Axie enrichment

Ive seen pictures of axie tanks on Caudata.org and other websites were the keepers have provided their axie with "toys" ie, things like ping pong balls tied down with string so they float in mid water, rings and hoops for the axie to swim through and climb on, and climbing frames.

I was looking for some feedback from anyone on weather or not its worth while, and what benefits you have observed from this.

My axie has a large chunk of tangled wood In her tank, and she does enjoy climbing and sitting on it. She also seems to enjoy the airstone and the bubbles it produces. I was thinking of replacing her current hides from upturned pots and the like to something more exciting, that and shes starting to outgrow them.I want something that is stimulating.

when she wanders about the tank, she usually keeps to the sides, evident by the fact that the sand slowly makes it's way to the center of the tank, or builds up a ridge on the sides of her little "track". would placing a few obstacles in this path be a good idea to encourage her to venture to the center of the tank, or would it stress her to see her normal path blocked? I was thinking of adding a few things for her to get around, like a rock or two and a few tunnels.

Thanks in advance.

I think it's all about visual barriers. The more barriers you have, the larger the tank will seem to the Axies and will provide more areas for exploration. I would suggest adding barriers/obstacles to interrupt the "track" you mentioned. The more room the animal thinks it has, the better.

Shizeric said:

I think it's all about visual barriers. The more barriers you have, the larger the tank will seem to the Axies and will provide more areas for exploration. I would suggest adding barriers/obstacles to interrupt the "track" you mentioned. The more room the animal thinks it has, the better.

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Thats a delightful way of putting it.

I am definitely an advocate for making obstacles and interesting places for them. Mine will weave in and out of closely-spaced plants rather than taking the straightforward route. I have a fake knotty tree root pushed right into the sand that they will wander in and out of and climb on top of quite happily, and I do try and mix it up a little each week - it must appear to them like they have a new environment to explore as they'll immediately spend a few hours exploring, its lovely to watch.

I keep one constant, the cave in one corner - so they always have somewhere to dart to. Whether or not they actually remember its there or not I dunno, but it's certainly the place the dash to if I startle them.

I have kept a 'run' free at the front of the tank for uninterrupted swimming sessions, as especially Chester likes to swim back and forth at night.

If axolotls do 'happy', then I would say they are definitely happier now than when I had a more sparely decorated tank. If nothing else they are way more funny to watch!

i have tried many things with my axie, pixie. at first he lived in a 5 gallon tank(he was very small and i picked him up the soonest the pet store would let me buy him so he was tiny) alone, he seemed happy enough at the time but his gills were sorta pale and curly and he didn't really do a whole lot.and then one day i went to clean out his tank and fix my mistake of having gravel in the tank opposed to sand. and at the time i was living in a college dorm and i didn't have any other tanks at my disposal to put him besides my Betta tank. i put him in there long enough to find another.
i came back with another tank maybe 5 minutes later, and pixie was swimming around and exploring and chasing the guppies and having a great time. so i decided id leave him in there till his tank was clean and see how it went. hes still in there, its a much bigger tank, plenty of room for him and the other fish and there's no fighting or gill nipping of any nature and he seems to really enjoy the endless supply of guppies and the drift wood, he even has a pineapple under the sea. id say its deffinitly worth it for axies to have some interactive surroundings. and despite my unorthodox methods i have a happy healthy axie who grows more and more by the day. Happy decorating
Axie

Some great suggestions ITT.

I only have Sunday off work this week, so if I'm not too hung over (20 year old guys party hard), I'll head down to bunnings and get creative with some PVC pipe, or flexible drainage tube. I'm planning to make a few "tunnels", ie, make a sort of tube that is buried by the sand so I'm using less surface space at the bottom. Or cutting a larger piece in half leingth way so I've got a "C" shape that I can bury up against the glass so I can still see what she is doing inside.