Photo: Is this dwarfism?

[GeorgeAquatics]

Hi. Posting for a friend. She has an axolotl which has been getting some comments that it looks like a dwarf when she posts pictures in some groups on Facebook.

It doesn't look like one to me personally, but I don't know enough about the different kinds of dwarfism that exist in axolotls to say with any certainty. I was hoping to get some opinions, hopefully from someone with a background in biology or herpetology.

No offence intended to my fellow hobbyists and breeders, but we are in great need of new genetics in this province and this one is one of the very few to turn up from a new line in a long time, so it would be a great loss to not be able to breed her. Some confirmation from a professional would be very much appreciated, although the input of others is still welcome.

She was surrendered by a pet shop to a mutual friend of ours, with her legs bitten off, and they regrew perfectly, but they still seem slightly smaller than the legs of an average axolotl. I think that this could be why her overall appearance may seem to be slightly off.

The proportion of the body to the legs aside, what do you think? Dwarf? Any other obvious defects which would keep her from being a candidate for breeding?

I can get more pictures if needed.

Thank you.


George

 

[Bellabelloo]

Would you be able to add some more photo's from the side?

If this is a dwarf axolotl, you may find their life expectancy tends to be around a year old, there may be exceptions. This may be due to internal problems linked to this mutation. I would advise against breeding.

 

[GeorgeAquatics]

Would you be able to add some more photo's from the side?

If this is a dwarf axolotl, you may find their life expectancy tends to be around a year old, there may be exceptions. This may be due to internal problems linked to this mutation. I would advise against breeding.

Hi Bellabelloo. Thank you for the reply. Yes, I understand that if wouldn't be advisable to breed a dwarf, or one with any other kind of defect, which is why I'm posting here, hoping to get an answer once and for all.

This is the best I could do for now, I asked her for more pictures, so I will update when I get them.