Caudata.org: Newts and Salamanders Portal

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Did you know that registered users see fewer ads? Register today!

Hello from North Yorkshire!

MEEX

Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2010
Messages
41
Reaction score
1
Location
Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Hi, I registered last year when my Axy laid and I didn't know what to do.
Now she has laid again, but this time at least I know what NOT to do!

Last year I made the mistake of trying to rear them all, and lets just say I've still got a few living in my bath. The ones that I did manage to sell didn't cover the cost of, well, anything. The worst part was breeding the brine shrimp in limited space, its hard to sleep with a bubble-bottle at the end of your bed and it nearly drove me mad. (I'd put it as one below having a dozen Fire-bellied toads all calling for mates at the same time).

Anyway, I've already been told that I won't be keeping any this year, but I don't have the heart to send them to 'live in the sea'. I'd like to offer them FREE to a good home but I can't advertise here because a year's lurking didn't earn me the right posting privileges.

The spawn comes from a pair of two year old Wild coloured. It's too early to tell how many eggs we've got now (or how many are leceustic) because I seemed to disturb her in the middle of spawning this morning. I've left the light off and stayed away, hoping she'll finish up, but I wanted to get a message on here as soon as possible.

Any advice is welcome, I don't even know a suitable method for posting the eggs out, even if I could find anybody that wanted them.

Thanks for reading,

MEEX
 

Kaysie

Site Contributor
Joined
Mar 10, 2003
Messages
14,465
Reaction score
110
Location
North Dakota
I try to talk so many people out of breeding their axolotls. They think it's a get rich quick solution. Nope. You're lucky if you recoup your costs! Sorry you found out the hard way.

Go ahead and post your ad, and I will give you an exception and approve it. Here's a link to shipping methods. Luckily, shipping eggs is the easiest way to do it!
 

MEEX

Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2010
Messages
41
Reaction score
1
Location
Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Thank you.

Believe me, I had no intention of getting rich.
I've bred Fire-Bellied toads before but it was the same thing, they just went ahead and did it without asking me first! At least in their case the shop I got the parents from was willing to buy the young (I traded some for a couple of lovely Tiger Salamanders but they were two males so no baby joy there, even with Barry White playing 16hours a day).
No such luck with the axy's, I think this other shop owner is wary of cannibals or is making excuses because they freak him out, he really wasn't keen even when I offered them free.

I was surprised last year because I thought the parents were too young, and I'd always heard that Axy's were hard to breed. Then, when it happens, you can't help but think - 'Wow, these are £10/15 in the shop and I've got hundreds!'

I did indeed learn the hard way, but to be honest it wasn't about the money and I'd love to raise more knowing what I know now, if only I also knew that I wouldn't have to keep them all. This year I knew it was coming when she got really fat, but I didn't know what would happen if she didn't lay, so left the pair together. I think I'll just have to separate them now which is a shame.

Again, thanks for OK'ing my advert, I'll wait and see if she's finished laying and write it up then.
 

Moobear2010

New member
Joined
Oct 23, 2012
Messages
162
Reaction score
3
Location
West yorkshire
Hello from west yorkshire!! Lol, believe me if i had room for another tank i would take some off your hands!!! Thinking about making the kids share a bedroom and hving my own tank room :) haha, good luck in your quest x
 

MEEX

Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2010
Messages
41
Reaction score
1
Location
Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Seeing as you guys have been so great, I thought I should make a post that isn't just me spamming the boards. I don't know if it will seen as posting nonsense just to access the adverts thread, but that's pretty much my life!

I'm a forty year old fat bloke that just loves axolotls.
I've kept all sorts of fish, frogs, toads newts and salamanders, (basically anything that doesn't look dry. Or like a snake. Or spider).
Luckily, I've been put-up-with (if not kept) by a very understanding lady for over 20 years.

I can still remember when I first saw an axy, I was so stunned.
I'd caught the tail end of a documentary about salamanders once, but I had no idea that these amazing things existed. I was out of town but needed them in my life, now, so I rang my mate (on a mobile the size of a brick) to see if he'd hold them for me while I sorted yet another tank. I remember trying very poorly to describe them without saying the word 'd*ck' but I was young, and it was hard. You know what I mean.
He didn't like the sound of any weird fish-thing-with-legs at first, (who would?) but by the time I'd finished he wanted one too.

Like I said, I was young and inexperienced so I'll be the first to admit that I didn't have a clue and I treated them shockingly. There's no excuse, so I'm not really going to try, but you have to remember that we didn't all have the internet in our pocket back then and were mostly ignorant because we had no access to information, not by choice.

I didn't see any axy's again for a long, long while. They were always on the lists but never came in, whether in season or out. I moved onto other things with more success but fell out of love with it all over time, until I was left with a single big tank containing a single big catfish that I never saw but had grown very attached to.

Then one day many years later we were thinking of taking my niece to the garden centre we used to go to when she was a kid. I jokingly said we were off to buy some Axolotls, but I'm not actually psychic, nobody is, so I was as shocked as anything when I came home with three Wildtypes, still new to me at that time. The catfish moved into his hospital tank and they moved into his mansion.

Things were good but one of the axys seemed to go mouldy one day, then the others soon followed. I'd been careful with water changes and didn't understand, so I looked it up on this new fangled internet thing, on this very site. Then things were good again. The mould came back once, so I came here again, and then I learnt about bookmarks.

So this was the obvious place to come when I got home very early one morning round Christmas time before last and found a tank full of eggs. But I guess I still knew best, so I stupidly ignored a lot of the good advice on here and tried to raise the whole batch.

We don't need to go into details and it was more success than failure in the end, but then nobody wanted the young. I was too stupid to post here back then and I've still got half a dozen living in the bath, which I know isn't ideal but until I win the lottery will have to do.

I came back for a refresher when I saw some magic sperm-pyramids(?) late last year (and remember seeing a Metroid tank that looked really cool, before I forget) and then tried to get an advert up ASAP when she finally got round to laying earlier this week.

Since then I've been nothing but a pain, so thanks for putting up with me.

[EDIT] Sorry, I thought I should say that I've had three people request eggs and 30 seems to be the desired amount which seems a good batch size.
There are still some loose left, but I might try to gently clean the 'dusty' eggs or should I leave them? I'm sure it wasn't a problem last time
 
Last edited:
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    There are no messages in the chat. Be the first one to say Hi!
    Top