Baby Dinosaur - Help! I can't decide!

Hello!
I'm new and I hope I am posting this in the right place. My daughter bought a (what the people at the mall called it) "Baby Dinosaur". Through research it looks like an Axolotl. It came in a very small plastic container. He does not have hardly any room to move and I feel very sorry for him. My daughter and I the day after bought the Axolotl a 10 gallon tank, pool sand, and some furniture for hiding and as of yesterday set everything up with water. I have read that it is very important to "cycle" the tank before putting the Axolotl in the aquarium tank, but my question is....where do I put the poor little guy while cycling that won't kill him??? He looks like he has no room in what he is in now! I can't stand to see him in there any longer and my daughter is begging me to go ahead and put him in the new aquarium tank, of course she is young and does not understand how that is cruel, she is just very excited.
Thank you for any help!

Re: Help! I can't decide!

Hi Audwar,

If you can post a photo, we can help you identify your 'baby dinosaur'.

This article explains cycling in detail:

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

Yes, it is preferred to cycle a tank before putting the animal in, but you can also cycle the tank with your axolotl - the 10 gallon tank will be far better for the axolotl than living in a 'small container' even while cycling.

While axolotl is living in this water, you will need to do partial 10-20% water changes every day. These daily partial water changes will keep undesirable Ammonia and Nitrite levels under control until the tank can complete the cycle.

If you haven't already, I would strongly recommend you purchase liquid test kits that test for Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate. Ammonia is the essential test if for whatever reason you cannot buy all of them.

Ammonia and Nitrite should read as '0' - any reading higher than this is toxic to an axolotl.

Cycling can take one to three months to complete. When Ammonia and Nitrite test at a consistant level '0' and the nitrate reads as '10-60' - this is an indication of a complete cycled tank.

You've posted in the right area, just not the right spot :happy: Open one of the Sub Forum links in the Axolotl section: Axie Free for All, Sick Axolotl, Tank Filter Substrate Set up, Larvae Breeding or Gallery (which ever applies to your situation) and then you post new thread.

Cheers Jacq.

Re: Help! I can't decide!

It is not an axolotl. It is a tiger salamander larva. These have been flooding the market recently here in the US. Here are some links to other recent discussions, including photos:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=54830
http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=55468
http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=55469

I also bought a "Dinosaur baby" at the mall. I just thought it was a cute name for what it was. He gave us a sheet of baby that had "INSTRUCTIONS" written at the top and stating that the animal was very rare. I asked him if it was a mud puppy and he said no. I was then interrupted by someone else and the question of what it really was slipped my mind. I'm not sure what it is but I have been treating them as if they were axolotls. I know it's possible for them to be tigers also. I am on here because I bought 2 of them, male and female. My female (Winnie) has been hanging out toward the top of the tank and trying to climb out of the water. her skin is also very dry and seems to be shedding. Shes not eating much at all and her gills seem as though they have shrank. When she does eat she is not spitting any food back up. My male (Darwin) seems fine, still slimy, eating everything, gills are fine, hes normal. Is she going through metamorphoses or just sick? please help


Winnie the day I got her... very skinny I know.

Darwin is below.

I bought a "baby dinosaur" also... at the mall. You can go ahead and put it in the water. In order for the tank to go though its cycle it must have something living in it in order to produce waste.

Amanda, you can cycle a tank without anything live in the tank - here is an explanation of a 'fishless' cycle: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

I have not had any experience with a tiger salamander, but that is what you have, rather than an axolotl. They are not particularly rare and make a good amphibian for a beginner. So anyway, yes, it will go through metamorphosis at some stage but sorry can't help you much there as we don't have them in Australia as far as I know! If you want care advice, there is another forum here where you can post for assistance:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=47

Also here is a link to a caresheet for your tiger: http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Ambystoma/A_tigrinum.shtml. I would recommend reading all of this page as it has great advice and will tell you about how to take care of your tiger when it goes through metamorphosis.

Though, I do suggest that you remove the gravel from your tank as it is of a size that can be swallowed, which can be dangerous for your tiger. There are new substrate suggestions in that care sheet I linked to. Good luck!

Oh, I would be interested to hear (if you have time) what kind of instructions you were given with your tiger.

the instruction said to feel them 3 pellets every 2 days. which I have been feeding them everyday... I give them 2 frozen dried worm cubes a day, they look much better. I did remove the small gravel and bought larger gravel so they would spit it out. The cubes I feed them also floats so they do not get gravel in their mouth during feeding. The instructions also said not to put a heater in the tank they need cold water. Last, to condition the water before adding it to their tank, that was it. There was also a number on the instructions sheet that was hand written... that doesn't work. go figure. haha I have also been testing the water and syphoning it regularly. I now have made it to where they can climb out of the water when they need to. Everything seems to be fine now that I know that they are not sick and they are only morphing. thank you for the links.

here are a few pictures of the tank now... I was wondering if there is enough room for Winnie to get out now or should I build onto that? Darwin's gills are also starting to shrink now. Darwin is the one that look more like a tiger.
Winnie yesterday, then today, Darwin today, and the tank today.
Should I make it bigger or do you think it's fine?

Amanda, does the tank normally have a LID? If not, add one immediately (or use duct tape to create a wide rim). They can climb as soon as they start to leave the water.

I think your island should be a little bigger. Once the sal starts to leave the water regularly, add a hiding place to the land area and/or drop the water level and add more land. Eventually, move it to a terrarium setup.

No, I do not have a lid... I'll add one asap, good to know. They have both been spending most of their time in the water but will sometimes come half way out but never all the way. I will start thinking about how I can add to it without eliminating a lot of room. Winnie is eating regularly now but now Darwin isn't eating like he was, he is also digging a lot and has a lot of slime on him... could his skin be irritated? thanks for your help.

The water looks a bit cloudy. What are you feeding them, and how do you clean the gravel? Do you have any test kits for testing the water? If you have a water quality problem, that could explain the slime. If not, then I would attribute it to health issues.

He is not slimy anymore... he is now breathing out of his nose too. I use a siphon to clean the tank and I also replace somel of the water and put a bacteria supplement in the water to help with the fogging. It is clear today. I have been testing the water... the ph has been staying at 7.0 but the ammonia levels keep fluctuating... I have been using ammolock to detoxify the ammonia also. I went to pets mart today to buy bedding... I couldn't find anything that seemed ok other than "forest Moss Tropical Terrarium Substrate". Do you think that will be ok for them?