Babies coming up to surface for air?

Z

zach

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I have noticed that my baby axolotls (about 6 cm long) have been coming to the surface and taking gulps of air. Is this normal? What could be the reason for this if not?
 
yes it is normal. its not normal if its happening alot though say more than once and hour.
 
Actually, in some cases it is normal for axolotls to come up more than once an hour for air. It depends on the size of their gills and how much oxygen is in the water.

Warmer water causes Axolotls gills to become rather long and fluffy. This is because less oxygen is in the water which causes them to come to the surface more for air. While with cold water, their gills can shrink in size because there is more oxygen and they don't have to come up for air as much.

Or, if their gills have been attacked by other Axolotls or by other animals, then they will have to come up for more air due to gill loss.

Axolotls both have internal and external lungs (gills on the outside) so it's really rather amazing what they do
happy.gif
 
I was going to ask about this actually cause my little guy does it quite a bit, i'd read somewhere (probably on here somewhere!) that if they have smaller gills like Miguel they they come up for air more often.

He'll do it a couple of times in a 5 min period then that'll be it for ages. He seems to like it, he swells a little with the air inside him and sits on or in his plants. It's cute!
 
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