Selling as Salamanders?

Last weekend i visited the largest pet store in Sydney. There, they have all manner of things (most very well kept) including a large clown knife fish called Polly

This time however, they had 'salamanders' which is odd, because as far as i know, the only legal exotic amphibian the public can keep in Australia is A. mexicanum.

So this got me puzzled.

Second was the *fact sheet* not mentioning anything on exactly HOW they got them to morph (i assume iodine, but i could be mistaken)

The top of the fact sheet said A.mexicanum OR A tigrinum... again, puzzling.

The average lifespan of a salamander is between 8-10 years... is this correct? i mean after the stress of morphing and all?

There are a few other bits in the leaflet, about being carnivores and requiring an all-live diet. Surely they will take some processed food or veggie matter even after morphing?

Actually, the most annoying thing is that they mass produced this leaflet and referred to it as a 'vertebrae creature'. Gives you an odd dinosaur vision aye? *lol*

Anyway, a bit of insider knowledge would be great. I hate having trends start and not knowing all the facts... hard to make a good decision on where you stand that way

starting at the top:
-A. mexicanum is a salamander (although its almost 100% always in larval form)
-most dont morph, and wont morph, and those forced to morph usually die. iodine is one substance used to "force" a mrophing, but is dangerous.
-A. mexicanum and A. tigrinium (mavortium now, unless you're talking about eastern tigers) in larval form look nearly identical, but as far as i know, only axies are legal in australia.
-if kept in larval form, axies can live a good 10 years, but if forced to morph, most die within a few years
-they are carnivorous, and dont eat veggies. some people feed their axies sinking axie pellets, but these are processed meat.
-they are vertebrates, just like you, me, the neighbor's dog, and goldfish. they have a spinal column, making them vertebrates

www.caudata.org/axolotl is a good page to check out for general information.

LOL yes, they are vertebraTe creatures, not vertebrae creatures! That was just me nit-picking a professional document sorry!

So they are technically classed as salamanders even tho they dont reach adult form? OK.

With the food, surely they require some veggie matter for a properly functioning gut? Perhaps gut-packed live food?
I noticed the 'fish meal' as the first ingredient on the algae pellets! very cheeky!

Being so dopey when they attack food, i would think in the wild that they would sometimes suck in a mouthful of plant matter with the food object.

Are they able to digest plant matter at all? does it need to be predigested (inside a critter)? If they are unable to digest it, would it do anything other than act as a sort of laxative?


Thanks very much for your help Kaysie

all animals with vertebrae are vertebrates. they're fairly synonomous. or it could have been a typo. as far as i know, they dont NEED vegetables (most benefit from calcium supplimentation). if some is accidently ingested, its either broken down (if they have the correct enzymes) or eliminated (just as humans eliminate cellulose without digesting it, as we dont have the proper enzymes). if anyone has researched this, i'd love to hear their opinion.

I used to make my axolotls metamorphose by giving them tyroxine tablets. Even if during treatment the animals got a bit "nervous" (this was due to the increase of their metabolism) none of them died. I did this 3-4 years ago and the animals are still alive and doing fine!