Showing off the 'Lotls

[bitenomnom]

My two axies, Velvet (melanoid) and Saffron (albino) that I got in July. They've just recently reached 5"! I thought I'd show 'em off since I haven't for a while. (Though some of these pictures are about a month old...)

The last two were taken by my brother, the amateur photographer, who has way better skills and a way better camera than I do.

As you can see, with the flash Saffron's gills (well, the "skin" parts of the gill?) are very shiny, and Velvet has a white patch on his throat. The second picture of him is him running back and forth along the sand, his favorite activity. Saffron prefers swimming.

 

[Jacquie]

Great shots of some lovely (and cheeky!) axolotls.

Thanks for sharing. As to the pictures being a month old - time to whip out the camera and take some updated shots! The axolotls must look amazing one month later - you can't deprive us .

 

[SludgeMunkey]

I hear by dub them "Nebraxalotls".

 

[bitenomnom]

Great shots of some lovely (and cheeky!) axolotls.

Thanks for sharing. As to the pictures being a month old - time to whip out the camera and take some updated shots! The axolotls must look amazing one month later - you can't deprive us .

Hahaha. Thanks! I might have to do just that. The two pictures of Velvet (the melanoid) are actually fairly recent (a couple of weeks old?). But then again, they just get cuter every day -- so I suppose every day counts!!

 

[bitenomnom]

I hear by dub them "Nebraxalotls".

Hehe...clever.
I imagine they are quite excited for the (inevitable...) cold Nebraska weather!

 

[Spartacus]

Picture number 3 made me let outa big "awwww", its adorable! Those big eyes!

 

[bitenomnom]

Some updated pictures -- all taken within a week or so.

1: Velvet being generally cute.
2: He sat like that for a while...looked like he was trying to hold the rock and the fake log apart! He might have just been resting/sleeping in a silly pose.
3: Saffron sat still in that exact position for probably half an hour, perfectly lined up against the glass for me to measure. 5"!
4: Velvet running back and forth, again. Haha.
5: Saffron standing up. Expecting a tasty worm?
6: Thought this was a good size/shape/etc. comparison. I know they're a bit young yet -- but does anyone have suspicions about what sex they are?
7: They both like this one corner, so they are oftentimes sitting there together. I got some shots because I thought it was cute. (Pretty bad shots, because that corner is close to a wall so I just have to point and hope the camera focuses)
8: Same as above.

 

[bitenomnom]

Does anyone have thoughts/opinions on the sixth picture? Are their different shapes at all indicative of them being different sexes, or do they just happen to have different head, body, etc., shapes? I know they are probably still too young to sex for sure but they've always looked quite different from each other to me and I was just wondering if any of it was sex-related.
If I had to guess based purely on what I've read (having no prior experience), I want to guess that Velvet (the melanoid) is male and Saffron (the albino) is female, based on things like their head shape and "roundness." But I have no idea of course. Maybe they just happen to be differently shaped.

 

[Blaze]

Both look male to me

 

[scrappa]

Hi,

I think the golden lotl is a female because of a wider head and slightly fatter legs but im not sure about the melanoid.

Maybe dave,kaysie or kerry can help.

 

[bitenomnom]

Yes, her (?) head is definitely wider than the melanoid's. I also noticed that it seems somehow rounder or curvier/smoother, if that makes any sense. The albino's body also seems to have the same gentler, rounder slope and to me looks a bit bigger.
I definitely appreciate any input.

 

[bitenomnom]

Just noticed something interesting today. I knew that Velvet had the white patch on his throat and some other slightly whitish areas on him, but on the back of one of his legs is a very white "stripe"/skinny blotch. Here is the best picture I could get. I think he may have a somewhat similar marking on the other hind leg.

I also recently noticed a whitish stripe right along his back (along where his the skin meets the "fin") and was initially concerned that it was fungus or something -- but, I don't think it is. (It hasn't changed, doesn't look "fuzzy" or anything, and looks more like it is part of his skin. I will try to get a picture. But please tell me if based on this description there is still cause for me to be worried!!)

I was wondering if these markings are in places where he has grown, or something -- like somehow there's no pigment in some places where he's been growing. I don't know much about that kind of stuff. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Darkmaverick]

It could either be shedding skin or a parasite problem. Velvet disease looks quite similar. Could you provide more photos?

 

[bitenomnom]

Oh -- the axolotl's name is Velvet, sorry if that was unclear. The white patches do not resemble Velvet any more than the rest of his handsome black skin.

Certainly I will try to take more pictures. Above (in the first posting of pictures) is one of his throat that I had in a different thread asking about his markings.

If it is the same thing as his throat -- I don't think it's shedding because I've never seen anything flake off of it. The picture I just posted is a little misleading because there are some blurs in the foreground and a few flecks of sand on his body and I was mainly pointing out the back of his leg. (Of course I wouldn't want to rule out that those "flecks of sand" could be parasites?? But he doesn't seem particularly aggravated...)

Am in the process of taking more pictures right now.

 

[bitenomnom]

Some pictures.

(1) The line along his back and some white along the inside of his arm. (The flecks there are on the glass on the outside that I've been meaning to clean.) The spots on his underside look a bit more pronounced with the camera's flash. So in reality, the stripe on the inside of his arm is noticeably lighter than the bottom of his body.
(2) Another view of the arm.
(3) Image of his other side so you can see that the white spots are quite symmetrical.

Am I mistaken in thinking this is coloration/markings, rather than some sort of problem? I sure hope there's nothing wrong with him! When I posted the picture of his throat "patch" in a different thread, Michael Shrom (from whom I got my axolotls) said some of his melanoids have similar white patches. So I thought maybe it was somehow genetic.

 

[Darkmaverick]

Normal Pigmentation. Not fungus, shedding skin nor parasite problem. Nothing to worry about.

Velvet disease is the name of a type of parasite infection. It causes skin patches to get a white/grey coating hence the name. It is a coincidence that your axie's name is velvet.

 

[bitenomnom]

All right, good! Whew! Glad to hear it.
I wanted to see if anyone had some sort of explanation for why his pigmentation is that way. My boyfriend is an aspiring biologist/geneticist but is only just starting his third year of college so his thoughts on it are vague. And of course as a physics/math person I know nothing of this stuff that he couldn't tell me already!

Hm, interesting! "Velvet disease." Sorry to mislead you there. Odd coincidence though! I should be more careful, heh.
I named him Velvet partly because his skin looks sort of soft and velvety and partly as a reference to Elvis ("black velvet") as he struck me as quite the charmer. (And luckily, "Velvet" is a pretty neutral-sounding name so if he turns out to be a she I'm covered!)
Speaking of which, any thoughts on sex? (Of either of them?) They're only 5" right now, but...

 

[bitenomnom]

I do wonder if the thin white lines along his back are going to get any broader as he grows. (They just became visible to me within the past week or two.) What if he grew up to look like a skunk?! Haha.

 

[Rikkoshaye]

You know, a few weeks before my smallest Tiger Salamander morphed into his adult form, he also developed lighter colored strips down his back next to his fin. I just figured it was skin getting ready to shed or something, and of course now they're gone since he's roaming around on land. It's pretty interesting that your axolotl has the same thing going on though.

 

[Darkmaverick]

If it has always been that way. It is just how the pigmentation is distributed and laid down. if it only occured quite recently and is of a transient nature, it can be indicative of an imminent skin shedding episode.