# Axolotls are rather incredible creature.



## GBWhite (Dec 27, 2017)

Got this from a friend on FB. I knew they could regenerate their limbs but this is absolutely amazing.


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## Foozil (Dec 27, 2017)

Thats amazing! :O


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## Bl69aze (Dec 27, 2017)

Shame they are reaching extinct status due to pet shops selling them 

They really are awesome


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## richyboa72 (Dec 27, 2017)

That was so interesting, didnt know they could do that and I also didn’t realise they came in so many different colours, I only ever see the white ones for sale in the U.K., I always watch them and find them so interesting when I see them in the pet shops


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## GBWhite (Dec 27, 2017)

They say in the video that a simple injection of iodine turns them into a Salamander. When I was 12 years old and in my first year of High School in 1968 a mate and I turned one into a Salamander as a science project by slowly decreasing the water level. Our science teacher told us he believed it was the first time it had been done in Australia. It grew to around 30cm by the end of the school year.

In 2010 I got a couple from the local pet shop and ended up breeding them then gave all the young ones away to kids of friends. You can see the little tackers inside the eggs in the first couple of shots and the last one is the dad. Pretty amazing to watch as they develop. They start out as a small dot inside a clear egg and you can watch them develop


into miniature versions of the adults before hatching.


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## SpottedPythons (Dec 27, 2017)

Bl69aze said:


> Shame they are reaching extinct status due to pet shops selling them


They are actually not going extinct in captivity - and it isn't pet shops that are causing it. In the wild, they are only found in two lakes where there lifestyle is possible, and pollution is slowly killing them.


GBWhite said:


> They say in the video that a simple injection of iodine turns them into a Salamander. When I was 12 years old and in my first year of High School in 1968 a mate and I turned one into a Salamander as a science project by slowly decreasing the water level. Our science teacher told us he believed it was the first time it had been done in Australia. It grew to around 30cm by the end of the school year.


Interesting... apparently the iodine can also be added as a supplement to the water.


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## Bl69aze (Dec 27, 2017)

SpottedPythons said:


> They are actually not going extinct in captivity - and it isn't pet shops that are causing it. In the wild, they are only found in two lakes where there lifestyle is possible, and pollution is slowly killing them.
> 
> Interesting... apparently the iodine can also be added as a supplement to the water.


Well they aren’t helping


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## Nero Egernia (Dec 27, 2017)

Axolotls are amazing. I've always had them ever since I was a kid. My first, "Axy", was with me for many years. I inherited my second, "Cheety" when my sister no longer wanted him. They both ended up breeding and it was fun raising the youngsters, but very time consuming catching them food. Unfortunately they both died when I was away at boarding school. My young cousins decided to sneak into my room and dump all the food in their tank, fouling the water. My third, "Iorek Byrnison", is still going strong and lives outside in my wine barrel pond. It was always a pet peeve of mine when people would call them fish.


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## SpottedPythons (Dec 27, 2017)

Bl69aze said:


> Well they aren’t helping


They are kinda... there are less than 150 left in the wild, whereas in captivity (for research/pet purposes) there are thousands. Even if Mexico Lake suddenly blew up right now (R.I.P wild axies), the species would be far from extinct.
[doublepost=1514357117,1514357016][/doublepost]


Oshkii said:


> It was always a pet peeve of mine when people would call them fish.


I know!!! Pet shops actually label them as walking fish, and I caught an employee at PetBarn explaining to the customers about the interesting lifestyle these "fish" have.


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## Imported_tuatara (Dec 27, 2017)

if it wasn't for them being cute and popular they'd be virtually extinct rn.


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## Bl69aze (Dec 27, 2017)

SpottedPythons said:


> They are kinda... there are less than 150 left in the wild, whereas in captivity (for research/pet purposes) there are thousands. Even if Mexico Lake suddenly blew up right now (R.I.P wild axies), the species would be far from extinct.
> [doublepost=1514357117,1514357016][/doublepost]
> I know!!! Pet shops actually label them as walking fish, and I caught an employee at PetBarn explaining to the customers about the interesting lifestyle these "fish" have.


I feel like axolotls are like beta fish, they always just die even if you follow what the store says because secretly they have no idea.. my friend who breeds them says they are quite advanced if you want them to live a long time, where as a pet shop tells you something like “cold water with distilled water drops” (or whatever they call it, that’s just what popped into my head)


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## Imported_tuatara (Dec 27, 2017)

when kept well can live 30+ years.


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## GBWhite (Dec 27, 2017)

Bl69aze said:


> I feel like axolotls are like beta fish, they always just die even if you follow what the store says because secretly they have no idea.. my friend who breeds them says they are quite advanced if you want them to live a long time, where as a pet shop tells you something like “cold water with distilled water drops” (or whatever they call it, that’s just what popped into my head)



They're actually not that hard to keep or breed. I think you might mean de-chlorinated water.



Imported_tuatara said:


> when kept well can live 30+ years.



I read that on a forum somewhere but I'm not sure how accurate it is. In captivity the average life span is between 10 & 15 years.


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## Imported_tuatara (Dec 27, 2017)

i've seen many that have, and know someone on a different forums in the u.k with one that is almost 40.


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## Flaviemys purvisi (Dec 27, 2017)

Many people up here lose them in the summer months every year... too hard to keep their aquariums cool. Never ever kept them myself but the biggest complaint I've heard regarding them is hot weather. I've got a mate who keeps them in ponds under his verandah at his house with quite a bit of success. He's got about 30-40 and breeds them.


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