Question: What HAVE YOU given up for axolotls?

ladygodiva35

ladygodiva35

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As proud parents of our precious little axolotls. I'd like to know what you've personally given up for your axies.

Things I've personally given up:

Nail polish! I no longer paint my nails since my hands are in the water constantly either hand feeding or removing gross stuff.

Sleep. I wake up every 3 hours to monitor the temperature in the tank.

Comfort: I have my room so cold I sleep zipped up in a sleeping bag just to keep myself warm!

Social outings: I worry if I'm not home with my darlings. I have this logic that no one can watch over them as I can!

But in the end my little darlings make me super happy so it's all worth it! Only wish I knew of them sooner. :)
 
WOW!!!

This kinda links to my previous post about being too precious haha!

You have really made Axies your life!

I wont have the same temp problem as you will as Im in the UK but really every 3 hours!!!

Its wonderful you care for them so well but giiiirl you need to get your sleep haha and warmth!! :errr:

So far I have given up bench space in my kitchen but I dont have my boy home yet so we shall see I may end up just like you :)
 
nail polish - it just never stays on. I used to do opallac (uv cured nailpolish) at home that lasts about a week max.

moisturiser - as a beauty therapist I kind of really annoys me I want to put it on but my arms always in the water so I refrain :(

hand cream - again being a beauty therapist, dry cuticles can be sort of embarrassing.

long, strong nails - they weaken from being in the water and I don't want to cut my babys' lip if I'm hand feeding

SPACE - I have a small room, the smallest in my house. I have a 3 ft tank and another tub on the floor. The only practical place to put this tub is infront of my waredrobe. It makes outfit decisions hard.. Yeah and that was the MOST practical (shoes how small my room really is!)

my fear of caterpillars - hate them. So much. To get to my worm farm down the side of my house I have to get past my mums mass of jungle plants and flowers and what not. I know there are caterpillars hiding. Gives me goosebumps.

my freezer(s) I have 4 in my house/garage... 1.5 are just Ice bottles. Parents aren't too happy since my mum cooks from home to my dads and sisters work and my old high school.. She just has to cram her food into 2.5 - sorry!
 
Although it may seem expensive, a chiller for the hotter countries really will be a saviour and it does last years and years so its an investment.

Axies dont need baby sitting haha, they are fine if your setup is axie friendly!

I like my axies dont get me wrong but i dont sit and stare at them all day! :p

I give up 3 hours once a week to clean out my tanks and i feed and spot clean poop every night, it takes around 5 mins.

As for moisturisers ect i still apply them, i just make sure i wash my hands/arms before i put them in the tank. But mainly i avoid putting my hand in there.
I use a siphon for cleaning, turkey baster for spot cleaning and reptile tweezers for feeding :D
Oh also a tub, for their earthworms, buts thats only a 4L tub haha, it just creeps me out having them live in the house.

I also spend money on them haha as im always finding new tank decs/plants to add :D
I recently bought a background to add and i think it looks a lot better now :happy:
 
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A girlfriend... Nah I'm joking!
Half of my room
A lot of freezer space (For all those bloodworms)
And around £200
 
Just space really.
Unless you count the hour's sleep I miss every night because thats how long it takes to clean out and feed my larvae.
 
1. Space.

2. My daily limit of vocalizing "Awwwwww!!!" caps out at 39-45 times.

3. 1/5 of my pay a month goes on my axolotls for plants, decor, aquarium equipment, ect.

4. Cuddle time with the gf. (I work 6AM-8/9PM 5 days out of the week, once I get home I feed/ do water changes on 3 tanks)

5. Most importantly I lost quite a bit of video game time to them. :p

6. Did I say space already?
 
Space, free time, my snakes, more space, vacations (10 years without vacations!), space, saving money for things I really need, space, my health, some friends, space and I guess space.

That's why I'm selling them all.
 
My desk, I didn't have enough space to have a seperate stand so the tank takes up most of my desktop!

I also make sure not to put mositeriser before I have to feed my axies or clean the tanks!
 
Space here too, and money. But they get cheaper after you've set up your tank.

I wouldn't worry about my axolotl if I was away for a day or two. However, my new tortoise is the problem! Turning on her light and feeding.

I wouldn't give up a holiday for my pet. There's always family or even a pet sitting service if really needed. However it is hard finding someone who's willing to touch earthworms for a week!
 
I forgot to add, with each new axolotl (or newt) I get. . . I give up a little piece of my heart. :,)

Last cheesy thing I will say today haha.
 
auntiejude said:
Just space really.
Unless you count the hour's sleep I miss every night because thats how long it takes to clean out and feed my larvae.
Click to expand...
Oh, and half a drawer in the freezer for food (but I have 3 freezers so I think I can spare it!)

If I'd wanted something that curtailed my social life, stopped me going on holiday, cost a fortune and took hours to care for every day I'd have bought a whole litter of pedigree puppies or a field full of ponies! Or had a baby.....:eek:

Don't get me wrong, providing the best of everything for your pet and taking the time to care for it is admirable, but when a pet takes over your life or house I think its bordering on obsession.
 
Larvae take most of my social life, but its only temporary. I dont trust anyone else taking care of my larvae lol.

Space.. Sanity.. I mean can they really hear you screaming "toothless let go of echos foot!!! No toothless! No!!!"?? I dont think so but in the heat of the moment I yell at them.

Also agree with above about the amount of times I say "awwwh" in a day
Or how every morning I say good morning to all of my lotls
And ask them how they are
And if they are hungry
You know.. I am crazy.

Space on my phone--so many pictures
 
I talk to my axies also! Nothing wrong with that! And forgot to mention the freezer space for food and ice bottles. Ooooh and sore muscles from tank cleaning once in awhile.
 
Welllll for me...

-Money. Dropped everything I had for the particular month when I bought the tank and everything I needed for the setup. I'm still broke XD

-I turned down the temp in my room quite a bit to keep my lotl cool in conjunction with the fan. So, I'm a little chilly, but it's not as cold as my dad keeps his place. He's cheap.

-Time really isn't an issue, as once the tank is cycled you really don't need to drop large amounts of time doing water changes etc just suction up to the poo each day and feed the little dude. So yea I give up some leisure time, but I enjoy taking care of my aquariums (I have three, in a dorm where you're only supposed to have one ten gallon - whoopsie haha)


I think that's about it... Oh, and my father's approval, I gave that up LOL. He hates my aquariums, thinks I'm completely nuts.
 
-Money. Always spend money... constantly. Worth it for my baby though:)
-warmth. I sleep with my window open, but I don't mind that much.
-vacations. My mom loves Stanley, but she's afraid of feeding him. Haha
-relationships. Boys kinda think its weird that I love this little guy so much.
- studying abroad/americorps. I've always wanted to join americorps (where you travel around the country for 10 months helping the environment and storm victims and such. I can't do that):
-sanity. Im the crazy axolotl lady.
space!!:(


Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
 
Definitely given up a bit of my sanity trying to maintain good parameters, etc.
money of course
 
I have given up very little for my axolotls....... My wife however has sacrificed a garden shed, parts of the garden, a dining room, a laminate floor ( which incidently I actually paid for and fitted myself meaning I can chuck as much dirty tank water as I wish and not bother to wipe up until it is too late), PC time as I generally spend lots of time surfing phib forums , a fair amount of cash, fridge/freezer space, tolerating live food escapes ie roaches and mosquitoes (which she is allergic). The one thing she hasn't sacrificed to axolotls is the livingroom, I promised it would be an axy free zone, not that it matters as there is no room for them as I keep my dart frogs and croc newts there as they like it warm lol
 
Sanshouo said:
what could possibly cause your temp to fluctuate this much?
Click to expand...

It doesn't really. I'm just over protective and obsessive and check it for my own sake of mine. lol
Like the time my cat was sick and I woke up every 2 hrs to make sure she was still okay. Even though the vet had given her meds and said she would be okay.
I'm THAT kind of pet parent!
 
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