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Axolotl - mexican salamander transformation

eha

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Just wondering if anyone has turned there axolotl into a mexican salamander before.

What happens to them and do they require anything extra to look after? Do they eat the same food? Also wondering if anyone has any photos of them?

Do they need to be a certain age before transformation and can they still breed once transformation has occurred? If so so the eggs grow into axolotls or mexican salamanders?

i wasn't going to turn any of my axolotls into salamanders yet, i like them too much. but i was thinking if they breed successfully i could give it a go.

Thanks
 

Minniechild

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Additionally, the healing ability of an axolotl (from what I've seen long-term on the forum)seems to go WAY downhill after sexual maturity, which will greatly impact on the life expectancy and quality of the morpholotl who emerges at the end...Besides which, they're so PRETTY WITH their gills, it seems a shame for them to lose them!
 

oceanblue

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Also see this thread http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...eral-discussion/68521-6-morphed-axolotls.html

and http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...l-discussion/86149-morphd-axolotls-ssale.html

I put my hands up to owning an artificially morphed axolotl. It is healthy and tiger salamander like.

Despite this I would advise getting expert at keeping aquatic axolotls first. There is only a narrow window when an axolotl can be morphed to produce a healthy salamander and the drugs are not readily available without prescription in most countries.If your axolotl is already fully mature it will morph if hormonally treated but will probably die within months.
 

esn

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They already are a mexican salamander. They are a salamander whether or not they are aquatic or morphed to terrestrial. Their care is like a tiger salamander, and the preferred diet of earthworms is still the same.

While it is possible to get them to morph, I don't believe that it should be encouraged, especially for new owners. You're putting them at risk, and if you have to chemically encourage them, that is unnatural. They are not normally inclined to do so in a healthy environment, meaning that any change in their environment and care to cause morphing is unnatural. That is a philosophical point.

They are unlikely to breed for you in terrestrial form. I don't believe I've personally heard of anyone that has gotten them to breed while morphed. The eggs would still be axolotls - they are not magically turning into a new species.

As for photos, there is a sticky at the top of this forum on it: http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...ral-discussion/51411-metamorphed-axolotl.html

As you can see, that one was assumed to be a healthy morph. Personally, I only feel that a morphed axolotl is ok if it has naturally morphed without outside influences (which includes bad water quality). There is no need to be messing with animals that are just fine the way they are. I especially don't think that you should be doing so given that you are an inexperienced owner. As I can see from your gallery, you have only recently acquired axolotls, and are keeping them in unsafe conditions at the moment. The substrate is improperly sized, and there are very concerning large rocks that look especially jagged.

I would suggest that you review the care sheet for keeping aquatic axolotls before thinking about terrestrial axolotls. Caudata Culture Species Entry - Ambystoma mexicanum - Axolotl
 
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