Question: Is Momo morphing? And if he is, is that okay?

[karamar88]

We've had Momo for about a month and a half. He seems to be very happy. He has a healthy appetite (feeder goldfish, bloodworms, brine shrimp) and is very mobile in his tank. We noticed, though, that he's been changing. The fin on his back used to go all the way from his neck to the end of his tail. Now, the fin on his back has disappeared completely. It's only on his tail now and his gills seem to be shorter. I know nothing has been picking on him, because he only has a few feeder goldfish in his tank that are terrified of him. Also, maybe I'm being crazy, but his eyes seem a bit bulgier and his nostrils seem slightly bigger than when he first came home with us. The only thing we've changed is we moved him to a tank with sand substrate instead of stones, in fear that he would swallow them and his new tank doesn't have real plants. He still hangs out on the bottom of his tank and swims up once and a while for a gulp of air. This morning, I woke up to find him standing on top of the rocks in his tank with his head out of the water. Should I be concerned about this behavior? Other than that, everything else seems normal. I have attached pictures of him before and current.

*The first 2 pictures are older when he still had his whole fin and gills. The last 3 are within the past few days. Don't his nostrils looks bigger in the 4th picture?? The last one was from this morning, when I found him with his head out of the water *

Any insight would be helpful! I'm worried about him...
(Actually, we've been assuming he's a boy, but I'd be lying if I said I was certain...)

-Kara

 

[RobM]

I am no expert on Axolotls but that appears to be a tiger salamander! (Which will mean it probably is morphing)
I am probably no help on this species, but this might help: Caudata Culture Species Entry - Tiger salamander

 

[ax]

Yeah I'm pretty sure you've been sold a salamander .. that link we be helpful

 

[karamar88]

Oh my gosh, really? We actually weren't sure what he was for sure because my boyfriend found him at his workplace (bait shop) when it was stuck in a shipment of bait fish (see my profile for full story). I'll definitely check out that link! Thanks! :happy:
-K

 

[Kaysie]

He's certainly a tiger salamander. Looks like he'll be a really pretty one! You'll have to change his set up to a terrestrial setup though, or you run the risk of having him drown.

 

[iChris]

congratulations on your new little mate!

I would love to own a terrestrial salamander, but they are illegal to keep in my country unfortunately.

 

[Crysta]

that's a gorgeous salamander right there! give him some land space, to crawl out on, when you're fully sure he's morphed change his tank to a nice terrestrial one x) - he hasn't reached sexual maturity, but it's easier to just assign a gender rather than saying (he or she).

The species entry rob posted should keep you well informed.

 

[mewsie]

What a surprise!

He looks wicked!

I had a look for the story on your profile, but couldn't see it... you found him in a bait shipment?!

 

[karamar88]

Thanks for all the comments, everyone! Wow, I've never been part of such a friendly online community where everyone has such good advice. He actually is a LOT different since I took those pictures. We made his tank only half water a few days ago and he walked right out onto the land and hung out there. Now he's shrunk quite a bit and has no gills left. We've changed his tank today to moist sand with peat moss and huge flat rocks underneath the moss (it was pretty). There's also a little pool in there just big enough for him to lay in and a chunk of driftwood. When we finish it tomorrow I'll add pictures. He seems to like it so far :happy:

Oh, and I added the story about how we stumbled upon Momo on my profile.

 

[AuraCantos]

I can't wait to see pictures! I'd read this thread when you first posted, but had to leave for work immediately after so I didn't get a chance to comment. Definitely didn't look like a lotl in the first place. But his coloration is so wicked, he's going to be an extremely handsome salamander!

 

[Kaysie]

You'll probably want a better substrate than sand/peat moss. I use organic topsoil mixed with coconut fiber (usually around 1:1). This will be much better for your salamander's burrowing nature than sand will be.