is so gorgeous!!!

[Neil C]

I'm wondering if this is the same mutation as the "reticulated albino" found in the african clawed toads? I did a google image search and it came up with some very similar patternings.


Regards Neil