Too warm?

How long can axies stand being in 24C before they get too stressed? I haven't checked my thermometer for a couple of days and it's now that warm in the tank. I've opened all the windows, turned off the filter and moved the lid so that there's some air getting into the tank from the room (though not too much due to the horror stories of axies jumping out!) but I don't know how long it will take for it to cool down again. I'm really surprised because it's one of the coolest rooms in the house and it's not been that warm!
Cheers,
Clare

Also, while I'm at it - I know that axies shouldn't be kept in bright conditions but how much light do they actually need. I'm worried that my tank is in a corner of the room that is too dark...

Twenty four's really hot, and the sooner you can get it down the better. Mine haven't jumped with the lids completely off (I've simply put them out of my bedroom now), though if you're worried, if they do, just put down a wet towel and they can find it...(slinking home like guilty teenagers...). There's also the option of fly screen and balsa wood replacements.
A word of warning, a water bottle will only last 45 minutes, and the temp will then rocket back up unless you change it with a fully frozen one before it's completely thawed. From what other people have noted, that often can be more stressful than the high temps to begin with.
A suggestion that kept the tank and me cooled down for most of the summer is a big fan (As big as you can get it) pointed down at the water and left running 24/7. Also chillers are an option (I can't wait until mine arrives!).
I'm sure others much more knowledgeable than I will be on here very soon and offer many more ideas to help you guys get through the summer ahead!
Good luck!

claraesse said:

Also, while I'm at it - I know that axies shouldn't be kept in bright conditions but how much light do they actually need. I'm worried that my tank is in a corner of the room that is too dark...

Click to expand...

HI Clare,

Ok your axies will be getting stressed at 24 and it also makes them more prone to fungus etc so do you have a clip on fan that you could use as that will help cool your tank down OR fill a bottle with some dechlorinated water and freeze it and then let it float in the tank that again will help bring the temps down!!

Try and invest in a screen lid as yes you are right to be cautious of no lid, you can DIY one yourself or clearseal do a mesh lid, well worth the investment!!

Axies dont have eye lids so are quite happy in the dark anyway! My local zoo had them in more or less complete dark so dont stress about that.

Hope this helps and good luck!!!

I don't have a fan and I've read, like Minniechild says, that water bottles are risky. I'll buy a fan but in the meantime I'm really worried.

Was it this stressful when everyone else first got their axies?! I love her to bits but it's only been a week and I'm terrified I'm going to kill her!

ohhh hell yeah on the stressful front! And this summer was one of the coolest I can remember- only one week when the temp went above 35C (that's weird, coz most years once you get through December, the average goes up to the low thirties...). I suppose the best thing to take stock of is that there are chillers, and your fridge!) Not to mention, if you're in a dark corner, you're probs doing well already!
Another measure that just came to mind (And I wish I was able to do, but it took two peeps to get my tank in place EMPTY, so moving it now is officially impossible...) is if your tank is moveable, put it on the ground to drop a few more points off the thermometer reading.
As Zoe's brought up the water bottle thing, I'll add that if you're at home and able to do the changes every forty five minutes (or have a significant other/ baby brother / other willing slave), it can work- The first major 35 day of the year, my brother was a SAINT whilst I was out, changing religiously every hour (there were five different frozen things in the tank), and they managed to stay below 23- which considering the tank in the main room (Which remains cooler than mine) was up to thirty, was a pretty awesome achievement!

I do have a saintly significant other who has threatened (in all seriousness as well...) that he will be returning Amber to her previous home (I got her from my MSc supervisor who has 15!) by the end of the month if I continue to be this stressed. So pray that her tank temperature decreases (good tip about putting it on the floor...), that she destresses enough to be handfed and that she doesn't get any fungal infections in the meantime. Or my time as an axie owner will be shortlived

The fan will lower your tank temp by ~3 degrees. It's pretty significant. A screen lid will help with a degree or two.

If you're worried about her jumping out, lower the water level in the tank to ~10cm below the top. It would be an extremely athletic axolotl fete to make that jump. DO NOT rely on towels to lure your axolotl. Unlike other salamanders that have well-developed legs for traveling across land, axolotls have tiny toothpick legs, which won't propel their body very far.

As for light: they need none. Axolotls are nocturnal, and do not do well in bright situations.

Decreasing the duration of your light can work a bit as well.
So instead of putting light on for 9 hours you can do 6/7 hours.
If youve got any light ofcourse... Otherwise i didnt say a word^^

Kaysie said:

If you're worried about her jumping out, lower the water level in the tank to ~10cm below the top. It would be an extremely athletic axolotl fete to make that jump. DO NOT rely on towels to lure your axolotl. Unlike other salamanders that have well-developed legs for traveling across land, axolotls have tiny toothpick legs, which won't propel their body very far.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that, Kaysie! (Misinformation from somewhere down the line, so thanks for correcting that one...Would you still have it as a backup of a backup of a last resort?)

If your axolotl jumps out of the tank, it probably isn't going to go far. Whereas a salamander that escapes can travel quite a bit before dessication sets in. You could try it if you think it'll help if the need ever arises (I hope it doesnt!).

HI,
when my rooms get to hot I find the best thing to do is open the windows wide and close the curtains with the curtain closed the heat does not penetrate into the room so much, I never remove my lid or swithch of the filter, mind you all my filters are external.I also place polystyrene behind and down the side of my tanks to try and keep a more regular temperature, mine rarely go above 16 deg even in high summer.

Over the past couple of weeks we have had a few rather hot days here and at one point my tank reached 21 degrees.

The tank is in the corner of the room and I find that opening my windows as wide as possible and not opening the curtains or blind during the day did help a bit. To get it back below 20 I froze a load of bottles and tupperwear containers with water in and then floated them in the water ina bag, changing them every hour. Whilst they were in I got a ton of bubble wrap and wrapped the back and sides of my tank in about 3 really thick layers with black material between the bubble wrap and the tank. Now the temperature hasn't went above 19 (not using the iced bottles now) and the tank is lovely and dark too. I have a clip on 10 inch fan and a freezer full of iced bottles waiting for the "heatwave" that is apparently going to come next week, so we shall see what happens!

Heatwaves in the UK? I had no idea that you guys even got frequent sunlight! Haha

Last summer in Perth was a scorcher, we had days in the mid 40's most of the time. I managed to keep my axie tank around 24 with a fan, a airstone and ice bricks! I will be sure that I have a chiller by the time this summer rolls about.

Lol yeh the sun doesn't like the UK much. Apparently we are going to have a hot weekend and start of next week in the North East where I am, hot for us is between 24-27 degrees I have to admit I had never felt a real heatwave until I went to the Maldives, now that was HOT

Hi Clare, I'm sorry you are so stressed about your axie! Changing from TL to led-lightning can also decrease the temperature with a couple of degrees.
I've also heard of people that are lucky enough to own a backyard, who bury the hose, because of the cold ground, the water gets cooled. For this the hose/tube needs to be long enough and the pump strong enough.