Axolotl care sheet pdf

If the temperature is too warm then their metabolic rate is speeded up and the Axolotl will feed more but it will be stressed by the high temperature.

The simplest safe method is to use an under tank heating mat which has a thermostatic control to maintain the correct water temperature. This is an important factor in keeping Axolotl in good health. Tap water is perfectly good but as it contains chlorine to kill off any unwanted bacteria and our good ones so it must be stood for at least 24 hours before being added to the tank, this will allow the chlorine to dissipate. When first setting up your tank you will have non of the good bacteria mentioned above present in the gravel and filter so you must allow them to develop before adding your Axolotl.

The tank should be filled to the appropriate level with water and the filter pump turned on as if it has Axolotls in for at least two weeks, preferably three. This will allow the bacteria to begin to develop. The PH level of a given substance is the acidity or alkalinity of it, PH 7 is generally considered to be neutral.

The PH level of the water will have an effect on the nitrate and ammonia in the sense that the more alkaline the water the more toxic the effect of the ammonia or nitrate. Simple inexpensive kits can be purchased to test the water PH level. If you find that your water is beyond the acceptable level 6. You should check the PH level of your Axolotl tank weekly until you can see a leveling out, from this point on you should test it every few weeks.

This can take the form of an internal heating element which should be covered in some way to prevent the. Axolotl from being in direct contact or under tank heating which is probably the easiest and safest to use. If kept too warm it will feed more but become distressed. The easiest way to remove the waste and food remains is with a turkey basting syringe, inexpensive to buy and easy to use — just squeeze the end and release the pressure when over some waste.

Axolotls are not fussy eaters, if it will fit in their wide mouth and go down their throat — they will eat it! Axolotls should have a balanced diet of carnivorous food as they are carnivores.

Worms, strips of meat, crickets, trout pellets, daphnia all make good food for Axolotl but as with people — variety is the spice of life. They require a balanced and varied diet which should include all of the above but none in excessive quantities, they should not be fed purely on worms for example as they would begin to show signs of malnutrition and will develop liver problems if fed on high fat content food for prolonged periods of time.

If you decide to feed with your fingers you should bear in mind that Axolotl have small basic teeth designed to hold food and if you wiggle your fingers too much they will try to grab them.

You should feed your pet Axolotl two or three times a day with a few worms, pellets etc and you will quickly find out what their appetite is like, as mentioned earlier you must remove any unused food the day after it is introduced to the tank or it will begin to sour and spoil the water quality.

The male Axolotl when mature can be differentiated from the female by size, this depends on whether you have a greedy female or not of course! There needs to be a little preparation on your part for a successful mating to occur, firstly the male will need something like a flat slab of stone on to which he will deposit the sperm masses spermatophore and the female will want some aquatic plants on to which she can deposit her — eggs.

Eventually hopefully the female will position her body over the spermatophore and pick them up with her cloaca this can take a few days , around 24 hours later she will deposit her eggs on the plants you provided. The newly laid eggs should be removed immediately to prevent them from being eaten and placed in to a separate small tank which has a good air stone to add extra oxygen for the developing embryos and contains sterile distilled water.

It is advisable to move the eggs around with a soft stick on a daily basis to ensure that all the eggs get some oxygen. The eggs will develop quickly and you will be able to differentiate the live ones from the dead ones by the grayish colour, any gray ones should be removed to prevent them from going bad and affecting the good ones.

Once the eggs have hatched the new Axolotl babies should be placed in to a separate tank with plenty of room and a good air supply, if there is insufficient room they will quickly begin to attack each other and heavy losses will occur.

That being said, there are a few things to look out for…. A small gallon tank is fine for housing an axolotl in. However, providing your axolotl with a larger aquarium, about 20 to 30 gallons, will make it easier to provide them with proper care. This is because the waste they produce can build up, and a small tank will make this process go a lot quicker.

Getting them a larger tank will help to improve the water conditions and give them more space to enjoy. We recommend this tank from amazon. No, axolotls cannot live on land.

They only live in the water, sometimes coming up to breathe but they will never leave the water. Before they grew extinct, axolotls used to inhabit a lake in Mexico.

This one lake was, at the time, the only place where these animals could be found in the wild. Luckily, they thrive in captivity. No, this is not advised. Their skin is extremely delicate and is permeable too. This means that not only can you damage their skin, you can also very easy infect them with various bacteria or chemicals. Axolotl substrate is a topic which is far less debated than most other reptiles and amphibians. There are a few things to remember when choosing axolotl substrate.

The first is, never pick a substrate that is the same size, or smaller than their head. Anything like stones, pebbles or gravel that can fit in their mouth, may end up there.

All in all, a special aquarium sand substrate works fine. If you notice any problems or you see your axolotl eating away at the sand, just remove it! Temperature-wise, axolotls like it cold.

They need the water to be in the range of degrees Fahrenheit roughly 15 to 21 degrees Celsius , between 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal. Water which rises above this temperature is not healthy for your axolotl and can lead to stress and eventually death.

A thermometer that can measure the water temperature is mandatory when keeping axolotls. Luckily these thermometers are cheap.

The water in your aquarium needs to be free from chlorine and other contaminates. This is usually done using special aquarium conditioner kits. If you use one of these kits, tap water usually works fine. Axolotls are a hardy amphibian to keep and are therefor a forgiving pet when it comes to small mistakes. Housing your axolotl in a larger aquarium also helps to keep toxin counts down.

A good filter will further help to keep the water safe for your pet axolotl. Testing the water regularly is important in any aquarium and this is true when housing axolotls too. The speed of water flow is a major cause of stress in axolotls.

This is another reason why a slightly larger tank is beneficial as the currents will not be as strong throughout the whole aquarium. Some things you can try are:. This helps to deflect the strongest water flow and points it away from where your axolotls are. You can also place a rock or some other object in front of the current to prevent it from being too strong.

There are special lights though that can help you light up the aquarium without it harming your pet. That being said, if you need lighting for your aquarium plants to grow, then providing your axolotls with some darker areas works great too. You can also use the plants to prevent the light from penetrating too deep into the tank. When you go to buy your axolotl there are multiple things you should look out for to ensure you get the right one for you.

This part of the post is dedicated to choosing and buying an axolotl. The first thing you need to consider is the morph you want to get. There are however very unique morphs which are lightly or heavily fluorescent, ones who have high melanin levels darker color and many different other pattern variations too.

Most of these morphs are relatively inexpensive, and the albino and leucitic ones are the most common. Missing limbs, blemishes or marks may also be a sign of an unhealthy animal. Healthy axolotls will regenerate body parts unless they are infected. The most important thing you can do to check the health of an axolotl is to see the conditions they are being kept in.

After reading this entire guide you have all the information you need to judge how the animals are being kept.

If the conditions are right then you can be sure that the breeder takes care of their animals. This means that your breeder should be doing a good job! If you ever need to transport your axolotl, or you need to move it into a temporary set up due to infection or due to you needing to clean the cage, then here are a few tips for you:.

Wide mesh may cause limbs or toes to get stuck or injured. By getting a fine mesh net when scooping up your axolotl you prevent any harm from being done.