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Morphing

R

ray

Guest
How do I morph and axolotl? I don't actually want to, but the lady at the pet shop said that you can make them morph - but she didn't know how?
 
J

jenny

Guest
pet shops always seem to say they can morph but apparently you cant unless ur a scientist person in a lab wi chemicals n stuff!
 
M

mik

Guest
Morhping can be induced by adding thyroxine and trace quantities of iodine (a growth hormone i think made in thyroid glands). I beleive no-one here would reccommend that you even try this type of activity. It is very stressful for the animal and there longevity after morphing is significantly reduced.

Some that morph are actually tiger salamander larvae not Axies and they will morph of their own accord.
 
K

katy

Guest
In addition, most axolotls have actually lost the ability to morph - it's just no longer in their genetic makeup. Only a few can be forced to morph, and as Mik said, it's very traumatic and they won't live more than a couple of years afterwards (as opposed to a potential 10 or 15 years as an axy!)
 
K

kim

Guest
does anyone know the correct name for a morphed axies?

Or is there even one?

I think this is a good question for Mik
biggrin.gif
 
M

mik

Guest
Dunno, It's still an A. Mexicanum. But I don't think there is a common name because morphed axies ain't common.
 
K

kaysie

Guest
erm, I would call them "morphed axolotls" probably. Like the reverse of other caudates: "I have a larval A. opacum", since larvae are less common in a population than adults. But like Mikki said, morphed axies not common at all.

(Message edited by kaysie on August 10, 2004)
 
M

mik

Guest
hmm going one step further we could be exclusive and claim the name Morpholotls for the poor creatures that have "crossed-over"
 
C

charlie

Guest
lol.....to the dark side presumably!

i don't understand why anyone would want to morph one anyway - surely if you want something like an axolotl that morphs, you'd get a tiger salamander?

*walks away shaking head in a bemused manner*
 
K

kim

Guest
I agree with Charlie, If you want an axie to Morph why not just get A tiger!

Its not fair!
 
M

mary

Guest
im not going to try and morph any of my little ones - but i want a salmander or a newt - but i live in australia and you cant get them here. so i spose that could be one reason why you would want to morph a poor axi????
 
D

daniel

Guest
The reason they disallowed the owning of newts/salamanders here is because they flourish in our water and sewerage systems, wreaking havoc in pipes breeding like crazy. If people just start morphing axies eventually they will get banned too. If people in Australia want amphibions/reptiles we have plenty of native options. Some states require a licence but it's no thard to get it, simply pay a fee for the simple licence (non-venomous snakes, lizards, turtles), frogs are a seperate licence in NSW I think.
 
L

lauren

Guest
Are there any specific lines or color variations that are more likely to morph with injections? Wildtype for example?

I'm looking into it for my master's thesis - my college has an axolotl lab but I'm not enrolled yet.
 
M

mik

Guest
To my knowledge, there is no preference for a certain colour type to morph over any other.

You might want to try that question with the Indiana Uni.
 
N

nathan

Guest
there is an aquarium in strathfield in sydney that morphs axolotls.
I've seen them morphed.
Apparently the guy was explaining to me that he uses a 3 month process.
He stops filtration of the water and lowers the water level by around 20% every few weeks he also stops feeding regularly.
eventually he sais u see the gills start to fall off thats when he'd put a level in the tank for the axolotl to crawl up on and it just happens.
they look very interesting morphed he sells them as is.
he wouldn't recommend somebody who doesn't know how to treat sick axies properly to start morphing axies because he has found alot of instances where he's had to stop the process because he has been able to notice the signs of too much deadly stress in the axies he's morphing.

the aquarium is called Aquariums Strathfield on the Hume Hwy in Strathfield. (for anyone in sydney who is curious)
 
K

kim

Guest
I personally think that is cruel... if an axie needs/wants to morph it will do it its OWN time, and should not be forced.
 

dot

Member
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<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>mik flounders (Mikki) wrote on Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - 19:38 :</font>

"hmm going one step further we could be exclusive and claim the name Morpholotls for the poor creatures that have "crossed-over""<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

Aximander Aximander Aximander Aximander

biggrin.gif
 
N

nathan

Guest
kim,
not saying it's not cruel..i wouldn't do it myself,
just thought i'd share what i've seen on the subject that's all
 
M

mik

Guest
lol Dot,
Aximander is good too. morpholtl sounds kind of latinised tho.

Either way I have no desire to morph or even try morphing my group. Wonder what they collective noun for a herd/group/flock/school/ of axies is?
I would suggest something along the lines - "an idleness" of axies. suggestions in a new thread please.lol.
 
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