Question: Average Body Mass for Adult Male Axolotl?

Hi,

My leucistic axolotl Trent is approximately 6.5-7 inches long. He is in a 20 gal reptile tank, normally filled to about 17 gallons. Water temp is around 75F/23C (slightly higher than I'd prefer it as I know they like lower temps but I can't afford a chiller). I've had him since September 2015; I'd approximate that he's a little under a year old as I got him when he was very small. He's recently reached sexual maturity, as was indicated by grey finger and toe tips, and I'm 95% certain he's male.

As he's matured, I've noticed several changes in his eating habits. In order to provide him with the best nutrition possible and keep him at a healthy weight, I need to know what an average body mass is for an axolotl at Trent's stage in life. I realize that it's nearly impossible to weigh an axolotl, though, so I'm thinking it may be easier to give body proportions. I.e. "head is 1.5 size of body" or something like that.

-signed a still relative axolotl newb

1. dark toe tips DO NOT mean maturity.
2. body mass depends on length and gender.
3. their body should be as wide as their head. Males tend to be slimmer than females.
4. if you post a pic of your axie we may be able to confirm gender for you.

I've attached two pictures I took of him this evening. His body is somewhat slimmer than the width of his head. I'll bulk him up some more. What do you think?

Looks good, but you need to remove the gravel.

Agree on the gravel, its a perfect size to be ingested

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/substrate1.shtml

I wouldn't exactly call it gravel; river rocks was the official name on the bag. I researched it pretty thoroughly before introducing it to the tank because of all of the horror stories on axies ingesting it. At the time every piece was larger than his head; now, there are some pieces that I assume he could bite but I think it'd be incredibly difficult for him to swallow...perhaps the picture I took made it appear smaller? I appreciate your input; if I remove it, do you have a suggestion of what to replace it with? Bare bottom tanks are harder to keep clean as the waste doesn't have a place to settle in the substrate. That being said, Trent's health is my primary goal so I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep him happy and safe.

Bare bottom is actually easier when using a siphon, I have one of my tanks bare bottom and its always pristine as I siphon waste as I see it. I would remove the stones

AxolotlChris said:

Bare bottom is actually easier when using a siphon, I have one of my tanks bare bottom and its always pristine as I siphon waste as I see it. I would remove the stones

Click to expand...

Ah, ok, I'll take them out. Thanks for the information.