Too cold for eggs?

[bigeyedcat]

I'm trying to raise a batch of eggs from my beloved axolotls but was wondering if it was too cold?

I've read that they develop quicker at higher temperatures but my axolotls live in an unheated room in our 200 year old house where the ambient temperature at this time of year is about 10-12℃ and may drop further as winter kicks in.

They appear to be developing - have gone from round, to comma shape, to 0.5cm slightly curved but I'm concerned that they may be stunted by the low temperature.

Can anyone put my mind at rest and let me know that this won't cause them any harm?

Many thanks.

 

[AxolotlChris]

20 degrees Celsius is the recommended temperature to speed up the hatching process, with colder temperatures they will hatch slowly.

Do you not have a heated room you could keep the eggs in? If you can keep the temperature around 17 degrees + then hatching shouldn't be prolonged.

Axolotls - Breeding Axolotls Successfully

Axolotls - Rearing from Egg to Adult

 

[bigeyedcat]

Unfortunately not - no rooms are consistently kept at that temperature.

Would it be better to put them in a slightly warmer room with temperature fluctuations eg when the fire in the sitting room is lit it can get quite toasty but overnight when there is no heating the temperature drops again, leave them as they are with a fairly static, but cold, temperature or use a tank heater in the cold room to try to raise the water temperature slightly?

 

[AxolotlChris]

Do you not have central heating and the ability to increase a radiator temperature in one room?

I live in a 500+year old cottage, the temperature of course is never constant but will range between 12-20 during the day with central heating and only dropping lower at night. That temperature has been sufficient for me to hatch eggs.

Some will use a heater in a tank to raise the temp to 20 degrees Celsius, so if you do want to speed the process up you could use this method.

 

[bigeyedcat]

Thanks for taking the time to come back to me. Seriously, we only have the central heating on for an hour in the morning and an hour before bed :errr:

Will it do the eggs/larvae any harm to be at a cool temperature - I don't mind waiting longer for them to hatch. If necessary I will increase the amount of water and add a small heater to their tank.

Thanks again.

 

[AxolotlChris]

If you can keep the heater at 20 degrees Celsius and the tank/container your using is large enough then go for it. Though I have never hatched with a heater and just left them at room temperature.