This fantastic animal is the dream of every aquarist. Axolotl, the maintenance and care of which are simple, is the neotenic larva of the salamander. Dragons axolotli (so often called these lizards) during the rapid urbanization gradually disappear in the wild. True, they quite successfully breed in captivity, which allows them to maintain their numbers.
Axolotl lizard is of scientific value because of its amazing features to regenerate the tail, gills and even limbs. Currently, quite a few of them are found in home aquariums.
Life in nature
In the natural environment, axolotls live in a system of lakes and water channels in Mexico City. They spend almost their entire lives in water without going to land. Amphibian axolotl prefers deep places in lakes and canals, where there is a lot of aquatic vegetation. During breeding, lizards fix eggs on algae, and then fertilize it. Sochimilco Lake is famous for its floating gardens - strips of land located between canals, where the local population grows flowers and vegetables.
In this system of lakes and irrigation canals, the animal axolotl lives. Translated from the Aztec language, the name of this lizard translates as a water monster. Before the invasion of the Spaniards, the Aztecs quite often consumed them as food. This meat was considered healing, and its taste resembles eel. In our time, axolotls are listed in the Red Book. This species is threatened with extinction. Their habitat is ten square kilometers, while it is scattered, so it’s quite difficult to establish the exact number of these lizards living in nature.
Lizard description
Home axolotl is an ambistoma larva that lives only in Mexico. Its length can be from 90 to 350 mm from the tail to the tip of the "smiling" muzzle. Usually males are noticeably larger than females. Ambistomes exist in two forms - neotenic (a larva living in water and having external gills) and terrestrial, which is fully developed and has smaller gills.
An adult (sexually mature) axolotl in length can grow up to 450 mm, but more often its size is about 230 mm. Individuals larger than 300 mm are quite rare. These lizards grow much faster than other neotenic salamanders, and reach puberty already in the state of the larva.
The main feature of this lizard is the large external gills, which are three processes on the sides of the head. There are also small teeth, but they are designed to hold prey, not tear it.
Axolotl's body color is very diverse - from white to black, various shades of gray, brown and brown. It should be noted that in nature lizards of light tones are quite rare, since they are more vulnerable.
The Mexican axolotl has virtually no bones, especially for young individuals. The basis of their skeleton is cartilage, their skin is delicate and very thin. Therefore, without urgent need (for example, when cleaning the pool), they should not be touched. If you need to catch your pet, use for this purpose a net made of soft and dense fabric with small cells or a plastic / glass container.
The life span of axolotl reaches twenty years, but they do not live in captivity for more than ten years.
Axolotl: maintenance and care
Keeping such an exotic pet at home is easy, but there are moments that affect their life expectancy. The first of them (and the most important) is the temperature of the water. Axolotli are cold-blooded amphibians, so elevated temperature is a great stress for them. At first glance, it may seem strange that these lizards come from Mexico, but they can’t tolerate high temperatures. This is explained quite simply. The fact is that their habitat is located at a high altitude, where the temperature is much lower than in the rest of the country.
Future owners of axolotls need to know that a water temperature above +24 degrees is very uncomfortable for these aquarium inhabitants. If this temperature lasts a long time, it can cause illness and even death of your pet. The best temperature is considered to be below +21 degrees. If you know that you cannot contain axolotl at the required temperature, do not start it, so as not to doom to torment.
Choose soil
Another important detail that is sometimes underestimated is the substrate. Most often, aquarists choose the color, shape and size of the soil at their discretion. But for the Mexican lizard, this factor is very important. For example, in an aquarium without soil, the axolotl feels very uncomfortable. This causes unnecessary stress and can even provoke the appearance of sores on the tips of the paws.
Gravel is also not very suitable for axolotl, since he swallows it quite often. This leads to blockage of the digestive tract and the death of the animal. It is believed that sand is the ideal option for keeping this lizard. He allows her to crawl freely along the bottom.
Aquarium decoration
In many respects this is a matter of the owner’s taste, although some rules should be followed. Small (young) individuals can be kept in small containers (50 liters). Adult lizards require a larger volume (100 liters for one or two individuals). If you want to contain a larger amount, then the volume of the aquarium should be at the rate of 50-80 liters per axolotl.
The decor of the aquarium should not have sharp burrs and edges - they can injure the delicate skin of your pet. Also take care of shelters. There should be more than the number of individuals contained.
Water requirements
The water filtration for these outlandish lizards is slightly different from that required by aquarium fish. Axolotli love a powerful filter, but at the same time a slow flow. Water purity is also important, so owners have to choose a middle ground between efficiency and power. Most of all, in this case, an internal filter with a washcloth is suitable - it is quite powerful, but does not create a strong current.
Does axolotl require frequent water changes? Maintenance and care of these lizards involves a partial weekly water change. Only in the case of these exotic pets, it is necessary to monitor the parameters of the water, as they feed on protein foods and are quite sensitive to the cleanliness of their home. You should not overfeed them and you need to remove the remains of feed in a timely manner.
Compatibility
Aquarists with experience know how important this factor is. However, most often the owners contain axolotl separately, and there are a number of reasons for this. The external gills of these lizards make them easily vulnerable to fish attacks. Even the calmest and slowest aquarium fish are unlikely to resist the urge to bite them. As a result, luxurious processes turn into miserable scraps.
In addition, axolotl is active at night, so sleeping fish become their easy prey. It is quite difficult to find a middle ground between the sizes (so that the fish is not eaten) and aggressiveness (so that the axolotl is not offended).
But there is an exception that allows you to contain lizards with fish. These are goldfish. They are so slow that with good feeding they don’t even try to injure axolotl. In addition, goldfish also require a low water temperature.
Feeding
Axolotl, whose price is slightly lower than other exotic species of lizards, is not very picky in food. The main thing is to remember that in front of you is a predator that needs protein food.
The type and size of food depends on the individual. For example, many of them are happy to eat sinking feed intended for predatory fish, which are released in the form of tablets or granules. In addition, they can be given fish fillet, cut worms, shrimp meat, frozen food, mussel meat, live fish. True, experts do not recommend the latter option, as fish can be a source of infection, to which axolotls are very located.
The rules of feeding are no different from those that exist for fish - you can’t leave food leftovers in the aquarium, since protein feed will immediately rot and spoil the water. Mammalian meat should not be given as food; axolotl cannot digest its protein.
Axolotl: price
The cost of such an unusual inhabitant of the aquarium depends on several factors - age, color (light lizards are more expensive), size. The average price varies from 500 to 750 rubles.
This is an amazing inhabitant of the aquarium - Mexican axolotl. Maintenance and care of him will not be difficult, and the pleasure of watching him compensates for all the troubles.