Responsible disposal of eggs?

[Petersgirl]

Hey, guys.
Just wondering about an issue I've been thinking about.

One of my girls, Embry, recently laid an awful lot of eggs. She last laid last year, in March, so I'm not too worried about her. I did raise a batch of axxies last year but I couldn't do it again so I decided to freeze the eggs.

As I took them downstairs, my Dad took them off me and put them in our pond. There must have been about 170 eggs in total.

Now, here's what I'm wondering; is it fair or responsible to do this? The pond isn't huge and I've no idea how many will survive, and I'm worried how it will affect any local wildlife.

Was this a really stupid idea? What if we have oodles of axxies in this tiny pond and they get picked off by gulls?

Sorry if I sound a bit over the top but I've never done this before and I'm a little worried. The eggs would be 3 days old now.

 

[auntiejude]

No, releasing non-native animals is illegal, let alone irresponsible. Chances are they will succumb to predators or illness anyway.

I suggest you retrieve the eggs and freeze them as planned, or if you have the stomach for it put them back in with their parents and let nature do it's thing there instead of in the pond.

 

[Petersgirl]

I thought so.

The pond is in our garden and closed off, so the only way it could get into the ecosystem is if another animal ate them, since if they got into the garden they'd likely dry up.

I'll fish them out and freeze them.

The weird thing is, I'm sure that I've heard of other people raising axolotls in ponds as well. Is what they're doing theoretically illegal?

I was also thinking about what Linda Adkins said in her book. She says it's a good idea to let the adults eat the eggs and reabsorb the nutrients, but I've never actually seen the adults do this and my fear is that they'd hatch and then be eaten as larvae. Either way, I'd rather freeze them before they can feel anything.

 

[auntiejude]

Yes, you CAN keep axies in an outdoor 'pond', but it's not usually a typical pond like you'd find in an average garden. It would be specially built, or possibly just an outdoor tank. It's not illegal if you 'keep' axies outside, but bunging them in the garden pond is not advised.

Yes, a lot of people let the larvae hatch and use them as food - since this is in line with natural selection and what would happen in the wild. Adult will eat both eggs and larvae.

 

[Petersgirl]

If you don't mind me asking, why does the pond need to be specially adapted? Is it to maintain temperature or does it have special filtration? I'm just curious because I thought a typical garden pond would be quite close to their natural habitat.

I spent around 2 hours today digging around in the pond and got as many as I could - I think about 70 of them. They've been frozen. Is it true you can leave this out as bird food? I seem to remember someone saying that they thawed their frozen eggs and left them out for birds.

I also saw a frog in the pond and I suspect he or she has eaten some of the eggs, which might explain why I didn't find all of them.

What about the babies that might been left? Is there any chance they could have a bad impact on the ecosystem? I'm kind of worried about the fact you said it was illegal - is it still illegal, since it's a closed off, private pond with no links to any natural waterways and pretty much no chance of the axolotls getting into any other waterways? And since I've got rid of a lot of the eggs since?

I feel awful for getting into this situation. I mean, I knew it was ill-advised but I didn't think it would be illegal in my own pond.

P.S I've done a little research and it appears that as long as the pond is escape-proof it's not technically illegal. That and we have a six foot tank outside which we could always relocate them to if we ever found any, but personally I think all the eggs are either eaten or frozen. I respect the law about amphibians being released into the wild and know why it exists, but I'm afraid I hit a patch of ignorance here.
Thank you for informing me, Auntiejude. I won't ever make this mistake again. Next time the eggs go straight into the freezer!

 

[auntiejude]

Yes, you can defrost the eggs and leave them out for whatever wildlife wants them.
By 'specially adapted' I mean protected from other wildlife and more controlled than a normal pond. You'd need a net over the top to stop predators and invaders etc.

I very much doubt whether anyone would ever be prosecuted for putting axies in their pond, but the principle is there. The law would apply to all newt/salamander/frog species, all of which are far more likely to escape and go feral than axies. The law is there to protect native wildlife and prevent the spread of chitrid and Bsal.

If any hatch in the pond they will most likely get eaten by fish or other amphibians, but if you notice any you can fish them out and raise them or cull them.

 

[Petersgirl]

Phew! Thank you so much, Auntiejude. I was so worried, both for my sake and the axxies'!

That said, have you ever noticed that eggs are tricky little things? I have manually pulled all the eggs I could find in the original tank off of the tank ornaments, internal filter and external filters - twice - and today I still found ten or so eggs just floating in the tank! I know my girl has stopped laying, but where on Earth do these eggs hide? How did they survive manual removal and two water changes? It's a mystery!