Metamorphed Axy...

[ozzytrott]

about 12 years ago my sister and I got what was labelled a "waterdog" at walmart. we kept him in a simple aquarium with an HOB filter and air stone. and fed him floating turtle pellets by the brand name Reptomine I believe. A few months later he started to morph and so we decided to give him more or suited to a land dwelling salamander. Back in those days we did not have the internet do look stuff up but we did a little and though that he looked like a western giant salamander but we were never too sure. My sister kept him in a 20 gallon long, giving him earthworms mostly for many years until 2010 when he had a feeding accident resulting in a broken leg from which he never recovered. I wish he had pictures..

 

[alicep1234]

can i ask how you managed to do this as im attempting to do the same atm and dont want to stress out or kill my axies? thanks

 

[Kaysie]

Forcing your axolotls to morph will stress them and reduce their life span if it doesn't kill them first.

As stated dozens of times in this thread, Freeky's axolotl morphed because of genetics (which is rare), not because it was forced to undergo metamorphosis through chemical or conditional changes.

 

[River Song]

My last axolotl, Stubb, got fairly sick due to a few different reasons, but one of them was that the ammonia levels in his water was too high. After a few weeks of being sick, Stubb was still able to breathe in the water, but also breathe out of the water.
He didnt seem to be morphing in any other way, he would just swim to the top and take a gulp of air. Is that normal?
Is it possible that he was morphing because of the water conditions, or do some axolotls do that?
Just wondering. By the time we found out how to help Stubb, it was too late, but I now have two more, Taco and Jett, and I'm just trying to learn as much as I can, particularly so I don't make the same mistakes again.
Great pictures, by the way

 

[GazerOfStars]

Axolotls commonly go up to the surface to take a gulp of air. They have rudimentary lungs that they can use if they so desire to. If your Axolotl was going to the surface frequently it could have been a sign of the poor water parameters.

I doubt your Axolotl was morphing. The physical changes would have been easy to spot.

For your new guys make sure to learn how to cycle your tank: Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling

 

[River Song]

Thanks.

 

[BIGBODYBEAR]

Sorry for the rookie question but can an axy & tiger sally breed? I have both in my tank :/ they do get along fine though with no issues but is it possible? My tiger is a year old & still hasnt morphed

 

[BIGBODYBEAR]

My intention is not to breed them , i just wanted a companion for my tiger salamander n they are extremely hard to come by so i got axies n they get along great

 

[weofui]

Sorry for the rookie question but can an axy & tiger sally breed? I have both in my tank :/ they do get along fine though with no issues but is it possible? My tiger is a year old & still hasnt morphed

Theoretically? Yes. Practically? No.

Neotenic populations aside, tiger salamanders seem to require extreme feats of scientific heroism to breed in captivity as their reproductive cycle is linked to migration events leading to group fertilization. I believe successful terrestrial tiger salamander captive breeding attempts can be counted on one hand.

Essentially, your tiger isn't going to breed in captivity at all, let alone with an axolotl, so you've no worries.

 

[Tillypup]

little worried abot my axies
when they attempt to morph do they become more light sensitive

 

[Dragonteen]

wow, he/she's so beutiful! dose it cause them pain to morph? i've heard of people saying it dose but i'm not sure...

 

[ba98mgt]

wow, he/she's so beutiful! dose it cause them pain to morph? i've heard of people saying it dose but i'm not sure...

If your body had to undergo many physical changes, would it be painful?

 

[afertuna]

I would like to get updates to see how long or Old it gets after the morph. This is very interesting. I have read alot of articles that say they dont live long after the morph. I have a male thats gills have shortened and completely disappered on one side. I have been afraid he has started morphing and I will loose him.

 

[cristelle]

I was reading up on morphed axolotls the other day and I seen a breeder who had been morphing axolotls for years but that's without force. He would have them in a turtle tank with a platform and would put crickets on the platform so the axolotls would have to come out to eat, I thought about what the guy was saying for quit a few days and could see it both as cruel as well as a lot better than forcing the animal to morph. His longest living morphed axolotl lived till it was 13yrs old :/
I've read many stories of breeders using old baths as breeding vats and then while on holiday the bath leaked and the axolotls morphed.

Sorry I'm new and just having a blabber on here

 

[oceanblue]

He would have them in a turtle tank with a platform and would put crickets on the platform so the axolotls would have to come out to eat, I thought about what the guy was saying for quit a few days and could see it both as cruel as well as a lot better than forcing the animal to morph. His longest living morphed axolotl lived till it was 13yrs old :/
I've read many stories of breeders using old baths as breeding vats and then while on holiday the bath leaked and the axolotls morphed.

There is plenty of literature on morphing axolotls and trying to make one come out of the water to eat and lowering the water both constitute cruelty. Morphing can occasionally be induced in this way but not often, death is much more likely. People should either accept axolotls as what they are, easy to care for aquatic creatures, or if they want a morphed salamander make sure it has been properly artificially morphed by hormones with the correct dose at an appropriate age. There is 80 years of decent scientific literature out there, for people to continue to suggest cruel generally ineffective methods, or worse to use hormones and suggest it just happened (again and again and again) is awful.

I like my artificially morphed salamander and will care for it hopefully for many years to come, I believe it did not suffer any more than a tiger would suffer in morphing. It is a pity that people keep suggesting cruelty will somehow induce a "natural" morph. I accept that occasionally morphs do spontaneously occur but it is cruel to try to induce morphing by trying to force an animal onto land by lowering the water or deliberately allowing water quality to deteriorate.

 

[tumptyteapot]

wow, he is beautiful!

 

[Quentari]

I really don't want to seem rude or nosey, I'm just very confused about this whole morphing thing, someone said that freeky was given wrong advice and so the axolotl morphed before he could do anything about it and it was not his fault.

So what exactly happened? What was the bad advice? Even though that creature looks really pretty and healthy too, and I'm sure it has a fantastic quality of life, but I was under the impression that in the wild natural habitat where all their requirements are met, all axolotls morphed? Is this not the case?

No, Axolotl will only morph if their water needs aren't met (there's not enough, it's got the wrong chemicals etc) and there's a higher chance of them dieing than there is of them fully metamorphosing. Freeky is lucky that it turned out okay and now his axolotl is a healthy salamander, but you shouldn't ever TRY to morph your axolotl.

 

[Bellabelloo]

The morphed axolotl died a few years ago, I think 2009 sometime.

 

[Cocoapanda10]

The morphed axolotl died a few years ago, I think 2009 sometime.

Have fun in Axolotl...no, wait...morphed-Axolotl heaven

 

[Fullmoonnight]

Who let the axies get the Salamander goo?

Lol, Jokes aside, this is pretty cool. Although, I would be very sad to find my axies without their pretty gills. I'm curious about their life span as well.