AXOLOTLS LAID EGGS! HELP!

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AlexisJG

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Hello. I have had my 2 axolotls since June 2020 and I had hoped they would mature the same gender but unfortunately they are not. I am currently on vacation and planned to separate them once I returned, my axolotls are currently being cared for by a friend who knows the basics to care for them properly. A melanoid and a leucistic. I had a feeling but didn't prioritize it enough and now I have many many eggs in the tank with both of my axolotls. I have zero experience with eggs and cannot really care for juvenile axolotls but I really DO NOT want to kill them. What should I do? Are my axolotls okay being in the same tank with them? would the eggs be okay all together in a tank by themselves? Where can I find someone to care for them and hatch them?
I'm so stressed and worried I just want the best for them all.
 
you are going to have to get a bucket and put the eggs in that. they can hatch anytime between 11 and 20 days. order in brine shrimp eggs and get your friend to watch a video on hatching them. make sure your friend does 100% water changes every day. keep the water around 64digres and make sure your friend sends daily updates on them. i found kitchen salt works for the brine shrimp eggs. hope this helps.
 
I'm going to be unpleasantly honest.

You can ship the whole clutch of eggs before hatching, if you find someone who wants them, but you probably won't be able to arrange that while on a vacation.

Shipping or selling them as larvae is not OK. Larvae need constant attention (and you won't be able to guarantee they're healthy yet).

So, you would have to raise them to juveniles first.
Even more, you won't find a good home for two hundred juvenile axolotls. There just aren't enough (decent) people who are looking for axolotls to sell/donate two hundred at short notice.
At best, you'll be able to sell/donate forty axolotls.

So, your options are:
- Selling and shipping the eggs within the week.
- Raising them all to juveniles, selling a part of them, and being stuck with 100+ juvenile axolotls yourself - which of course you won't be able to give the proper care they deserve.

Neither of which seems like a very good or likely option.

Honestly, the most humane thing to do would be to cull. If you put the unhatched eggs in the freezer, that's a very gentle way. Look at it as the mistake it was, separate the two, and only put them together again if you plan on breeding.

If you really don't want to get your own hands dirty, separate the parents but keep the mother in the same tank as the eggs. When they hatch, she'll eat the larvae. That's a very natural way of culling, and it'll allow her to get back some of the nutrients she spent on the eggs.

Either way you have to separate the parents asap or they'll do it again, soon.
 
AlexisJG said:
Hello. I have had my 2 axolotls since June 2020 and I had hoped they would mature the same gender but unfortunately they are not. I am currently on vacation and planned to separate them once I returned, my axolotls are currently being cared for by a friend who knows the basics to care for them properly. A melanoid and a leucistic. I had a feeling but didn't prioritize it enough and now I have many many eggs in the tank with both of my axolotls. I have zero experience with eggs and cannot really care for juvenile axolotls but I really DO NOT want to kill them. What should I do? Are my axolotls okay being in the same tank with them? would the eggs be okay all together in a tank by themselves? Where can I find someone to care for them and hatch them?
I'm so stressed and worried I just want the best for them all.
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I 100% agree with Murk. While you may not want to hear it, culling the eggs is the most humane thing for you to do. You will never be able to find decent homes for all of those babies and you will need to raise them until they are about 2-3 months old before re-homing them. It is a lot of work for even experienced breeders, let alone someone who has never dealt with them before. You need to separate the adults ASAP or they will breed again which can be detrimental to your female's health.
 
WAIT! before you cull the eggs see if any petshops near you will take them.
 
axie owner said:
WAIT! before you cull the eggs see if any petshops near you will take them.
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As far as I know, a pet shop would only take juveniles of saleable age and not eggs, plus a responsible pet shop would already have a reliable breeder that can assure health and genetics.

Personally, I think I could be in a similar boat. Bought two females but one is starting to look more like a male. I've been thinking about how I'd go about rehoming one, it's kind of daunting since there's no lack of axolotls needing homes in petshops, from breeders and rescues and for that reason, I think it's not fair to bring dozens of axolotls in to the world when so many already need homes. It's especially awkward since axolotls have special needs. It's more humane to cull them in larvae stage then once they've hatched. I guess I take this stance because I work in the animal industry and know how many re-homeable dogs & cats get euthanised purely because shelters are full beyond capacity, not to mention issues caused by inbreeding. Anyhows, I'd be taking the eggs out straight away and looking for the most humane way to euthanise them, Murk had good suggestions. Separate the male and female or rehome one. Goodluck!
 
Hi I am looking for baby axolotl eggs to buy what is the price an shipping. I am also willing to wait if you want to raise them.I only want one though. plus I have a cycled 5.5 gallon tank ready for one, and I will not be cruel to them.
 
AxolotlJude said:
Hi I am looking for baby axolotl eggs to buy what is the price an shipping. I am also willing to wait if you want to raise them.I only want one though. plus I have a cycled 5.5 gallon tank ready for one, and I will not be cruel to them.
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a 5.5 gallon tank is WAY too small for an axolotl. The bare minimum is a 20 gallon. I dont even use 5.5 gallon tanks for quarantine tanks. While it may be cycled, it would be inappropriate to house an axolotl in it.
 
GulfCoastAxolotls said:
a 5.5 gallon tank is WAY too small for an axolotl. The bare minimum is a 20 gallon. I dont even use 5.5 gallon tanks for quarantine tanks. While it may be cycled, it would be inappropriate to house an axolotl in it.
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oh sorry, I left out that I am transporting it to a 20 gallon long when it is grown.
 
mine wont laid eggs i am waiting like 4 days i am about lose to hope having baby axolotls
 
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