Archie is a girl..

In October 2013, my boyfriend and I bought two axolotls and we wanted both males to avoid breeding. Obviously, when they're at such a young age, it's hard to tell what gender each axolotl is, but we went on the assumption that they were both male. Now they're about 7 months old and it's obvious that Jarvis is a male, but it looks as though Archie is a female. We know that breeding at 7/8 month old isn't good for the female, but other people have told us that we might miss this breeding season seeing as it's starting to get warmer.
We're happy to breed them later on, but there's a couple of things we want to know first..

Firstly, we were told by the supplier that they were from the same litter (but they also told us that wild types were illegal in the uk and that our two goldens were leucistics, so they could be trying to pull the wool over our eyes with that one too). Now, I work with dogs and breeding show dogs, and with them, it's important to keep the gene pools as far apart as possible, so breeding two dogs from the same litter would be a massive no. Is it the same with axolotls? Would it be morally wrong, or biologically risky if the two of them breed if they are actually from the same litter?

Also, what are the signs we should look out for if they are starting to breed? We've been told about spermatophores, but we keep the tank in the bedroom and keep a close eye on them, and we haven't seen anything that resembles spermatophores. Are there any other tell tale signs that they're going to start breeding soon?

We've also noticed that Archie doesn't have dark tips on all of her toes, but Jarvis does. Does this mean that Archie isn't mature enough to breed? We know that each axolotl matures at a different rate, and that 7 months old would be very young for an axolotl to breed. Do we still have some time?

And finally, we're hoping to adopt two other female axolotls in May from someone who's moving and can't keep them in their new home, these are about 3 years old, both females, one leucistic and one wild type. Would it be safe to tank Archie with these two if we get them, with the age and size difference?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!




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Do not inbreed. Do not inbreed. Do not inbreed.

If the breeder told you they were from the same litter, don't allow them to breed. If they make eggs, dispose of all of them.

Inbreeding is bad for just about any species, same for axolotls.

The male will lay spermatophores, but just suck them up with a turkey baster or something.

Dark toes don't actually indicate sexual maturity. Some axolotls will darken their toes at about 4-5 months old, but it has nothing to do with their ability to breed.

As long as the size difference between Archie and the two other females isn't too significant, and as long as you feed them probably, they should be fine sharing a tank.

EmbryH said:

Do not inbreed. Do not inbreed. Do not inbreed.

If the breeder told you they were from the same litter, don't allow them to breed. If they make eggs, dispose of all of them.

Inbreeding is bad for just about any species, same for axolotls.

The male will lay spermatophores, but just suck them up with a turkey baster or something.

Dark toes don't actually indicate sexual maturity. Some axolotls will darken their toes at about 4-5 months old, but it has nothing to do with their ability to breed.

As long as the size difference between Archie and the two other females isn't too significant, and as long as you feed them probably, they should be fine sharing a tank.

Click to expand...

I was told that if you see spermatophores it might be too late as those can just be the left overs the female didn't pick up. Maybe separation is the best route if you don't feel like euthanizing eggs all the time.

It's still possible to get them before the female does, but you're right that it's not a 100% effective prevention. Still better than leaving them in the tank.

If you don't feel like freezing eggs, then put a divider in the tank during the breeding months.

EmbryH said:

Do not inbreed. Do not inbreed. Do not inbreed.



If the breeder told you they were from the same litter, don't allow them to breed. If they make eggs, dispose of all of them.



Inbreeding is bad for just about any species, same for axolotls.



The male will lay spermatophores, but just suck them up with a turkey baster or something.



Dark toes don't actually indicate sexual maturity. Some axolotls will darken their toes at about 4-5 months old, but it has nothing to do with their ability to breed.



As long as the size difference between Archie and the two other females isn't too significant, and as long as you feed them probably, they should be fine sharing a tank.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I thought this would be the case. Would just removing the spermatophores be enough though?


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EmbryH said:

It's still possible to get them before the female does, but you're right that it's not a 100% effective prevention. Still better than leaving them in the tank.



If you don't feel like freezing eggs, then put a divider in the tank during the breeding months.

Click to expand...

We wouldn't really want to separate them completely, it's probably just us, but they seem to like the company of each other. However the divider seems like a better option. Which months would it need to be in for? I know they breed during the colder months, but wouldn't want to put it in too late, or take it out too soon..


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We aren't 100% sure they are from the same litter, that's something they mentioned before we bought them - whether we would prefer them to be the same age or from the same parents. However with all of the other information they gave us about our lotls, we aren't sure we trust what they've told us. They were more or less the same size as each other when we got them, and they're both goldens, so we just assumed they were at the start. Assuming there isn't a way of finding out whether this is true or not (without some type of genetics test which would be more hassle for the lotls than necessary) and we wouldn't want to risk in breeding them just in case.


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Inbreeding is not as much of a problem in axies as it is in mammals, and in all honesty the captive population in the UK is probably so inbred in the first place it won't make much difference. But yes, sibling breeding shouldn't be encouraged. That said, the original albinos were produced by line breeding (breeding a son back to his mother) in the first place, so all albinos are technically inbred.

If you find spermatophores they are often the leftover ones that the female didn't take, and it's already too late. A divider would be a good idea, but pet axies tend to breed at any time of year

What made you think that 2 axies at 3 months were male? Even now at 7 months I don't think you can be sure - if you post pictures maybe we can help you on that.

Size is the most important thin in keeping axies together, if your 2 adopted females are about the same size as Archie they shold be fine.

auntiejude said:

Inbreeding is not as much of a problem in axies as it is in mammals, and in all honesty the captive population in the UK is probably so inbred in the first place it won't make much difference. But yes, sibling breeding shouldn't be encouraged. That said, the original albinos were produced by line breeding (breeding a son back to his mother) in the first place, so all albinos are technically inbred.

If you find spermatophores they are often the leftover ones that the female didn't take, and it's already too late. A divider would be a good idea, but pet axies tend to breed at any time of year

What made you think that 2 axies at 3 months were male? Even now at 7 months I don't think you can be sure - if you post pictures maybe we can help you on that.

Size is the most important thin in keeping axies together, if your 2 adopted females are about the same size as Archie they shold be fine.

Click to expand...

About telling if they were male or female at that young, it wasn't us that made the judgement. When we were researching the lotls before we got them, we read that you couldn't sex them until breeding age and weren't expecting to be able to tell. When we ordered them, they asked whether we wanted boys, girls, or one of each, then told us they were both boys. We just assumed that they had some way of telling and didn't question it.

We think that Jarvis is a male because he has a very swollen cloaca and has a longer, thinner body whereas Archie doesn't have any sign of a swollen cloaca, and has a more rounded body.


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