akaGreg
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- Greg N.
When my 9 year old daughter recently asked me if she could get an African clawed frog, it reminded me of a pet I had received in the late 1980's (probably a decade before most of the forum readers here were born). A friend of the family who could no longer care for her axolotl brought it to me in a large goldfish bowl. I was told that this was how she had kept it for 10 years as a pet. The axolotl was old for sure, with scars here and there, a small chunk missing from its tail, and a squared off tail tip which eventually tapered out again; it had also metamorphosed. (I have no idea at what age it metamorphosed.)
Garth lived on a coffee table in my apartment in his goldfish bowl for 3-4 years, which seems long based on what I now know. Even though he was kept in a bowl, he was not a neglected pet, I changed his water often, and he always had a plant of some kind to hide under. He watched TV with me, he read books with me, he even met my future wife. He won over everyone who took the time to visit him with his perpetual smile. When I found him dead one cold winter morning, I berated myself for not adding an aquarium heater of some kind to his bowl. I thought I had let the water get too cold. It is only now after researching axolotls again that I find they thrive in cooler water, and that the room temp at the time of his death was actually preferred. Now that I think about it I'm sure that throughout the time I cared for Garth he was actually kept too warm more often than not.
There is much more available information now to hobbyists interested in keeping these wonderful amphibians. Websites like Caudata.org are incredible sources of information. After looking at the suggested housing set-ups online I felt a pang of guilt for keeping Garth in a bowl. You have to remember that 25 years ago the internet was new, there were no sites like Axolotl.org to find information, or chat with other keepers. My only source of info came from a 1981 hardcover book: “Axolotls” by Peter Scott which I still have. (I see it is still being sold and touted as the book to get for pet owners.)
Out of curiosity I re-read the book to see if the housing and care requirements I provided were out of sync to those listed in the book. Surprisingly I found that I didn't do too bad, at least according to Scott. In the housing section he says that axolotls don't require running water or specially aerated water, and because Garth had metamorphosed that was especially true since he was gulping air from the atmosphere. Scott also states that once metamorphosed, axolotls can be kept in vivaria with low water levels, he says that labs keep them in 1-gallon shoe boxes and globe fish bowls. Ok, I'm no lab, and don't think we as hobbyists should be keeping our axolotls in lab like conditions like betta fish, but still my housing was not horrible based on what I knew at the time. I dug out the goldfish bowl Garth was kept in and measured the water capacity. At 12-inches in diameter, it holds over 1.5 gallons when filled 3/4's with water. Garth was probably kept in about a gallon of water. Not ideal, but it seemed adequate at the time.
Digital cameras were uncommon 25 years ago, and cost a fortune, I'm sure I have a photograph or two in a box somewhere, but I did find one low res image of Garth in my digital files. In it I can see that the gravel at the bottom was probably too large (or too small).
Some people might find it odd that I became attached to an amphibian, and miss my little buddy Garth even after all this time, but I'm sure many of you would understand.
Rest assured that if I do decide to acquire an axolotl for my daughter, it will find itself in a more substantial home.
Garth lived on a coffee table in my apartment in his goldfish bowl for 3-4 years, which seems long based on what I now know. Even though he was kept in a bowl, he was not a neglected pet, I changed his water often, and he always had a plant of some kind to hide under. He watched TV with me, he read books with me, he even met my future wife. He won over everyone who took the time to visit him with his perpetual smile. When I found him dead one cold winter morning, I berated myself for not adding an aquarium heater of some kind to his bowl. I thought I had let the water get too cold. It is only now after researching axolotls again that I find they thrive in cooler water, and that the room temp at the time of his death was actually preferred. Now that I think about it I'm sure that throughout the time I cared for Garth he was actually kept too warm more often than not.
There is much more available information now to hobbyists interested in keeping these wonderful amphibians. Websites like Caudata.org are incredible sources of information. After looking at the suggested housing set-ups online I felt a pang of guilt for keeping Garth in a bowl. You have to remember that 25 years ago the internet was new, there were no sites like Axolotl.org to find information, or chat with other keepers. My only source of info came from a 1981 hardcover book: “Axolotls” by Peter Scott which I still have. (I see it is still being sold and touted as the book to get for pet owners.)
Out of curiosity I re-read the book to see if the housing and care requirements I provided were out of sync to those listed in the book. Surprisingly I found that I didn't do too bad, at least according to Scott. In the housing section he says that axolotls don't require running water or specially aerated water, and because Garth had metamorphosed that was especially true since he was gulping air from the atmosphere. Scott also states that once metamorphosed, axolotls can be kept in vivaria with low water levels, he says that labs keep them in 1-gallon shoe boxes and globe fish bowls. Ok, I'm no lab, and don't think we as hobbyists should be keeping our axolotls in lab like conditions like betta fish, but still my housing was not horrible based on what I knew at the time. I dug out the goldfish bowl Garth was kept in and measured the water capacity. At 12-inches in diameter, it holds over 1.5 gallons when filled 3/4's with water. Garth was probably kept in about a gallon of water. Not ideal, but it seemed adequate at the time.
Digital cameras were uncommon 25 years ago, and cost a fortune, I'm sure I have a photograph or two in a box somewhere, but I did find one low res image of Garth in my digital files. In it I can see that the gravel at the bottom was probably too large (or too small).
Some people might find it odd that I became attached to an amphibian, and miss my little buddy Garth even after all this time, but I'm sure many of you would understand.
Rest assured that if I do decide to acquire an axolotl for my daughter, it will find itself in a more substantial home.
