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Question: Nervous About Getting Pet Axolotl - Should I Get One or Wait?

Wonder

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Jan 7, 2018
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Tampa, Florida
I've been researching reptiles/amphibian pets and I am really interested in axolotls. I'm interested in them because I think they're fascinating & they seem like they have interesting personalities, don't have HUGELY complex care, and long life spans.

But I'm also very nervous that they might be too "advanced" as far as herptiles go. Some sources say they're very easy to care for, some say they're high-maintenance.

I've never had any reptiles or amphibians for pets before (I have had a variety of small mammals, dogs, etc so I have pet experience). I currently have a 10-gallon freshwater aquarium with corydoras catfish, a guppy, and minnows. Those fish have largely been perfectly healthy (with the exception of a weird, contagious catfish disease which killed several of them) for 2 years - the minnows are 2+ years old. I have had goldfish in the past, which never lived more than 2 years despite my best efforts.

Before researching axolotls, I did not know anything about cycling the tanks. I feel bad now about NOT knowing that, but now that I know better I'm doing better. When I took my tank water to the pet store to have it tested, everything was perfectly fine (which I believe because I was returning a fish & it would have been in their better interest to sell me something to fix the water). I did buy a complete 7-chemical test kit for checking the water in my current aquarium at home.

My point is I don't have experience with maintaining specific parameters, nor in keeping species alive that have very specific parameters.

I am also nervous because my house is 70 F, sometimes slightly warmer or cooler depending on the time of the year, & I saw a lot of people on here saying 68 F (20 C) was on the high end for water temperature. Is 70 F too warm for them? If so, is it challenging to keep their water at the appropriate temperature?

I've also heard fungus can be common, & that axolotls get sick easily if their water isn't pristine & at very specific parameters.

I absolutely love axolotls, I'd love to have one someday, and my concerns might be over-prescribed.

But I'm just so afraid of getting one and accidentally hurting or killing it BECAUSE I am inexperienced. As much as I love axolotls, I would never get any sort of pet unless I'm certain I'm going to be able to care for it properly.

Do you think axolotls sound right for me, or do you think I should wait & maybe keep some other species of herp & gain more experience before getting an axolotl? Are axolotls easy to care for or high-maintenance & challenging? Am I being over-paranoid?

Last, if axolotls aren't good for me now, what species of herps should I look at? I have heard good things about leopard geckos/crested geckos, fire belly toads, and the like.


Thank you all so much. I really appreciate any input on this!
 
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