Question: Should i get another Axie?

I already have a female Axie called Moomin, she's doing fine and we have no problems. I've had her for about a year now and I'm just wondering if getting another, perhaps a male will have a negative affect on her? She was housed with other axies before i bought her but unfortunately they all died and she was the last one left due to unproper care on the pet shops behalf.

Has she been in seclusion too long to have a tank mate?
Does sex of a new tank mate matter? Would they fight? As i would love to breed in the near future due to the fact i know alot of people who would like an Axie but they're pretty hard to come by.
Do they have to be of a similar size & does it matter if one is golden albino and one is wild type?
How big does the tank/floor space have to be to house two axies?

Do you guys need measurements? I could provide the length of Moomin if you need it.

Thanks

Jiggly93 said:

I already have a female Axie called Moomin, she's doing fine and we have no problems. I've had her for about a year now and I'm just wondering if getting another, perhaps a male will have a negative affect on her? She was housed with other axies before i bought her but unfortunately they all died and she was the last one left due to unproper care on the pet shops behalf.

Has she been in seclusion too long to have a tank mate?
Does sex of a new tank mate matter? Would they fight? As i would love to breed in the near future due to the fact i know alot of people who would like an Axie but they're pretty hard to come by.
Do they have to be of a similar size & does it matter if one is golden albino and one is wild type?
How big does the tank/floor space have to be to house two axies?

Do you guys need measurements? I could provide the length of Moomin if you need it.

Thanks

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She will not have suffered from a lack of a tank mate, you will need to source one of a similar size to avoid cannibalism, or keep a smaller one separate till it is big enough to go in the same tank. A three foot tank will be fine for a pair (or trio if they are small adults), it doesn't matter about mixing colours.

Jiggly93 said:

i know alot of people who would like an Axie but they're pretty hard to come by.

Click to expand...

Thats because pets shops don't know how to care for them . And some breeders just supply those pet shops with no though to their onward care.
You shouldn't have any problem with 2 - I have 4 together - albino F, leucistic F, melanoid F and wild type M . I have a classic case of the 3 girls hanging out together and the male sticks his nose in when he feels like it .
The point is that all axies are different. Some fight, but not all, some get themselves into little piles, some don't. They are generally sociable little beasties and like company, they don't get territorial.
I agree that the closer in size they are the less likely you are to have problems. They are supposed to grow out of the 'snap at anything that moves' phase at around 4" or so, but my smallest (7" melanoid) still does it.

Ahh okay then, she's about 4" now and is in a 2ft tank, i'll be getting a 3ft soon so i can introduce her to a lovely boy. Should i quarantine the boy for a little while & if so how long should be okay? Should i introduce them slowly or does it not matter? Like should i put him i her tank for a few hours a week before i put him in there or can i just put him in as soon as he's ready?

Quarantine for a month to see if it develops any illness, especially if it is coming from a pet shop. If you have had it for a year and it is still 4" , what are you feeding it ? plus some pics would be nice

Ahh okay then, i might buy him from a breeder instead of a pet shop after all this trouble.

Yeah, just a little over 4". I was always worried she was a bit small but i didn't know it was how much of a problem it was. She has earthworms on a regular basis, so whenever she feels like she can fit them in basically, she always has a nice round belly until recently she's been constipated & refusing her wormies. She has bloodworms, crickets & beefheart as treats maybe 2 times a month. I never let her go skinny and she always has food available. Do you think maybe how she was treated at the pet shop may have stunted her growth?



I'm sorry about the bad picture quality, but yeah she's looking skinny as she's refusing food atm.

If your feeding it enough it may just be a slow grower or a midget.

One thing I'll mention is if she's a slow grower or maybe a midget then she possibly won't get any bigger or take a much longer time to get bigger. If you get her a friend he could very easily surpass her in size and then make it difficult for them to be housed together

My Gally had a massive growth spurt from around 5inches to 7 within a few months once I got her clear of a pet store and stuffed her full of wormies - she's a Golden too. I've heard people say that albinos in particular are very slow growers, but some have also said after a significant growth spurt they can become one of the biggest in their tank!

I introduced my two to each other at around 5 and a half and 6 inches respectively and had no trouble apart from the odd little nip. It's all dependent on the axolotls you have - some will snuggle, others will mostly avoid each other, but they seem to enjoy having another body in the tank. As long as you are sure you can house them both with room to spare, it's your choice whether to get another - but be prepared in case they don't get on with a spare tank or divider, which you can make cheaply from an evaporation board.

Good luck!

Thank you all for your advice, i guess i'll have to wait & see if she has a growth spurt soon. I hope i can get her a friend

I have a smaller albino 5" with my larger ones 8" and they do fine my albino I got from a pet store he was missing a front leg and I felt bad for him..I have read that sometimes missing a limb at a young age they can be very slow at getting larger because their body is focused on growing the limb instead of the body..also my 8" and 5" are the same age just to show how much slower the albino is growing

Okay so measurement was wrong, my fiance is silly. She's just over 6".

6" is an ideal size. Axolotls under 5 inches are sometimes said to be in the cannibalistic stage and it is believed if they eat another axxie during this time it may be a habit they never grow out of. Extreme size differences can also cause problems, but if you still want a tank mate, choose one of a similar size, and of course, quarantine - even well looked after bubbies come from a different setup than yours and may have resistance to diseases that yours don't.

Male or female doesn't really seem to make a difference. My babies both looked female until recently and now I have a boy and a girl, who still seem to get on well regardless. Good luck in whatever you choose