Question: can you help us figure out what sex they are?

Hi!

I think one of our axolotls may have reached sexual maturity (at least that's what I'm hoping his/her little black toes mean!) and I was then wondering about what sexes they are and if it is easy to breed them. Is there anything I can do to encourage the act (jazz music?) or is it something that needs to happen in its own time? Or perhaps my three axies are all females/males...

Can anyone help me decipher?

Here is a picture of Nogada with the black tipped toes


And the larger, Mole:


And finally, Chipotle:


I hope the photos are clear enough! If you can help that would be great. Thanks!!

Hi Julesy,

As long as the water quality is good, the axies are well fed, and the axies are healthy and happy in their environment they will very likely breed - it's getting them to STOP that's usually the problem .

It's best to wait until the axolotls are at least 18 months of age (particulary the female) before deliberately trying to breed them. On breeding, rearing, and feeding larvae.

In looking at the photos...I would say that Nogada and Mole are males, and Chipotle is female.

Here's a couple more from above!!

NOGADA



CHIPOTLE



MOLE

Hi Asprine,

All your axies are definitely matured. Black tipped toes on nogada and white tipped toes on the other two.

I would say Nogada is male. Chipotle looks female. Mole is a bit difficult to see because his/her hind leg is obscuring the view of the cloaca. However, i think i can make out a clocal bulge, so i would say likely to be male as well.

To encourage breeding, ensure good water parameters and nutrition. Also things like plants can provide a surface for females to lay eggs and rock surfaces for males to deposit spermatophores. A drop in temperature and a change in light exposure can stimulate breeding. This is an extract from http://www.axolotl.org/breeding.htm

"Most sources state that the breeding season for axolotls is from December to June. However, they can be bred at any time of the year, although most success is reported in the early part of the year. The former Indiana University Axolotl Colony used changes in the length of light period to trigger spawning. Males and females are subjected to a decreasing "daylight" period over a few weeks, and then the duration of lighting is steadily increased. They then put a male and a female together and courtship behaviour usually follows.

An alternate school (Peter W. Scott and some others) instead recommends a sudden change in temperature to trigger courtship behaviour. Keeping the pair separately for a few weeks at 20-22 °C (68-71 °F) and then transferring them both into a tank with a water temperature at least 5 °C lower frequently triggers courtship behaviour. In fact, Scott recommends 12-14 °C (54-57 °F). My own experience, and that of some others, is that this thermal shock method usually just stimulates the male. In order for this procedure to be successful, the female most be receptive and ready to breed.

In my experience, by keeping axolotls in a room that receives at least partial seasonal change in temperature and light period (if there is a window in the room), breeding will occur naturally, usually at least once before the peak of winter and once in the spring, if the animals are adequately fed.

As mentioned briefly above, exposure to natural day length throughout the year by having the tank in a room that receives natural light is a good idea because light seems to have at least as an important role as temperature in simulating the seasons.

A pair of axolotls kept in good conditions should breed at least once a year, albeit unpredictably. Axolotls may spawn for no obvious reason, at "odd" times of the year, as mine have done in the past. Axolotls may surprise you."

Cheers

Wow! Thank you both for your help. I hope that the Axolotls do suprise us... but taking your advice I think that we need to move our axolotls into another room - as the Winter is coming to an end here we've found that the temperature in our tank is rising everday. We have a little method whereby we place pre-dechlorinated frozen water cube thingies in the tank and blow a fan onto the water but it seems to be a bit of a band-aid solution.

At the same time I'm worried about moving the tank (its massive) and we'd only be able to do it by emptying it of water etc. Last time we slightly re-arranged some of the rocks and removed a log in the tank Nogada (who'd only been in the tank a short time) got all anxious and stressed out and resulted in him going into the fridge for a few days... but, its better this than them over-heating. And fingers crossed they like the new room with cooler temperatures...

Thanks again!

de-chlorinated it is oops!

i would say mole is a male because it just rimes