Keeping axolotls outside in the uk?

[xxianxx]

A month ago had twenty, four week old axolotls who were only eating live food , i was working away from home and my promised supply of daphnia never arrived at my local pet store and my wife was unable to find an alternative supply. Having only a couple of days worth of food left for the whole batch i requested that my son pick out the ten smallest and put them in my large daphnia/mosquito bucket (which i keep in my garden) on the off chance they might survive, i came home checked the guys outside and they were as fat as pigs, so i decided to leave them there as the amount of bugs in that bucket was suprising. A month latter and what were the smallest of the bunch have now caught up with the ones kept indoors(with one runty exception). Has anyone else had any luck in raising axolotls outside in the summer? I would like to point out that the bucket was frog/fish free and netted to avoid escape and predation by cats etc.

 

[ACEPHONECHIC]

Hi my Axies were raised outside from Month old lava. They have been in a 3foot tank started with 6 but lost one about 3 months old no apparent reason. They have large bolders in the bottom and a large broken plant pot which they love to hide under, plastic plants. They have thrived on loads of daphnia from my pond and lots of mostiquo lava from one of the water butts. Now they are not interested in either of those and have big juicy worms each a day. They are just over 1 year old and the largest is almost 9 inches long now. In the winter the tank was on the floor of a shed with packing around to avoid any freezing and I heated kettles of water taken from the water butt to keep the temperature about 10 degrees for them. They do not mind the cold but do not like the hot. I did try briefly indoors in the snowy weather but it was too hot and they had to go into the shed.
They have a perspex lid fitted with holes in to protect them from any cat or seagull around. The water is changed once a week from the water butt and the bolders and plants cleaned with water.

 

[iChris]

I don't see why it can't be done if you keep water conditions right.

just be aware that you may run a risk of introducing nasties to the environment by way of frogs and the like if they do manage to get in.

 

[xxianxx]

Im aware of the dangers and have taken steps to prevent any wild frogs/toads getting into my bucket. The top of the bucket is two and a half feet off the ground, no overhanging foliage/walls etc and the top is netted , my main concern is depletion of the food supply , temperature and oxygen levels . I monitor the food /temp daily and if the water gets too hot and the axys cant get enough oxygen they will be hanging around the surface gulping air, if any of these parameters are breached i will sort alternative accommodation out for these little guys.

 

[xxianxx]

Update , my axolotls depleted their food supply in the daphnia bucket and have been moved inside, the two smallest disappeared i assume they got cannibalized.

 

[xxianxx]

Lol, just found them looking healthy, now inside to avoid any cold snaps.

 

[ACEPHONECHIC]

Glad you found them ok. Mine are fine outside until the temperature drops then i insulate and finially put in a shed for the very cold weather.