Mudpuppy out of the tank

Yesterday morning I found my mudpuppy out for a stroll on my floor. He's done this one other time, and I know that mudpuppies are known to do this. I was wondering if anyone has seen a mudpuppy does this. Is it a fast swim and jump out of the water or does it actually climb out. I'm just trying to think of the best way to secure the tank. Yes there's a lid, but it's open where the filter inlet is.

Packing tape can seal the hole, or try lowering the water level. It's jumping out; they're too heavy and aren't built for climbing. I leave my water level a foot below the top of the tank, in case I forget to put the cover back on after feeding them. Better safe than sorry is my thinking.

I haven't had a mudpuppy, but I'm imagining that if it's escaping a gap around the filter... maybe it's possible that it can use a combination of swim/wiggle/slither (swimming with the tail, while wiggling the head end through the gap) to get itself out? Duct tape and insulation/packing foam might work.

Ok, well, I put an old sock in the most obvious gap. I like to leave some portion open to allow for some water vapor/heat to escape for cooling purposes. I like to keep my tank pretty full, because I've found that she quite actively and gracefully swims loops at nights between the hours of 1 and 5 am, so I like to give her as much space as possible.

I've never heard of stories of mudpuppies jumping out of the water like fish in the wild, and I can't find an obvious method for her to climb out. Perhaps it's a combination of methods as Jennewt says. Conceptually and physically I find it hard to figure out how she gets out. She's in a larger tank now and I've noticed that often she'll try to swim against the current of the filter. I can imagine her charging towards the filter sometime and breaking the surface, but not enough to get out. Perhaps then she is physically hoisting herself out into the terrestrial world. This leaves me to wonder if something is terribly off in my tank at the moment. Though everything seems fine.

If the animal is out swimming at night, there might be a problem with the tank. Mudpuppies live in areas with large fish, so being out in the water column is risky and they aren't likely to do so without good reason. It might be looking for a better hide, it might be too hot, or water quality parameters might be off. On the other side of the scales, I've noticed that this can happen when absolutely nothing is wrong, particularly during the winter, and I suspect it may indicate that the animal is searching for a mate. I read a study once, and while they didn't get many recaptures, most recaptures during the summer were near the original location. But during the winter, when breeding occurs, they could be found a mile from the original site.

You mentioned he's in a new tank; is this a recent move? If so, he might be trying to find his old territory.

Jen's got a point on the filter-escape part. Alternately, what might be happening is that the animal is trying to go upstream against the current, it builds up speed and hits the wall, and the momentum is diverted upwards or back into the bottom of the tank. Back in college when I had my big female with me in my room, I could hear her breaking the water's surface at night sometimes, though I don't believe she ever got high enough to hit the screen top.

I'd recommend getting some tape instead of the sock. Tape is pretty reliable, but the sock might fall in at some point, etc.

Ultimately, I'd test the water quality, see if there's anything wrong with things that might be making him want to escape. If that's negative, and the water is fairly cool, he might just be migrating.

Well, the swimming thing seems to be in her nature. When she's been moved to new tanks and does the "panic" swim/ search for new spots. She tends to swim at the sides or bump into the glass and this will last for only a few days. Her occasional nightly swims that I've observed are seemingly more
"carefree" or "playful" (if I may anthropomorphize) with some focus on direction relative to the current. The new tank she's been in is going on 2 months now and parameters seem acceptable. Recently there has been an increase in her nightly activity, so perhaps there is a mating aspect or some other signaling occurring. The temperatures have been falling and I do adjust lighting cycles with the time of the year, so who knows what biological signals are at work at the moment.

It was good to hear that you've heard yours breaking the surface. I've never caught any sign that mine does this, but clearly she must.

My professor had three of them, but one of them got out during the night and died. He said that because of their bodies, they most likely had to jump out. They're not the most limber of animals.

He took a very practical and cheap method of fixing this. He took a sheet of plexi-glass that was larger than the tank and just put it directly over. It has been heavy enough to withstand movements or escape attempts, but not too annoying to take off during feeding times.

Hope that helps!