Jabba is already beginning to morph! What do I do?

[Foree]

IV had jabba for about 2 weeks now and as people have pointed out In previous threads he was close to morphing. The fin part of his tail has begun to recede as well as his legs are beefing up and his eyes are beginning to bulge slightly. I'd like any and all advice as I want to provide the best care for him possible. I will try to post some before and after pics as well as keep this thread updated on his progression through metamorphosis.

Tail and legs right after I got him

Tail now

Legs now

Eyes when I got him

Eyes now

I know the differences are only slight but they are enough for me to notice. As well as his behavior has changed that he spends most of his time in the plant close to the waters surface, tomorrow I will probably lower the water down to the rock so he will be able to sit out of the water if desired

Tank setup

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[Bellabelloo]

Watch for his gills to shrink, I found this happened quite quickly, When this started, I lowered the depth of the water and added rocks for mine to climb out onto. Once the gills have gone I then moved mine into a tub with a mix of soil and leaf litter, and hides. I also had a shallow bowl of water which mine would still go into from time to time. Lovely looking Tiger

 

[Donna001]

Hi Blake.
Thanks for the update and the pictures.
I keep axolotls rather than newts/salamanders, but I'm finding this fascinating and if you are prepared to keep updating us and adding pictures that would be awesome.
Best of luck to Jabba for the metamorphosis.
:happy:

 

[Foree]

I've lowed the level of the water to suit his behavior of hanging out in the plant, as he continues to change I'll add some rocks So he can get fully out of the water if he wants.

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[Foree]

Jabba has shed a layer of skin, is this normal during metamorphosis?

Also his gills look as though they are getting shorter but it's not really noticeable yet however his tail fin continues to quickly disappear

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[Donna001]

There is a noticeable difference to his tail in quite a short time.
This is amazing.

 

[Foree]

I really love that I'm gonna be able to document his metamorphosis for the world to see

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[Foree]

Heres another update, today I have noticed that the color of his stomach is also changing, it use to be a dull grey green tinged a bit yellow similar to the rest of his body (aside from his stripes) and now it's turning bright yellow

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[Donna001]

Thanks for the updates. :happy:
Jabba is looking good.
I think it's great that you are documenting his metamorphosis, not only for people like me who own axolotls, but also for people who will have to deal with this in the future. In fact, when the metamorphosis is complete, is it worth turning this thread into a sticky and renaming it, almost like a tutorial, or a "what to expect during morphing", so that others can find it easily,
Just a suggestion. :happy:

 

[Foree]

That would be pretty cool, I'm new to the forum here and IV only had jabba for 2 weeks. As a history of Jabba he was born and grew up in the wild in Colorado my friend caught him while fishing and decided to bring him home to me (for reference if I would have known this at the time I would have had him release jabba back where he found him) jabba then spent the next 3 days in a gallon jar in the back of a truck. I think the stress from that and then the adjustment to tank life is what triggered his metamorphosis.

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[Foree]

Today I came home to find that jabba shed again, alot this time, I'm assuming he ate some of it because his appetite was much less today, he has become much stockier his legs now look almost muscular and his tail fin is nearly gone.

It looks like his eyelids are almost done forming as well

And his gills are beginning to recede

As soon as I'm able to work on his tank again (Thursday)I'm going to make it so that he can get fully out of the water if he so chooses

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[Donna001]

Wow, Jabba looks so different. It's amazing.

 

[Foree]

In 24 hours this is how much his gills have receded from that last picture

Tomorrow morning he will be moved to a more terestrial set up.

So I have 2 questions.
1. Is it natural for him to be changing so quickly, or is it unhealthy?
2. When do you think his colors will really begin to change?

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[Donna001]

Wow, that is a noticeable difference with his gills.
I hope that one of the experienced keepers can offer you some advice, but I'd guess that if Jabba seems ok and is acting fairly normally with his food, etc. then it is probably normal.
I am fascinated by this thread, the change in Jabba is amazing. :happy:

 

[Foree]

Today jabba is being moved to a large plastic tote that will be part terrestrial so he can get out of the water completely, and it's just in time too

Excuse the water quality, his shedding combine with me messing with the tank today has made the water really cloudy

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[Donna001]

There is such a huge difference every 24 hours.
He's looking so cute today. :happy:

 

[Bellabelloo]

It won't be long

 

[Foree]

Here he is in his new temporary home

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[Donna001]

Congratulations.
It's lovely to see Jabba out of the water and relaxing on his log.

 

[Foree]

He still has a short ways to go, but he is nearly there.

Monday morning he will be put into a full terrestrial set up, with a big water bowl. He will be able to burrow and hide all he wants.

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