Larval tiger salamander or odd axolotl pattern?

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Reptileguy2727

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I found these in a shop. They have a bunch running 10.99. The body matches an axolotl perfectly but the pattern looks like a tiger salamander's. They are all about 8". I read online that tigers can stay larval if terrestrial conditions are unfavorable or they can simply not metamorphosize until fully grown (among other possibilities), so it does seem possible that these are tiger salamanders. The thing that throws me off is that the bodies are identical to that of axolotls. I saw the pic on axolotls.org of a larval tiger salamander, showing how similar they are in appearance. So am I right that these are larval tiger salamanders? If they are kept in fully aquatic conditions will they remain neotenous? Will they keep this patterning? I have seen how axolotls can change patterning depending on conditions they are kept in.
IMG_2377.jpg
 
Those are tigers not axolotls
 
That's what I thought.

What about the other questions?
Stay neotenous if kept in a fully aquatic setup?
Keep pattern?

Do they get along with axolotls of the same size?
 
They can stay neotenic, but it's usually based on genetics, not tank setup.

They will probably keep a similar pattern as adults.

They will readily snack on similar-sized axolotls.
 
From what I read they may stay larval for so long for no reason based on genetics, but that environment can affect it too. In situations where the terrestrial conditions are unfavorable or non-existant they wll simply stay larval, possibly through maturity.

Are they more aggressive than axolotls? Have people kept them together and the larval tigers injured the axolotls?
 
Populations will remain neotenic for a length of time. This is usually genetically based. Some animals will remain neotenic if external conditions are harsh, but nearly all tiger salamanders morph.

They are more aggressive than axolotls. Put it this way: larval tiger salamanders have to grow and bulk up for the impending drying of their natal ponds, and therefore have to be aggressive feeders. Axolotls don't have such a pressure, and are less aggressive.
 
Reptileguy2727 said:
In situations where the terrestrial conditions are unfavorable or non-existant they wll simply stay larval, possibly through maturity.
Click to expand...

An animal in the water has no way of sensing whether the local terrestrial conditions are favorable (or even exist). They will be predisposed to staying aquatic if they are kept cold and the aquatic conditions remain very favorable. Given that they have been through the stress of the wholesale/retail experience, there is approximately zilch chance of them staying aquatic, UNLESS they happen to be from a population that is largely neotenic by genetics. I would bet money on them morphing within the next 3 months. I would recommend keeping an island of some kind in their tank and being ready to lower the water level when needed.
 
Yours has the same pattern as the one I have. I have been trying to be sure, asking different sources, if this is what I have. The thing that throws me is the noise it makes when it surfaces for air. Mine, I just came into recently, is a pet store rescue with it's gills eaten off by the overstocked feeder tank it was in. Then it quickly developed a fungus on the injured gills and arms. So this is what I am battling right now. Seeing yours makes me realize I must have the same exact thing. Thanks for posting the pictures! Good luck!
 
I'm wondering the same thing about my pet "baby dinosaur" I bought at the mall. He told me that they were tiger salamanders but they would retain ther gills their whole lives. After reading some horror stories on this site about the same breeder I got my pet from, I called him and asked him what I bought. He said they're a mix of axolotl and tiger salamander and may or may not lose his gills. How can I tell exactly what is going on with my pet before he becomes stressed or injured? What exactly do I have?

He has the same body structure as the pictures in this thread, however he is brown and speckled rather than tiger-like. He looks like the photos of the axolotls of the same color scheme.

Please tell me what my new little friend is and what to do with him before I accidently kill him!
 
A picture would be necessary to determine what it really might be...

As long as it has gills (whether Axolotl, Tigersalamander larvae or neotenic tiger), the animals need similar conditions. If ever the gills reduce and it looks like metamprphosis, they will need a way to leave the water if they want to do so.
How old and big is your "baby dino"?

By the way: Technically, most of the Axolotls in captive husbandry are in a way hybrids between A. mexicanum and A. tigrinum/mavortium since Mr. Humphrey created the albino-Axolotls.
 
While it is technically possible to mix an axolotl and a tiger sal, the seller is handing you a load of BS. The animals that they sell in malls as "baby dinosaurs" are wild-caught tiger sal larvae, plain and simple. Anything else would cost more to produce, and who's going to go to that trouble for what was undoubtedly sold as a rather inexpensive pet?

He'll be fine in an aquatic tank until he starts to morph. You'll be able to see the symptoms of this and add land area, and reduce water depth as needed. Read this article, especially the section about "care during metamorphosis":
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Ambystoma/A_tigrinum.shtml
 
Even known paedomorphic tiger salamanders almost always metamorphose eventually in captivity, though sometimes it can take years (very unlikely in your case - I'd give it a month or two at most).
 
He's about six inches long. I have no clue how old he is. I'll post pictures soon.

He said he had been handling them for thirty years, and all of the animals he had there appeared to be similar ages. I really think he breeds them, but that doesn't mean it won't be a tiger. He is light grey with darker grey dots. There doesn't appear to be much of a pattern to the dots, and there aren't many on his head. The ridge I've read about (from his tail) comes up to the back of his head, and his mouth region is neither pointy nor blunt. I've read about these as ways to tell, but I don't really know what all the signs mean. Like I said, I'll post a picture.
 
If all the animals are the same age, chances are they were all from the same breeding, harvested from the same pond. Trust us when we say they're not captive bred.
 
Kaysie said:
If all the animals are the same age, chances are they were all from the same breeding, harvested from the same pond. Trust us when we say they're not captive bred.
Click to expand...
100% agree.
 
I finally have a few pictures of my "baby dinosaur". What is it?!
 

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Exactly what we told you it was, a tiger salamander.
 
I also bought 2 of them... one of them look like the ones that you have but my other looks different. I am searching for what they are also. One of mine is losing its gills and the other is perfectly fine. I'm thinking she is a tiger salamander and is morphing. not sure... shes floating at the top, shedding, losing gills, loss of appetite, but not spitting food up. just like morphing. My other is perfectly healthy. :eek:/ don't know what to do.
 
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