Strange Pigmentation or Illness?

[Amie Towery]

Hi there, I’m a newbie and I had some questions about my female wild type Axolotl that looks very...odd. I bought my two girls just over a month ago from someone who was trying to get rid of them and quite frankly, didn’t seem like she was taking care of them properly. My albino girl is looking much better since I got her. She’s alert, curious, and her gills have grown and feathered out.
I am worried about my wild type, though. From day one, she’s been covered in little white spots and almost completely grey on her sides. The white spots are not fluffy/cloudy and haven’t changed a bit since then. She also, since day one, has a front hand that is turned backward! I have no idea if it was a previous injury or just a deformity she was born with, but it hasn’t slowed her down or seemed to bother her at all. She eats plenty, acts completely normal, and doesn’t do anything out of the ordinary. The two girls don’t fight at all, the water conditions and temperature are closely monitored daily, lighting is rarely on, water flow is minimal, they have appropriate hides and cover...I’m really at a loss here.
I attached some pictures to show her spots.

 

[Ekmanor]

The coloration/pattern of this axolotl looks pretty unique but not dangerous to me. Some axolotls just have spots and as long as they don't spread or grow I wouldn't worry. I had a wild type little male that surprised me by actually being a wild type gfp, as he got older he gained spots and different blotches with age- which for me was pretty cool but a little concerning at the time. I don't think it's anything to worry about, however her gills do look a bit small. What are your water parameters such as temp, pH, Nitrate/Nitrite, etc.? Any filtration? How much and what kind of lighting and are there any plants in the tank? What do you feed her and how much? Her coppery/brown eyes are adorable and she looks like shes at a good weight/shape. Do you know or have any guesses on her age?

 

[Amie Towery]

That’s pretty much what I’ve read everywhere, which is a relief! Like I said, she literally acts completely normal.
As hard as it is to believe, her gills have actually grown a tiny bit since I got her and are definitely more feathered.
The temperature pretty much always stays around 62F, I have a fan. I think last time I checked the water, the pH was like 7.1 and the nitrates/nitrites were in the right range as well. I have one of the master kits and everything seems normal. I have an over-the-tank pump/filter that I got at Walmart, nothing special. I had to get it kind of last minute because the pump from the previous owner was completely broken, go figure. I have some LED lights that I turn on maybe once a day just to check her out and make sure she’s doing okay. Otherwise, they stay off completely. I have two fake plants and two live, potted plants, as well as java fern that is being grown on the slate I bought as a makeshift “substrate”. I have hornwort and amazon fern. They’re doing okay, but I’m sure they’d like more light. Oh well.
I occasionally harvest some earthworms from a brush pile out back and put them all in a Tupperware container with soil and peat moss. They stay cool on my garage floor and the girls probably eat 2 worms every 2 days. I’d be lying if I didn’t say my wild type didn’t occasionally get a little more, because I worry about her. Lol.
The girl I got my axolotls from said they were around 3 years old, which is why I was leaning toward the idea that the wild type just has an interesting pigment. Honestly, I’ve had to replace every single thing in the tank because it wasn’t even remotely appropriate, so it doesn’t surprise me that her gills are small. I did go ahead and order some Indian almond leaves online, I figured it couldn’t hurt. At the very least, the tank will be more natural.

 

[Ekmanor]

That’s pretty much what I’ve read everywhere, which is a relief! Like I said, she literally acts completely normal.
As hard as it is to believe, her gills have actually grown a tiny bit since I got her and are definitely more feathered.
The temperature pretty much always stays around 62F, I have a fan. I think last time I checked the water, the pH was like 7.1 and the nitrates/nitrites were in the right range as well. I have one of the master kits and everything seems normal. I have an over-the-tank pump/filter that I got at Walmart, nothing special. I had to get it kind of last minute because the pump from the previous owner was completely broken, go figure. I have some LED lights that I turn on maybe once a day just to check her out and make sure she’s doing okay. Otherwise, they stay off completely. I have two fake plants and two live, potted plants, as well as java fern that is being grown on the slate I bought as a makeshift “substrate”. I have hornwort and amazon fern. They’re doing okay, but I’m sure they’d like more light. Oh well.
I occasionally harvest some earthworms from a brush pile out back and put them all in a Tupperware container with soil and peat moss. They stay cool on my garage floor and the girls probably eat 2 worms every 2 days. I’d be lying if I didn’t say my wild type didn’t occasionally get a little more, because I worry about her. Lol.
The girl I got my axolotls from said they were around 3 years old, which is why I was leaning toward the idea that the wild type just has an interesting pigment. Honestly, I’ve had to replace every single thing in the tank because it wasn’t even remotely appropriate, so it doesn’t surprise me that her gills are small. I did go ahead and order some Indian almond leaves online, I figured it couldn’t hurt. At the very least, the tank will be more natural.

Sounds like you are doing everything perfectly imo. You must have a very happy pair of axolotls! They only tiny bit of advice I have is to maybe add a bit more variety to their diets. Earthworms are probably the best thing nutritionally, but my newts and axolotls always seemed to like some variety every now and then. However it’s completely up to you of course.