I am thinking about getting a male and female but don't want babies.

[KEU131]

Hello

i am curious that if i get a male and female axolotl firstly if they will happily live together??
and secondly i am not ready for babies any time soon, am i able to just keep an eye on them and remove any eggs as soon as i see them before they develop??

is this an ok thing to do? or is it a bit cruel. i thought maybe t would be the same as when you don't want birds to raise their eggs you just remove them, but I'm not entirely sure how Axy eggs develop.

any information would be very much appreciated thank you in advance

 

[squishyjaws12]

If you get a male and female nature will happen but you are the right place. This forum is full of people willing to raise the eggs for you, you might even stand to make a financial gain from selling the eggs depending on what the parents are. But I can say this egg laying can seriously stress a female the first time and if you keep a close eye on your lolts you can scoop out the males spermatophores in the tank before the female gets to them. But imo let nature happen and sell the eggs there are plenty of people looking to raise a few of these cute little buggers. Hope it all works out for you

 

[KEU131]

thanks for the advice! unfortunately i have just been told that my tank will only fit one, and that it is maybe too small even for one so that ind of solves the dilemma for me..

now the question is male or female?!?! any advice on how they differ from one and other?

 

[Bellabelloo]

I have seen no difference in personality of male or female axolotl. Go out and find one you like the look of Do make sure your tank will be big enough though, what size is the tank you have?

 

[KEU131]

the tank is 75 litres 51wide, 34 deep, and 56 height it is a good sized tank but it is higher than it is longer... i hope it will be ok?

is there any recommendations of places to get them online? i would love to get one off a breeder instead of a pet store..

 

[Bellabelloo]

Have a look at the for sale section towards the bottom of the page, axolotl eggs and young are advertised there.

 

[KEU131]

thanks very much!! i will check it out!!

 

[KEU131]

Do males and females still go through mating cycles without a mate in the tank? will a female still lay eggs? will a male still do his thing??

i am thinking the same as a female dog will still go one heat, a female bird will still lay eggs...???

 

[jessicaanne]

Do males and females still go through mating cycles without a mate in the tank? will a female still lay eggs? will a male still do his thing??

Well as I found out last night, they do :lol: At least the males do because I found that mine has been leaving spermataphors all over the bottom of the tank. I doubt that the females will still lay eggs without the sperm to fertilize them though

 

[memojo1979]

If you are getting an axolotl which is old enough to tell the sex of it (which isn't usually possible until at least 9-12months, sometimes even older), then I would recommend getting a boy. The only reason for this is that axolotls are notoriously bad for being able to tell the sex for definate, but if it's a boy then it's definately a boy (or seriously impacted, but then there should be other signs too), yet unless well passed the maturation stage if it's a girl, it might just be a boy who isn't showing yet. With my 1st 3 axolotls, I though all 3 were girls, until the boy decided to become masculine at 15months old. With my friend's 3 axolotls (which were related to mine), because they weren't properly cared for, the boy didn't show himself as a boy until around 2years old!
And, for your original query, I agree with Squishy in saying that egg-laying is a serious business for females - nearly all the goodness from food goes to producing the eggs rather than the axolotl's own body, plus the actual process of laying leaves them physically worn. It's recommended that females are allowed a decent rest period between matings. With a large enough tank, you could use a divider to keep axolotls separate, but if you're going to do that, you might as well get 2 of the same sex (+ of course, sometimes axolotls can get past dividers)