What have they done to these axies? Dyed them?

[Karayna]

Daily Mail article about a Chinese zoo: They are blue! It looks like the zoo is a sanctuary, so it's hopefully not their doing!

 

[Blackbun]

Dreadful. An obvious example of exploitation. Reinvent something, create a novelty and you extend the market. The true price to pay is the damning of our hobby in the eyes of the public and then in the legislators.

 

[Karayna]

It looks like it. Why would you dye them? Plus its even more stupid that the Person who wrote ithe article is acting like they are like that normally.

Exactly! I wonder about their back story - were they rescued looking like this, or did the zoo dye them? In either case, they are promoting an unnatural look to the public... And I unfortunately suspect that the reporter is oblivious to it...

 

[Karayna]

Dreadful. An obvious example of exploitation. Reinvent something, create a novelty and you extend the market. The true price to pay is the damning of our hobby in the eyes of the public and then in the legislators.

I agree 100%. And I wonder if these poor guys are still alive (the article is a year old). Or if it induced morphing. I wish there was more info about these guys and their fate.

 

[Herpin Man]

To me (and I'll admit that my eyesight isn't the best) it looks like it could be the lighting that gives them the color tones, rather than dye. I have seen photos of dyed axoltls, as well as fish and Xenopus, and the colors of dyed specimens are usually much brighter.

Regardless, I am opposed to the practice. Animals are dyed to make them more attractive, so they can be sold as toys to children and others that probably shouldn't have them.