A few pics of my collection

Here are a few pictures of my axolotls and the only picture I've been able to get of my crocodile skink so far

The axolotls' tank


My wild-type doing a balancing act on the moss ball



My leucistic


My little gfp leucistic


And my usually elusive croc skink

love the croc skink

Cool animals.

Vary nice set ups, live plant and all. What do you filter the water with. And what do they eat?

Thanks everyone

smd58 wrote:

Vary nice set ups, live plant and all. What do you filter the water with. And what do they eat?

I use a zoo med 501 filter, but I want to upgrade to the 511 when I get a chance just to have that little bit of extra filtration and making cleaning easier. And they eat bloodworms and salmon pellets, they can also eat earthworms, I just haven't tried any with them yet, I'm waiting until they're a bit larger

Thanks I learned something new. And that makes it a good day.

Great pics. Are you a member of caudata.org?
Chip

Very cool... I really like the GFP one

I am a member of caudata, Chip. My name on there is magickfox, I'm not very active but feel free to look up my profile

I have been on caudata for years. Most of my collection consists of Asian salamanders and since caudata is pretty much the only English speaking show in town I frequent there on occasion (still a good site though).

I've only been on caudata for about a year now, since shortly before I got my axolotls, but I love the site. I go on there every now and then if I have questions about my 'lotls, but I rarely post since just about any question I could have has already been answered, lol

These are cool, what do they cost? Are they easy to keep? Ok let's go with this what's a good set up. I like them and a aquatic set up in my snake room would help with the humidly.

I think they cost around $30 at a show, at least that's what I paid for my gfp, I got the other two from people I found on Craigslist and Caudata for around $25 each. They're very easy to keep as long as you keep the tank clean and cool. I spot clean mine every other day with a turkey baster to remove the waste and do about 15% water changes every couple weeks. The biggest problem you'd probably have is the temperature if you're keeping them in a snake room because I'd imagine that would be pretty warm and these guys prefer temperatures around 60-68F otherwise they get stressed and sick. The temperature is actually a big reason I chose to get a crocodile skink since they don't need very warm temperatures and I can keep her on the other side of the room without effecting the axolotl tank.

The rule of thumb is one axolotl per every 10 gallons of water. And the ideal setup is sand or no substrate at all, they can ingest pebbles and become impacted really easily because their mouths are like little vacuums lol and food and waste can get stuck down in the bigger stuff like river rocks and make it harder to clean. You also want a few hides, especially with more than one so they can get away from each other if need be. Since they're nocturnal they prefer the dark, I personally don't turn the light to their tank on unless I'm taking a few pictures or need to see to clean it, otherwise I'll turn on a blue LED light if I want to see them better since it seems to not effect them, but some people don't even use that much light.

I think that's the very basics, but in any case Axolotl.org is a great place for general care and housing information, and caudata.org is great for any other questions that aren't answered on the first site.

Your right, probley not good in the reptile room, but I think I'll find a place for at least one.
Thanks for the info. I grew up in Colorado springs I think we saw something close to these in the mouton streams, could never catch them.

Actual axolotls originate from Mexico, but a lot of salamander larvae look very similar, especially tiger salamanders. I've even read a few stories of people buying what they thought were axolotls from a pet store only to have them start to morph into tiger salamanders!

You mentioned keeping your Tribolonotus because the temperature requirements are similar to that of axolotls. Many of the commonly kept New Caledonian species do well, if not best, at room temperatures as long as a supplemental heat source is provided. while I would not recommend keeping a crested gecko in a 60 degree room there is still room for experimentation. Many montane species could also conceivably be kept in a similar environment as well. Some species on my "one of these days" list include some of the old world ratsnakes, which from what I understand also require cool temps for successful maintenence.
Chip

I keep my skink at about 80F with an undertank heater and I'll sometimes use a ceramic heat emitter if things seem particularly cold. What I meant was that I chose to keep a trib. because her heat needs don't have much effect on the rest of the room, like say a uromastyx's would (which is definitely on my wishlist for once I get more space). I do love crested geckos though, I debated on getting those, croc skinks, or chinese cave geckos because they all have similar heating and care needs that work for the space I have right now. I definitely plan to get all of those one day though, plus many more, I just need the space for them all!

Cave geckos are on my list as well. I used to have some of the reptiles in the salamander room however now they are all separated. I am really trying to make a concentrated effort to stimulate the tylos, Echinotriton, and Paramesotriton to breed this year. After years of minimal success I am hoping for better results this time. I am leaving one of the windows open, turning the light cycle down to about eight hours a day, and letting the tanks all but dry up. In a month I am going to reverse all of the aforementioned conditions and see what happens.
Chip

Echinotriton are crocodile newts right? (I'm terrible with remembering the scientific names) Those are pretty high on my list too, along with smooth newts. Good luck with getting yours to breed, I'd like to try and breed my axolotls once they're all old enough.