Introduction and Thanks in order

I'm from Oklahoma, USA. Our new pet is my husband and my first venture into caudates. Thanks are in order to everyone here, you've been a lifesaver...to our tiger salamander, that is, whose story is a sad but prevalent one. My husband felt sorry for this "baby dinosaur" at the mall kiosk he was being sold at, and since our 10 gallon hospital tank (we have a 55 gallon African Cichlid mixed tank) just so happened to be empty.... we now own a "baby dinosaur" which the seller told us was an axlotl. I came to this site for help when his eyes started to turn blue and opaque and his gills started to shrink. Lo and behold, we are the owners of a beautiful tiger salamander, who we quickly rescued from his aquatic tank before he drowned, and thanks to the helpful insight from members of this site, is now in a cooler environment eating gut loaded crickets (which he doesn't like) and worms (which he loves) to improve his health and hopefully restore his eye sight. Thanks again to someone on this website who gave us the idea of retrofitting a micro-fridge to cool his cage (not the 10 gallon, the nice 3ft+1.5ft+1.5ft (91cm+46cm+46cm+) aquarium he gets when we finish the stand for it), which I'll post pictured instructions for if it works.
Thanks again, everyone!

hold off on the bigger terranium...

We're going to hold off on the terranium unless we can't keep the tempurature in his 10 gallon cage down sufficiently. But if we do end up going through with trying the refridgerator thing, we'll post it.

bookwyrm2010 said:

Our new pet is my husband and my first venture into caudates.

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When I first read this, I was sure you were saying that your husband is your pet But I get it now. Welcome to you and your "baby dinosaur".

Some might say their husband is a pet.

Yes John, but mine comes after the family dog in status

Re: Intoduction and Thanks in order

I also bought a "baby dinosaur" at an Oklahoma mall. I too assumed he was an axolotl after a bit of googling since he told me he would never lose his gills. I only purchased him yesterday and I haven't bought him a habitat yet. I was planning on getting him a ten gallon tank, but before I do I'd like to know if there is a more suitable arrangement for him!

On a side note, I called the seller of the animal to ask what my new pet actually is after reading another near drowning and blinding horror story on this forum. He said it is a mix of a tiger salamander and an axolotl. Is that even possible? He said that many of them retain their gills so there's no telling what I need to do for the poor little guy. He also made no mention of temperature requirements. How much is a cooling device like you mentioned? I'm on a college kid budget, so I'll probably be going the ice cube route.

Please help me figure out what to get him! I don't want him to die!

Re: Intoduction and Thanks in order

jerra88 said:

I also bought a "baby dinosaur" at an Oklahoma mall. I too assumed he was an axolotl after a bit of googling since he told me he would never lose his gills. I only purchased him yesterday and I haven't bought him a habitat yet. I was planning on getting him a ten gallon tank, but before I do I'd like to know if there is a more suitable arrangement for him!

On a side note, I called the seller of the animal to ask what my new pet actually is after reading another near drowning and blinding horror story on this forum. He said it is a mix of a tiger salamander and an axolotl. Is that even possible? He said that many of them retain their gills so there's no telling what I need to do for the poor little guy. He also made no mention of temperature requirements. How much is a cooling device like you mentioned? I'm on a college kid budget, so I'll probably be going the ice cube route.

Please help me figure out what to get him! I don't want him to die!

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Read these care sheets:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Ambystoma/A_tigrinum.shtml
and:
http://axolotl.org/tiger_salamander.htm

And tiger salamander larvae are usually much more tolerant of temperature highs than axolotls.

Re: Intoduction and Thanks in order

gr33neyes said:

Yes John, but mine comes after the family dog in status

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Thats pretty high.
Mine comes after the worms I feed my Axies


(sorry to thread steal )

Re: Intoduction and Thanks in order

jerra88 said:

He said it is a mix of a tiger salamander and an axolotl. Is that even possible? He said that many of them retain their gills so there's no telling what I need to do for the poor little guy.

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Yes, it's possible. But he's not being truthful. It's a tiger salamander. You'll have to set it up terrestrially when it morphs.

Re: Intoduction and Thanks in order

Ugh. How do I get my hands on an actual axie? I'd really like one. I've read a lot about them and I think they're fantastic. And do you think I can get this guy to give me my money back seeing as I bought an animal that was supposed to be aquatic over its entire lifespan? I already shelled out plenty of money for the thing itself, not to mention all the AQUATIC supplies. Can't this be considered false advertisement?!

This man is selling animals without giving proper care instructions. He says to feed them only pellets when everything I've ever read reccomends live food. He says you can handle them as much as you like as long as you keep them wet. He said that most of them keep their gills and remain aquatic. He never mentioned any temperature requirements, and I don't know anyone who air conditions their house to 68 degrees. Can this even be legal? I'm sure most people who buy them don't put any research into it and end up killing it. In fact, HE doesn't even know what kind of animal it is! They're some kind of random hybrid! What a jerk.

Anyways, can anyone give me any tips on how to know when the little guy is beginning to morph, if he ever does? He has a small amount of land above water for now- as long as he can figure out how to climb onto it he won't drown. Also, is it ok to feed him crickets? I've been doing that in combination with pellets.

If I post a picture do you think that you could tell me what he is or what he is MOSTLY? I'm really hoping he'll stay aquatic, but I suppose when you buy from shady characters you never know what will happen.

Re: Intoduction and Thanks in order

Okay... I found a site that sells axolotls. Can I put it in the same tank as my baby whatever it is (after the former gets too big to eat, of course)? I'm in quite a delimma here, if you can't tell. I know that if the salamander (or axie, I still don't know) starts to morph I would have to separate them. Help!

Re: Intoduction and Thanks in order

If what you have is a tiger salamander then NO don't put it in the same tank as an Axie.

Please put up a picture if you are unsure of what you have.

Re: Intoduction and Thanks in order

Here are some pictures. What is it?!

Re: Intoduction and Thanks in order

Please don't double post the same message in two places.

I too bought a "baby dinosaur" from a guy in an Oklahoma mall and I have had the hardest time with them. He said all I had to do was keep them at room temperature, a lie, and he said I wouldn't require a filter, a lie, and he said to only feed them pellets twice a week, a lie.

I bought two females and within the first weekend, they both lost their gills and I freaked out. I've done so much of my own research on line trying to figure out how to help my girls. I bought a nice filter that doens't move the water too much but keeps the nitrate levels, and other such, just right. I've also started freezing water bottles to keep the temperature below or at 64 ot 66 degrees.

For the college kid on a budget, don't use ice cubs unless you use water that has already been de-clorined because that water will eventually melt into the tank. You can easily freeze 3 water bottles and switch them out during the day, it works great for me. I also feed them crickets in addition to their daily pellets and they love the crickets.

Sad to say the main reason I'm on this forum is because one of my girls was dead this morning. I have just done so much of my own research that I'm ticked to learn that she might have drowned because she's not a true axolotl. I have taken the second one out and will do a complete water change today and put half of the amount of water back into my 10 gallon aquarium so she doesn't drown also. I hope this is the final step to keeping a healthly what-ever-it-is-I-have. Thanks for al lthe information. Does anyone in Oklahoma have the number of that guy because he's moved on from the mall?