When will he morph???? (pics)

A

amber

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Okay, so I got this waterdog on the fourth of July and knew nothing about them at the time (anyone who has read or responded to my previous posts already knows this) which was dumb i know but i have enjoyed learning and taking care of my new found friend. I was a bit worried about a couple things with him at first but everything has been coasting along smoothly for the past couple of weeks now. So my question to all of you out there is.... When is he gonna morph?!?!? Here are some pics of him I hope these will help someone out there give me an idea of when I can expect my little guy to change cuz, I hadn't planned on having him in water this long and I just need to know if I should buy more aqua/salamander related items or if I can start planning his land home. oh and his tank is crystal clear now i had just set up his tank when the pics were taken so thats the reason for the cloudiness.
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(Message edited by ester on July 26, 2006)
 
He looks pretty skinny. You might try feeding more often. Try high fat foods such as waxworms and pinkie mice as treats.

On morphing: it's pretty variable. Some morph the year they hatch, some over winter and morph the next year, some take a few years (if conditions are right), and some are neotenic, and don't morph at all!

The signs of morphing include shrinking gills, receeding tail fin, protruding eyes, and skin changes. Once you see these signs, you should provide lots of places to climb out of the water completely. Once the gill nubs have been absorbed, it can be moved to a terrestrial setup.
 
Joan, how/when do I know if he's going to wait until after the winter to morph? And then what do I do if he does? I mean what do aquatic waterdogs DO during the winter? (and what should I do for him?)
 
Amber, the only way to know if he's going to wait until after the winter to morph is to watch for the signs of morphing that Joan mentioned.

If you think he might be that way for a long time, I would recommend having a filter and removing the large rocks on the bottom of your tank. Food and waste easily becomes trapped in the rocks and is difficult to remove.

I don't think you should have to buy very many aquatic related items.
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Okay, I will get a filter and get rid of the rocks but how do I use a filter when the water is so shallow? And at the risk of sounding clueless (which I basically am) what do I need to do for him for the winter, I mean do I change the water temp? Does he sleep? Does he eat? And what month should start making it 'winter' in his environment? Can anyone answer all 5 of those questions for me? Also one last thing, is there anyway I can manipulate his environment to maybe help coax him to morph before winter??
 
I'll answer what I can, Amber. You'll want to use an internal filter, I suspect. I'll leave you up to researching that on your own but post back if you want me to find some links for you.

I don't change the temp in my newt tanks in the winter, I just let the room temperature take its course. He will eat, but the colder it is the less he will need to eat.

Some people try really hard to make their tanks much colder in the winter. I do not. My tanks are only about five degrees colder in the winter months.

If you want to start making it colder in there, I would start in October or around there.
 
by internal filter, do you mean like an under gravel filter? also I read somewhere that sometimes you can get them to morph by slowly lowering the water level. have you (or anyone else) ever heard of this method?
 
Amber, you can increase the water level. I would. Then just use a cheap overhang type filter. Baffle the filter by using a stack of rocks or something to decrease the impact of the flow.

I would lower the temperature during the winter, if he doesn't morph before then (it's a long way until winter!!). You can do this by putting it close to a window where it won't get direct light, or in the basement, or in an unheated garage (OK doesn't get that cold in the winter, does it?)

I wouldn't try to force it to morph. Just let it go at its natural rate. This is less stressful on the animal and it's more likely to survive.

Morphing itself is very stressful, and it probably won't eat during morphing. It's very important that it has a healthy weight before morphing or it may starve to death while morphing.
 
Hey Amber, Joan has more experience than me, so I would go with her advice on filters rather than mine.

I suggested an internal filter (link below) because they are more useful for newts/sals in general, so you could probably use it for other things in the future. However, if you want to keep axolotls in the future, you'll want the overhang kind that Joan mentions.

Nevertheless, I'll direct you to some internal filters:
This is the Caudata Culture article about filters, you may find it useful: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/filters.shtml

Here are a few internal filters: http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441781312&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030565&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1154007888901&itemNo=0&Ntt=internal+filter&In=All&previousText=internal+filter&N=2

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441808323&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030565&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1154007889134&itemNo=6&Ntt=internal+filter&In=All&previousText=internal+filter&N=2

http://www.tetra-fish.com/catalog/category.aspx?id=53
 
The only issue you may have with internal filters is that they can cause a lot of current. If you baffle it appropriately, they're great filters.
 
thanx so much for all the advice I will do everything you have mentioned. In answer to your question, ya oklahoma gets pretty cold in the winter, just not alot of snow but still really freakin cold lol... Hee was thin when I got him and I couldn't get him to eat at first but now he eats readily, I feed him am earthworm every other day they aren't more than an inch or two long but he sometimes has trouble keeping them down but he will usually eat them even if they escape is mouth or if he regurgitates them, and they usually stay down better the second time around. SHOULD I TRY FEEDING HIM MORE? cuz I know he will eat daily if I give it to him I just didnt want to over feed.
 
Go ahead and feed him daily. Feed him as much as he'll eat. I guess smaller meals more frequently will be more tolerated. Try one inch of worm twice a day, and see if he keeps that down.
 
Joan when you say skin changes, does that mean losing their slim coat??

Today, Hagrid's been swimming around like crazy, laying on her cave with her nose out off the water, gulping for air etc.. all her feathers are gone and her gills are absorbing and tail fin is receeding.

I am just concerned about the slim coat coming off..
 
I don't exactly understand what you mean, Jess. I guess an adult sal may have less of slime coat than a larva has, but I'm not sure. Are you observing something coming off the skin, or are you just worried about abrasion?

If the "feathers" are completely gone, the animals is swimming frantically because she's trying to get out of the water. Lower the water level, and provide some kind of shelter (on land) for her to hide in. Soon, you will need to transfer her to a terrestrial setup.
 
The water level is low and she has a place to get out of the water but she has seems to rather stick her head out of the water.

On the slim coat...she is a larva tiger sal about 9 inches long....and there is this slimy green stringy stuff coming off her skin, does not seem to bother her and the other true axololt is fine...water parameter are all within limits.

thanks for the help

and yes Hargrid was suppose to be an axololt
 
In case you haven't seen this caresheet...
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Ambystoma/A_tigrinum.shtml

The slimy stringy stuff coming off the skin does not sound normal at all. I would worry that perhaps it's a fungal infection.

It needs not only a place to get out of the water, but a well-sheltered place out of the water, where it will feel as "secure" as it does in the water. It is possible that it is staying in the water, not because it likes water, but because it is seeking shelter. Keeping a fully-morphed tiger sal in water isn't a good idea, in my opinion.
 
I have other morphed tigers in a complete land set up...since Hargid was suppose to be an axololt I was not prepared for her morph....she still has gills that are not absorbed yet and has a place to get out of the water. The green "slim" is gone now... When her gills are complete gone, she will be transfered to the tiger set up.

Thanks again
 
Ah, good. I was worried, as some people try to keep them aquatic as adults and it often results in problems. If she still has bits of the gills, keep her there a little longer.
 
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