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| Spunky The Atomic Water Dog |
| Axolotls are found in the wild only in the canal system of the former Lake Xochimilcho in Mexico. They have been available since the 1830's even though they are officially an endangered species. They come in four colors: Black or dark grey, albino, harlequin and golden. They get to be 12 inches long and live for about 10-12 years in captivity (some have been reported to live 20 years). |
| Axolotls are basically overgrown tadpoles. They remain aquatic. They can only change into adult form when the hormone thyroxine is introduced into the diet or when there is an increase in the iodine levels in the water. They will lose their gills, the tail reduces and when they leave the water they become Mexican Salamanders. |
| Making the right housing is fairly easy. They can live in an aquarium measuring about 24x15x12in. The water should be tap water left standing for 48 hours. This should also be neutral (pH 6.5-7.5). The water can be room temperature but their feathery external gills develop more impressively if the water is kept fairly warm (about 73F). The depth of the water can be at least as deep as the length of your Axolotl. A good arrangement would be a layer of large pebbles or gravel on the bottom of the aquarium and pieces of drift wood or rocks to provide hiding places. If you choose to have plants, floating plants are a better proposition. |
| If your Axolotl loses a limb, it can regenerate a new limb over about 8 weeks. The new limb will be just as good as the old one and full flexibility will be retained. A healthy Axolotl will ideally have four limbs, a compleate tail and should hold itself stable in the water. Three branch-like gills on each side of the head enable to Axolotl to breath underwater. Remember, the cooler the water, the smaller the gills since more oxygen is present at lower temperature. |
| The diet of an Axolotl should be earthworms and raw lean meat (ie beef heart) twice a week or other aquatic live food. |
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