Does substrate color affect axolotl color

I have a leucistic juvie axolotl and a wild type (both about 3 inches). I have them on black sand and i've noticed that there are more black spots (similar to peppering on discus fish) appearing on its face and the gills are not as pink as when i first bought it. would this be the black sand's affect or is there another cause?

Leucistics develop their freckles over time. This isn't caused by the black sand. The lightening of the gills is usually because they're inactive. The gills will get redder when it's more active.

how could i get it to be more active?

Axolotls aren't readily "active." They more the "stumble around at my own pace" kind of critters. Matter of speaking, if you have an axolotl that's TOO active, it can turn out to be a bad thing. Sometimes lotls will get more active when you're hanging around the tank, mostly because they think they're going to get something yummy out of it.

oh was the post before referring to the gills being more active or the axolotl in general?

I was referring to the axolotl in general, but it ties into the same thing anyway: more active axolotl, brighter gills. Less active axolotl, paler gills. For example, I find that my leu's gills get very pink when I feed her, or she's moving around the tank. When I first turn the light on in the morning, they're very pale, just barely pink.

^_^

When the axolotl is more active, the gills will be redder. That's because they have an increased demand for oxygen, so there's more blood flowing through the gills.

I'm actually a little curious if sand color might change the color of wildtype axolotls. I know in some fish the substrate will cause them to either darken/lighten there colors. For instance senegal bichirs tend to be lighter in white sand, but if you switch the substrate to darker sand they will darken up

i actually read some where that they did a study on this and they claimed it did affect the axolotls color. it was done in asia...i'm searching for the article now.

I have to say the substrate will affect the colour. A year or two ago I raised a batch of eggs. Somehow one larvae ended outside in a tank I had for catching various pond life. This little one (Called Rogue ) stayed out all winter, and was only discovered in the spring when I had decided to clean up the tank. She was considerably smaller than her siblings . The base of the tank was mainly glass with areas of light sand, she appeared to be a heavily speckled gold colour, the tank was kept much lighter . I brought her in doors to a sectioned off area of the main tank. This had nearly black sand and was kept much darker. With in a day or two, she had become a dark wild type.
Every summer she comes for a little holiday . She is kept in a covered plastic (blue) jumper box, outside in a cool area of the patio. She starts off a dark wild type, by the end of her holiday she has the most amazing gold high lights. Her owner barely recognises her.
If I remember this year, I will try to remember to take before and after pics. Roll on July.

That is very very cool Julia. Can't wait to see those pics

Wish I had some insight for you but was really just curious about the answer