Lotl love: does your lotl like you?

[Sweetie]

I'm wondering what sort of relationship other people have with their lotls. Are your axies affectionate? Do they respond to your presence, and if so, how? When I look down into his tank from above, my nine-month-old albino Boris stands up (usually on one foot, on tip-toes) to gaze into my eyes, periodically waving his little hands at me and sometimes swimming up towards me and balancing mid-tank while reaching his arms up towards me. If I move to one side or change the angle of my head, he will move accordingly, turning around or moving to one side but staying up on his toes, reaching up to me and always maintaining his gaze into my eyes. He will do this for as long as I will stay there (usually half an hour).

He behaves the same way whenever he sees one of my housemates, Brett, with whom Boris seems to have an absolute obsession. He has been fascinated with Brett since they met, the day we brought Boris home, and long before he started reacting to the bringer of worms (me). I've wondered whether he could be reacting to the shiny thing dangling around Brett's neck. Others, somewhat unkindly I feel, have suggested that man and beast function on a similar wavelength.

Any opinions? Do lotls have preferences of this sort? I thought the person who feeds them should be their favourite, but although Boris did develop an intense interest in me, his love of Brett was instant and permanent. What gives?

 

[Shivermetim]

Well kids don't appreciate there parents feeding and housing them most of the time lol probably nothing to do with him being male unless the axie is a female with a crush I have2 axolotls one will watch me play games or movies with me lol he gets mad an looks at me then turns his back to me sometimes when I turn it off the other likes to hide in the back she will come out an give me the crazy eye until I get the hint dinners late iv had them about 2 to 3 weeks lol there like me a little picky kinda grumpy but friendly and I at least feel a connection with them they are truly like my friends we grump at each other but enjoy each other's company lol end of roll on ramble

 

[Liz Roome]

Some of the babies I am looking after till sale seems to respond, the lid comes off, not always for feeding or cleaning but sometimes for cooling, or photos or watching, some of my wilds are straight at the top, and they hang there looking at me, I have even seen them save each other out the way to gett to the top of the water first lol.

My adults tank is at the back of the lounge where it's cooler and away from the light, but we do have to walk past a lot, Alice my girl looks out the front or does tricks to get our attention, Drako tends to be more interested if there's food.

Here are some of mine being inquisitive.

 

[kjnorman]

Both of my adults and most of my babies respond to my presence, usually by looking up or swimming up to look at me/look for food. My male is more reclusive than my female generally (although she's not liking the warm weather and he is, so they are reversed for now, ha ha), and a few of the babies just sit under their plants at feeding time until they actually smell the food, but generally they seem pretty aware and interested that I am there.
My adult female is adorable, poking her head out through plants and squeezing through the openings in her hides to come and see people who are looking at her.

 

[auntiejude]

I think you might be confusing 'love' with 'conditioned response to the possibility of food'!

Of course my axies respond to my presence, they recognise me and can tell the difference between people. And they are curious enough to explore anything I put in the tank - hands, plants, new ornaments. They also show curiosity to new people - they might have food too!

But hubby and I have noticed 2 interesting things:
1. Pinky and Freckles like to watch TV. I'm sure it's just the flashing lights, but they seem to like NCIS more than other programs.
2. Pinky likes to watch us eat. Doesn't matter whether it's a full dinner or just a doughnut, she watches and makes us feel guilty because she's not having any.

 

[kjnorman]

Lol, TV. I've never noticed that, but next time we're watching something in the living room with the lotls I'll keep an eye out

People often tell me that my dog/cat/snake/whatever only "seems like he likes you, but really he just likes food". Which is fair as far as it goes, but I always respond "well yes, he likes me because I'm nice to him - why do you like your friends?" Probably not because they are jerks who ignore you and put you down all the time....I'm sure if my husbeast took over primary pet care, all the pets would like him best, but he'd deserve it because he's putting in more time

(although one cat does inexplicably love him more than anyone else for no apparent reason, but that's fine because he was the fourth cat, after hubby said no more cats when we had two....)

 

[fireball99]

I like to think my lotl knows me and responds to me, but I think it's the possibility of food and movement that he responds to.

He will emerge from his hide whenever I'm in the room and I like to assume from that he knows I'm no threat. He also likes to swim back and forward when I look into the tank if I move to one side, he follows me and he swims back when I move to the other side of the tank. Again, maybe he's just seeing a shadow and is curious about what it is.

 

[fireball99]

Having said that, he loves his toys!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Shivermetim]

People can say it's a learned reaction or whatever it don't change my opinion I love my animal friends and they love me I don't own pets i have extended family if that makes me crazy then so be it I was completely stressed about life in general till about 3 years ago when I started with a single betta in a one gal tank now I have 8 tanks from10 gal to 100 gal

 

[Sweetie]

Shivermetim, if that makes you crazy, then you're certainly not alone! Auntie Jude, please let us anthropomorphise just a tiny bit - we want to believe they love us. We really do. I'm interested in the fact that these creatures freak out if a bit of a water current is introduced but aren't afraid of these big human things peering down at them. Why don't they show more caution towards us if food is their only goal? I know I would if I were soft and squishy with no teeth or claws. I think they are very curious about us, but I also think they must like us too.
Thanks everyone for adding to this thread - it is totally adorable to hear about everyone's little lotls. I can get weighed down with all the tech stuff and the sad stories about sick axies. Sometimes, I just want to have a laugh at the mad things axies do, cos after all, that's why most of us have lotls in the first place, yes?

 

[keiko]

My axies always stand up or swim to the surface when I peak in to their tank. My leucistic would probably stare at me like that for hours if I just stood there. But I think my wildie just comes to check if I'm bringing him anything. My leucistic will also always hang out at that end of the tank that's next to my couch just staring at me if I'm sitting there. The leucistic will also come up and stare at my friends for a little while but the wildie never does.
For some reason I've had Rockwell's 'Somebody's watching me' stuck in my head forever now... "I always feel like somebody's watching me. And I have no privacy..."

 

[Sweetie]

Mine sulks for a couple of days, hiding behind his rock, if I have a busy week and don't have the time to gaze at him for half an hour at a time at least once or twice a day! He honestly sulks. Totally ignores me. Won't respond to any overtures, even food-related. Just gets the hump. Prima donna that he is.

 

[auntiejude]

Auntie Jude, please let us anthropomorphise just a tiny bit - we want to believe they love us. ... Sometimes, I just want to have a laugh at the mad things axies do, cos after all, that's why most of us have lotls in the first place, yes?

I didn't mean to take any of the 'love' away! Of course our axies love us - the fact that they are smart enough to tell the difference between people shows they are capable of forming an attachement to a particular person.

Why don't they show more caution towards us if food is their only goal?

Because they trust us - we don't attempt to hurt them therefore they have learned not to fear us.

And maybe axies find us as amusing as we find them....

 

[bugdozer]

Of my two, one generally ignores me unless he's very hungry, and the other tends to come up to the side to say hello. I think it's mostly a food expectation response, except that he tends to often follow my face rather than my hand - even though he knows it's The Hand which brings food to him (see Axie Bite thread for evidence that he thinks my hand just emits food all the time). This particular axolotl was one that was raised separately from his siblings for a while due to being significantly less developed and in danger of being consumed by a larger tadpole, so that could have made him more social to humans maybe.

 

[fireball99]

Mine sulks for a couple of days, hiding behind his rock, if I have a busy week and don't have the time to gaze at him for half an hour at a time at least once or twice a day! He honestly sulks. Totally ignores me. Won't respond to any overtures, even food-related. Just gets the hump. Prima donna that he is.

That's curious. I spend more time with my lotl than my husband does. He loves him too, it's just I spend much more time looking int the tank and playing with him.

Last week I had to go away overnight and obviously, my axie didn't get his usual hello from anyone. When I got home I went into the kitchen to check on him and he was in his hide. He stuck his head out when he caught some form of movement. Every single time he's out of that hide like a shot when I approach the tank. Not that day. He went back inside. Ignored me for a few days. He's come around now but I did wonder whether he was actually wondering if I'd abandoned him.

 

[Kaini]

I love my little Zion, but I don't think he personally can tell me from food Movement to him = food. When I reach in to do tank maintenance he'll try to eat my hand. He doesn't react much when I walk by the tank - he will if I stand over it, but again, I think he's just associating my movement with food.

So maybe he's a bit of a dim lotl But I love him to bits.

 

[Shivermetim]

Well in my opinion animal personalities can vary as much as humans can some are social some not some class clowns some teachers pets (lol wasn't trying for a joke) and the list keeps going I put my hand in with food and sometimes they go for the food and a few times just crawl on my hand like they want to come up and sit on my shoulder lol like my squirrel and possum used to way back in my childhood
And before anyone yells at me I DO NOT take them out of the water they will sit there till my arm dies and I have to slide them off

 

[snuggly time]

Mine loves me to bits, he told me himself!

 

[Petersgirl]

Depends on their personalities Embry is a very rambunctious girl and goes mad if I put food near her - she sees me as the 'bringer of food.' Jack is more curious and will look up if I stand over the tank and talk to him. I have had Gally and Toothless the longest - Tooth is very introverted and pays me barely any notice, while Gally will dance and pop her head out if she sees me.

When my husband and I went on Honeymoon, I left my parents in charge of my beloved quadruplets while we were away, along with a six page booklet on their care and a checklist they had to tick when they fed them, lol! (I was only gone three days, hehe). When I came back my Dad showed me Nick Baker's Axolotl documentary, and when I asked Dad why, he said: 'I wanted to know how intelligent they were. That gold one (Gally) she sits and stares at me. She watches me. She knows who I am!' I couldn't help giggling. They know who feeds them and they know a new face when they see it I'd told him they were pretty smart beforehand but he didn't seem to believe me.

 

[Sweetie]

Bugdozer: I agree. It IS the face they’re interested in. Mine gazes up at me, and moves to keep his eyes firmly glued to my face, straining his neck and twisting around, sometimes doing slow, graceful pirouettes. It’s so funny. And a lotl in danger of being eaten by a killer giant tadpole? Lol.
Fireball99: I rest my case! We now have firm anecdotal evidence that some lotls definitely do sulk when feeling ignored.
Petersgirl: Those axies have their ways of making converts eh? An army of lotl lovers to do their bidding… Ha ha