Yes Im Back :(

My New Boy Has A Lump On Him down the side of his belly it seems to feel like there is fluid in it as it springs back and is soft to the touch the breeder said he may have swllowed a stone? and has offered to take him back and swap him for a white one but i am quite fond of him here are some pics.........


is it anything to worry about?

!!!!!!!! whats that!!! havent seen any lumps that size before.....sometimes i've seen stressed axolotls lump up but not that big.....i've had my stressed axolotls lump up ...but not that big and it only lasts for like 2 days when it happend to mine but the lumps were alot smaller

I dont know could it be he is repairing from a wound and it just distorted? should i hand him back and let the person deal with it as she seems to know her stuff and because im only new to them i'd need lots of help and advice if i take him on
im not sure when or how it happened

If it has been on gravel previously, then very likely it could be a piece of gravel. I can't really see much of a lump there but have seen rather large odd shaped lumps when we bought our first adults (that had been on the glass pebbles). They stuck out quite a lot.

It's very good of the breeder to offer to swap (some will/some won't). At the end of the day it will be up to you if you decide to swap.

If it is a piece of gravel it will eventually come out, maybe not today or tomorrow but certainly over the next few weeks.

she has sand as substrate but the kids have put a few pebbles in the pool when i wasnt watching there is a gap in the courner for air so im not sure if he accidently ate a pebble or he got hurt before or after i got him i dont know if he is sick or just recovering ill see how he is tomorrow

he is eating and seems calm i can even touch him for a while before he swims away if it is a pebble shouldnt it feel hard? any other theories as to what could have happened? also because the pool is so large i haven't added any water ager just filled the pool and in he went

Hi Dantez Girl,

Its a new one for me, It would seem to likely be gravel, I would be inclined to return it to the breeder she may well have other dark coloured wild types.

Good Luck

I was thinking about giveing him back as i dont want him t die on me or infect my girl if it is an illness of some sort and i suppose thats what quarantine is all about I'll give him back i think

is there any way a white axie and a wild type axie can create a albino axie dont understand the genetics page or will they just make half wild half white axies? sorry of topic

DantezGirl said:

is there any way a white axie and a wild type axie can create a albino axie

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The albino gene is recessive so if both the wild type and the white carry it then a quarter of their offspring will be albino. If both don't then none of their offspring will be albino. The most likely first generation outcomes of this cross is all wild type (if the wild type is not a white carrier) or half white half wild if neither or one is a carrier of the albino gene. Do you know the parentage of the axolotls as this can help sort out their genetic status?

NO i will ask the breeder and post my findings do many people on here no the genetics of there axies or keep records of offspring they may successfully raise and on sell or give away? was thinking about doing this should i let midnight have babies.

I suspect most breeders are small scale and do not know much about the genetic history of their pets. In some ways this doesn't matter axolotls of all colours are equally endearing pets. Despite this records are easy to keep and useful. There are two ways to sort out what the genetic makeup of a creature is, look at its ancestors and look at its offspring.

thanks ocean blue i was just thinking about it as i notice many people like myself ask questions about what colour there axies offspring will be

well when and if the time comes i will create a genetics log starting from midnight and spot waiting and looking for a wild type male for midnight and a white female for spot and some more tanks before i start thinking about all that but good to read about and learn

Axolotls are diploid, that is they carry two copies of a single gene. But that is not to say that they carry two different genes, this is a common misconception- i.e. it is incorrect to say that the albino phenotype is a gene. It is NOT a gene, it is an allele- an alternate (a mutation) form of the wild type gene. The general genotypes for axolotls are as follows:

D/D or D/d - wild type (can be homozygous or heterozygous. Attempting to assign either genotype to a wild type axolotl just by using the human eye is impossible, so I wouldn't try)
d/d - white/leucistic (must be homozygous- i.e. the axolotl must have two of the same alleles for this gene to be expressed)
The leucistic type are also known to carry the eyeless mutation which denoted by the letter 'e' in terms of genetics.
a/a - albino (also must be homozygous)
Note: the albino genotype is much more complicated that the other colours. For instance, albinos can also be axanthic (genotype- ax/ax). These axolotls are virtually colorless, but as they grow they accumulate riboflavins from their diet, giving them a paler yellow color than is exhibited by the golden albinos.

Axolotls also have other genes that contibute towards allocating its colour. For example, some albinos carry the cardiac (c) mutation. The cardiac mutation is a recessive gene primarily affecting the heart. The heart develops, but fails to contract. Subsequently, the embryos develop ascites. They do not feed and die soon after hatching. Homozygous cardiac individuals can be first identified about stage 36 by the swollen chest, poor gill development, characteristic red spot on the flank, and absence of a heartbeat. But of course you would not be able to tell whether this is the case with the human eye.

My advice for you is not even bother trying to predict the genetics of your larvae because it would be it very difficult without the appropriate genetic data. Trust me, I've analysed countless pedigree tables and even when given the genotype of individuls (when studying genetics in Uni.), it was made difficult by not knowing whether they were heterozygous/homozygous for a specific gene- as in the case with you and the axolotls.

Jay.