Lotl Regeneration

[Lorzo]

Good evening axolotl enthusiasts,

I have 3 axolotl, two wild and a goldie. I raised them from eggs and they are all living quite happily in my tank. While I was raising them I had to leave for another country for 6 weeks through my work and my parents took over the responsibility for me. When I arrived home I was glad to see they had made it 6 weeks unscathed... well almost. My goldie appears to have gotten a little too close to my Godzilla lotl and lost it's arm up to the elbow. I've been home a while now and it doesn't seem to have grown back at all. I know it is suggested that axolotl that don't grow back limbs well should be culled when young but I couldn't kill the wee thing now when I've grown so attached. My question to you lot is can my lotl live a reasonably normal life one arm down? It doesn't seem to affect the wee thing, it's only really noticeable when it's trying to flip round as it can't pull itself round with its arm.

Or perhaps a better question is am I being too hasty and writing off the possibility of it growing back? How long does the average limb take to grow back in a juvenile?

Here are some details:
Hatched 10/05
Arm lost approximately end of June/beginning of July
Feed blood worms with a mix of hoppers, maggots and small worms as a treat

Thanks
Lauren

 

[auntiejude]

It can take a few months for an adult to regrow a limb, so just give it time. They might do better on earthworms too, bloodworms don't have enough calcium for adults.

 

[Lorzo]

They aren't adults, they are juveniles. I have only just started feeding earth worms but unless I cut them up pretty small they struggle to swallow them. They hatched in May and I thought young axolotl grew back their limbs quite quickly which is why I'm a little concerned.

 

[auntiejude]

Even better then - juvies tend to regrow limbs quicker than adults. Chopped earthworms is fine.

In answer to your original question, I currently have one dwarf who doesn't have front legs and never has done and 6 axies with missing limbs/stumps, and they all do fine. One of them (missing his right front leg) has learned to only turn right using his left arm, if he wants to go left he does a 270 degree turn to the right instead! The dwarf walks around on his hind legs and thinks he's human....

 

[axowattyl]

It'll be fine.

Some take longer than others, but they always seem to grow a new one.

 

[Ariel]

Mine lost it's toes and after a month they "healed" but did not regenerate. I tried refrigerating with no improvement. A week ago I transferred it into a glass tank ( it used to live in a plastic aquarium ) and they have since grown back.

This website Guide to Axolotl Husbandry claims that they seem to regenerate better in glass.

I am really curious if anyone has experienced something similar or something totally different, like quick and total regeneration in a plastic container.

Also, when I switched tanks, I switched food from a homemade sinking pellet (made from liver and krill) to commercial floating newt pellets. Perhaps he wasn't getting enough nutrients before to regenerate and the new ones are better.

 

[usafaux2004]

Mine lost it's toes and after a month they "healed" but did not regenerate. I tried refrigerating with no improvement. A week ago I transferred it into a glass tank ( it used to live in a plastic aquarium ) and they have since grown back.

This website Guide to Axolotl Husbandry claims that they seem to regenerate better in glass.

I am really curious if anyone has experienced something similar or something totally different, like quick and total regeneration in a plastic container.

Also, when I switched tanks, I switched food from a homemade sinking pellet (made from liver and krill) to commercial floating newt pellets. Perhaps he wasn't getting enough nutrients before to regenerate and the new ones are better.

An injury sustained in March (4-5 months old), took about 2-2.5 months to regrow on one of my littlols.