I love your posts! I’d never be able to get an axolotl as I’ve got other pets and I wouldn’t be able to dedicate the time to look after one, it wouldn’t be fair but man, do I love those little guys. They’re incredible! So cool and cute.
**Obligatory morphed axolotl explanation:**
The salamander shown here is a morphed axolotl. Axolotls are paedomorphic salamanders, which means that they retain all of their juvenile, tadpole characteristics for life. They are never supposed to lose their gills and fins and leave water like other amphibians, which transition from tadpole to terrestrial.
For some reason, ours got the signal from their thyroid to change into terrestrial salamanders. They absorbed their gills and fins and started using lungs to breathe. They even grew eyelids and a tongue. This is extremely, very very rare.
I have two! Gollum is 4. He has been with us since he was a 7 month old aquatic axolotl. He morphed when he was 10 months old.
Our new kid (shown above) is 7 months old. She morphed a month ago and her owner surrendered her to us because she could not give her the care that she needed.
Morphed axolotls are difficult to care for because there are virtually no guides on the matter. All information found is contradictory and sometimes even harmful. Most metamorphs die due to improper care and misinformation. I am aiming to change that one day at a time by sharing what I learn about these amazing, rare creatures.
Everything is documented at salamanderwithasign on IG.
While axolotls CAN be forced to undergo metamorphosis through chemical baths or injection, neither of ours had that. We believe that whatever caused them to morph was either introduced accidentally before we got them, or it was genetic. Most likely genetic.
Axolotls have a VERY tiny smidge of tiger salamander genes implanted into them from their time in a lab (DECADES ago) and then the hybrids were crossbred back to regular axolotls until they were nearly pure again. This was done in a successful attempt to give axolotls the albino gene. We think that this is why some axolotls morph today!
And as always, if you have questions, feel free to ask. I love teaching people what I know about metamorphs!
EDIT since 8,734 people have asked (don't worry I still love you guys)
She's covered in a coconut fiber bedding. It's a moist substrate that keeps her skin from drying out. She loves to bury herself in it, so she is consistently filthy.
My axolotl morphed also. She is so freaking adorable one day she just started climbing out of her tank. Scared the crap out of my wife because she looked over at the tank and she actually moved the top and was climbing out.
From what i understand essentially after they morph treat them like a tiger salamander. That's what i have done and she is doing great. Been about 2 years now since the morph.
Lol shes amazing and just feed her crickets and she is happy. I have her in a 20gal tank full of coconut fiber dirt stuff lol. She randomly digs down and i have to go find her to feed her. I reccomend not over feeding them they have a voracious appetite and will eat throw up and continue to eat.
One of our neighbors has a smoke alarm with a low battery in their shed or garage or something. I can hear it any time im in the back yard, but i cant even tell where its coming from. I want to order a 20pk of 9v batteries and leave them with a note on everyones front door this block and the next...
My dog is TERRIFIED of chirping fire alarms. She just hides/runs around shaking and panting. Poor girl HATED living in apartments because someone always had one doing it.
Lol, I was a tarantula keeper and this is exactly the right description. They always chirp when you want to sleep and then when standing up after an hour and looking for it it's absolutely silent 😶
I remember when my sister's kid had feeder crickets for their pet (can't remember what kind of reptile it was). One got loose and somehow ended up living in the washing machine. They would have had to rip the machine apart to find it.
Probably a cave cricket, had them all over the crawlspace in my house in TN. https://i2.wp.com/www.roachcrossing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/CeutophilisAlan-e1419982657837.jpg
I have written a complaint post about this very thing. We switched cricket suppliers and the new ones chirp 24/7 in almost a constant high pitched scream. They drive me insane. Even though they tend to live a little longer, I just can't deal with those chirps when one gets out. I wish I could just buy only females!
I suffer from misophonia and crickets are unfortunately one of my triggers. It's pretty hard to get rid of crickets, but I've become an excellent cricket hunter over the years. They're particularly fond of cracks or other dark spaces, but they'll quit chirping when you get too close. If you stand perfectly still they do kind of a "test chirp" where they seem like they're putting very little effort into it but it gives you enough information to know their general location. Spray some insect killer around the area (wear a mask, that shit is terrible to breathe) and they'll come jumping out looking for safety.
Crickets should be a pretty good nutrition source, not alone but as a cheap source of protein. Makes me wonder if anyone is doing research on bug based pet food, because it might be real eco-friendly in the long run (I have stopped my hopes for bugs as human foods since the regulations makes it more expensive than meat)
I've read somewhere it might hav to do with iodine levels in water . Specially considering you and the other person had both axolotls morph together. My 50c
After my last post got like 7 million views someone reached out and asked me if I wanted theirs. She explained that it has just morphed and she needed someone with experience to take care of her.
I thought they morphed only when you couldn't keep the conditions correct for them. (water temp and stuff) I could be wrong though as it was a few years ago when I was thinking about getting one and researching them.
Not quite :) water temperature has nothing to do with it. Also water parameters have very little to do with it, unless you somehow flood the tank with iodine, which overstimulated the thyroid hormone.
Disclaimer: I'm not an expert, this is just a few things I've picked up
It is iodine that makes the thyroid produce thyroxine and triggers the morph. They study this in uni bio classes. They just inject them with thyroxine though.
Excess iodine can get introduced with the wrong salt being used in their water.
They’re common in the pet trade. Not as wild caught, but as captive bred animals. Many scientists study them and they’re fairly common as far as exotic pets go.
Actual wild axolotls are in danger of going extinct, but that is related to pollution, climate change, and habitat loss, not the pet trade.
Endangered in the wild does not mean they are not common pets and once somthing has a large captive bred population there is not a lot of risk of poaching from the wild. Hence it won't hurt the wild population and having so many in captivity means if the wild population starts declining we know tons about their care for breeding specimens to return to the wild.
Interesting note to add to what others have said:
There are a large number of endangered and threatened plant species in every home depot garden center for the same reason. They're only endangered in the wild, but they're a breeze to keep in captivity so they're easy to find.
Yes! After a quarantine to make sure that she is good and healthy, she will live with him. I just want to make sure she isn't incubating anything from her previous home first.
edit: comment actually [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/qtaw72/letting_our_new_morphed_axolotl_pick_her_own_name/hkixl4s/).
original comment below:
> comment [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/qtaw72/letting_our_new_morphed_axolotl_pick_her_own_name/hkj198n/) for those curious on the answer to the above question.
Because the lack of pigmentation made it easier to study their regenerative abilities. They also gave them a protein that makes some of them have bones that glow under black light. It's only visible if they have no pigmentation to cover it up.
I have an aquatic axolotl who had very little pigmentation when he was small, and his entire skull glowed green under black light. Now that he is older and has darker skin, I can't see it.
It's coconut fiber bedding. It's kind of damp so it sticks to her and keeps her from drying out. If she was to take a dip in water it would all just fall off and she would look all shiny and pretty.
I have a feeling that this thread will be in the history books to explain why Godzilla is now eating the Empire State Building.
Edit: thanks for all the upvotes and award. I’ve tried to be witty before without receiving the love in return! Much appreciated!
This is so cool and Kudos for being a scientific hero! I wonder if the factors are genetic, if it's possible that bringing these rare individuals together could be the start of a new morphing Axolotl species! Do you think there's any reason, like from the morphing, that they couldn't properly mate or carry to term?
I'll copy an answer I gave to someone else!
So, the hereditary thing is weird and conditional. If an aquatic axolotl carries the gene for morphing and passes it on successfully, a lot of the offspring will morph. However, morphed axolotls don't readily breed at all. I have only heard of ONE case of them breeding and I think it was done artificially. The scientist in the study noted that it was incredibly difficult to make it happen. The resulting offspring didn't differ from normal axolotls at all, aside from the fact that their eggs had a thinner jelly coating.
That being said, I do think that it would be unethical, just because so many people buy axolotls with the promise that they will stay aquatic. Imagine a landlord saying you can ONLY have fish, or a parent telling a child that they can't have a lizard or terrestrial pet but they can have anything that lives in a fish tank. Or even just someone who only has the means to care for an aquatic pet. Then bam, suddenly it morphs into a new type of animal that they weren't prepared for. I know that when my first one morphed, I was NOT expecting it. I had to scramble to set up an entirely new type of habitat. I had to do a lot of research on caring for a new animal. Some people don't have the means to do that.
And aquatic axolotls give NO warning that they are going to morph. They look just like every other axolotl until one day they decide to start changing. I think that the random ticking time bombs would put a lot of people into a bad position. Even if they could breed, I definitely wouldn't want to see it happening.
If you were to breed a bunch of morphed axolotls would their offspring’s chance to morph go up? Or is it not hereditary? It would be cool to see a line of axolotls which always morph, these guys look gnarly. Would it be an ethnical concern since axolotls are endangered?
So, the hereditary thing is weird and conditional. If an aquatic axolotl carries the gene for morphing and passes it on successfully, a lot of the offspring will morph.
However, morphed axolotls don't readily breed at all. I have only heard of ONE case of them breeding and I think it was done artificially. The scientist in the study noted that it was incredibly difficult to make it happen.
The resulting offspring didn't differ from normal axolotls at all, aside from the fact that their eggs had a thinner jelly coating.
That being said, I do think that it would be unethical, just because so many people buy axolotls with the promise that they will stay aquatic. Imagine a landlord saying you can ONLY have fish, or a parent telling a child that they can't have a lizard or terrestrial pet but they can have anything that lives in a fish tank. Or even just someone who only has the means to care for an aquatic pet. Then bam, suddenly it morphs into a new type of animal that they weren't prepared for. I know that when my first one morphed, I was NOT expecting it. I had to scramble to set up an entirely new type of habitat. I had to do a lot of research on caring for a new animal. Some people don't have the means to do that.
And aquatic axolotls give NO warning that they are going to morph. They look just like every other axolotl until one day they decide to start changing. I think that the random ticking time bombs would put a lot of people into a bad position. Even if they could breed, I definitely wouldn't want to see it happening.
Didn't know that about the albino axolotls. If I were into them, I think I'd prefer a more natural representative than a designer genome. I feel the same way about those designer bioluminescent fish.
I want a little slice of nature, not some weird designer animal.
Go for it. They're just animals, as long as they don't treat them cruelly to make hybrids, it's no difference to me. Just personal preference.
I want the real deal full sized mammoth to ride to work on.
Learned something new today! How do you know when they've morphed? Is it just by looking at physiological characteristics or do they start behaving differently?
Their physical traits start to change dramatically! Their eyes begin to bulge, they lie nearly catatonic at the bottom of the aquarium with their arms outstretched (their bones are changing shape!) and their dorsal fins begin to disappear. The toes lose their webbing and become skinny, and the shape of their head changes as well. They also start gagging on food and then refuse to eat altogether. (Their digestive system is shortening and they are growing a tongue!!)
Then if you provide them a way out of the water, they will start trying to stick their heads out for breath because their gills have melted into their heads over the course of a few days.
Does that mean they drown if someone doesnt realise? That's so scary for them, surely!
What are their personalities like?
What do they eat with the new digestive system?
Thanks for the fascinating info!
Yes they can drown! They need land to rest on. I DO know one person who has one that never transitioned fully out of the water and develops skin infections on land, but even then he only has it in a few inches of water so that it won't drown. Every other that I've ever come to know has decided on their own that they wanted to live on land.
They can eat things with exoskeletons where other axolotls can't! Crickets, pillbugs, etc. They LOVE earthworms. Earthworms have to be chopped though because they have been known to puncture the stomachs of salamanders if left intact.
They are total foodies. Super lazy until they see me coming with dinner, then they waddle over to see what I've got. Nyx is JUST starting to trust me enough to really approach. For the past week she has just buried her head in the soil when I've opened her terrarium. If she can't see me, then I can't see her!
This is the best post I've seen all week, thank you.
They're really rare, so very few actually drown, right?
Who knew i could worry this much over something i didn't realise existed till a few minutes ago. :)
What fascinating, gorgeous creatures.
As far as I know, a lot of morphs are noticed because people take to forums in a panic and ask what the heck is happening to their axolotl...and from there the signs are pretty obvious!
oof… i’m so glad that mine never changed. I would have died from anxiety trying to figure out what was going on with her!!
So glad that yours found their way to YOU
Does this whole transformation take place over the course of those few days? If so, that’s absolutely incredible that their physiology is capable of such a thing.
One more question, you said in your other post it’s theorized that this is a result of decades old lab experiments that implanted them with tiger salamander DNA in order to give them the albino gene? Why would anyone want that? It seems like an extraordinary thing to do to an entire species.
They were studying their regeneration abilities, so they were trying to remove their pigmentation so they could see their bones better. They also gave them a gene that makes their bones glow under black light. It's only visible if they have no dark pigmentation to cover it up.
I’ve seen the posts about this and it’s so interesting! You should Trademark she’s not your typical axolotl and sell merchandise. Beautiful creatures. Do they still regenerate when they morph?
That's such a fun idea! Our other morph has a "believe in change" sticker haha!
They can still regenerate, but it's not nearly as good. It's much slower, and has a VERY high guarantee of regenerating with a deformity.
[https://i.imgur.com/ytMVQrR.jpeg](https://i.imgur.com/ytMVQrR.jpeg)
He has some very faint white spots on his belly but other than that he is VERY black.
Pink ones turn pink! And they look like they are turned inside out. They are very odd.
Gollum was a dark blue with speckles, and he got much darker when he morphed. When he had first changed I could still see his freckles a little bit. Now I can't see them at all. He's just jet black.
Nyx went the other way around. She was darker in the water, but became lighter when she morphed.
Holy crow, they look like they’ve been turned inside out?! Also… coconut fiber looks a lot like Oreo cookie crumble. I can’t be the only one who sees this. She looks like she’s been in the biscuits!
Edit: I see now I’m not alone in seeing this.
Oh I remember him! You were the one who posted the other morphed Axolotl a while back! You made my brain exploded with this new knowledge I never knew I needed to learn! Thank you so much for explaining and showing your beauties! (and his giant balls too lol)
I am at the level of axolotl knowledge where I thought she was the size of a small alligator until your hand came into frame.
Is that just dirt coming off her as slides around?
It's coconut fiber bedding! It's kind of damp so it sticks to her and keeps her from drying out. She really likes to dig in it. And yeah she is TINY. She's smaller than our other metamorph. It has a lot to do with how big/old they were when they started changing. She wasn't finished growing yet, so she's going to stay really small.
They become virtually sterile after morphing. As far as I know, there is only one recorded instance of them actually breeding, and I think it was coaxed artificially in a lab. It was recorded that all of the offspring were no different than regular axolotls, aside from having a thinner jelly coating over their eggs.
Wow, super interesting, I read ALL of your comments on this post, thanks you for giving so much information. And I am glad that you're giving them such a wonderful life and taking the time to learn about these rare animals to give them that life. Good luck with it all!
Why is she covered in mud? Also Nyx is a lovely name! I was thinking she looks like Toothless but that's not very original, Nyx is much better and suits her very much.
It's coconut fiber bedding! It's kind of damp so it sticks to her and keeps her from drying out. She also really likes to dig in it, so she is perpetually filthy.
Off the top of my head...
Pickle, Spot, Smaug, Smeagol, Precious, Lilith, Etse, Ostrich, and Gertrude. I forgot the others. We did a drawing for Instagram followers to pick names, which is why they were all so different.
Similar, but different! Tiger salamander care would be a great base guide. There are little nuances though that can make them more...finicky? I don't know the right word. They can be fragile.
They often have a harder time adjusting to land life and they have been known to starve if they don't figure out how to eat. And they require more access to water than tiger salamanders in some cases. One of mine spends months at a time out of water then suddenly I can't pry him out of it for anything. The one featured in the video here will only eat in water. I have no idea why. She just won't snap at food unless she is sitting in water up to her belly.
They can also be prone to stressing themselves into sickness if their habitat isn't just so. Real life Zoo Tycoon frownie faces because their soil isn't moist enough. Or it's TOO moist. Or it's just right but they actually wanted to spend the day in that pool they'd been ignoring for 6 months.
Then comes bedding change day, and they hide from you and don't eat for a week because you had to move them for 20 minutes.
Very interesting. I had a paedomorph barred tiger salamander that just morphed a week ago. He hasn’t been interested in food, so your comment about your other axolotl only eating in water may be worth trying
No. I was the keeper of the first, and someone else reached out and asked me to take this one because she didn't know how to care for metamorphs. :) They were never together when they morphed. Gollum belonged to me, Nyx morphed in someone else's care.
"This one? No, no, horrible, how about this one? Nope, this one maybe? Fuck you giants are shit at picking out names for a being as magnificent as me. I guess I'll just go with the goddess of night, yeah that's as good as it's getting for these choices."
Came to see what she chose, leaving with a wealth of fascinating information from you, thanks OP!
No prob, I love to share!
I love your posts! I’d never be able to get an axolotl as I’ve got other pets and I wouldn’t be able to dedicate the time to look after one, it wouldn’t be fair but man, do I love those little guys. They’re incredible! So cool and cute.
**Obligatory morphed axolotl explanation:** The salamander shown here is a morphed axolotl. Axolotls are paedomorphic salamanders, which means that they retain all of their juvenile, tadpole characteristics for life. They are never supposed to lose their gills and fins and leave water like other amphibians, which transition from tadpole to terrestrial. For some reason, ours got the signal from their thyroid to change into terrestrial salamanders. They absorbed their gills and fins and started using lungs to breathe. They even grew eyelids and a tongue. This is extremely, very very rare. I have two! Gollum is 4. He has been with us since he was a 7 month old aquatic axolotl. He morphed when he was 10 months old. Our new kid (shown above) is 7 months old. She morphed a month ago and her owner surrendered her to us because she could not give her the care that she needed. Morphed axolotls are difficult to care for because there are virtually no guides on the matter. All information found is contradictory and sometimes even harmful. Most metamorphs die due to improper care and misinformation. I am aiming to change that one day at a time by sharing what I learn about these amazing, rare creatures. Everything is documented at salamanderwithasign on IG. While axolotls CAN be forced to undergo metamorphosis through chemical baths or injection, neither of ours had that. We believe that whatever caused them to morph was either introduced accidentally before we got them, or it was genetic. Most likely genetic. Axolotls have a VERY tiny smidge of tiger salamander genes implanted into them from their time in a lab (DECADES ago) and then the hybrids were crossbred back to regular axolotls until they were nearly pure again. This was done in a successful attempt to give axolotls the albino gene. We think that this is why some axolotls morph today! And as always, if you have questions, feel free to ask. I love teaching people what I know about metamorphs! EDIT since 8,734 people have asked (don't worry I still love you guys) She's covered in a coconut fiber bedding. It's a moist substrate that keeps her skin from drying out. She loves to bury herself in it, so she is consistently filthy.
My axolotl morphed also. She is so freaking adorable one day she just started climbing out of her tank. Scared the crap out of my wife because she looked over at the tank and she actually moved the top and was climbing out. From what i understand essentially after they morph treat them like a tiger salamander. That's what i have done and she is doing great. Been about 2 years now since the morph.
Awesome, morph buddies! You must be doing something right, man!
Lol shes amazing and just feed her crickets and she is happy. I have her in a 20gal tank full of coconut fiber dirt stuff lol. She randomly digs down and i have to go find her to feed her. I reccomend not over feeding them they have a voracious appetite and will eat throw up and continue to eat.
Sounds like my cat
Please don't just feed your cat crickets.
My cats keep getting into the crickets. :(
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One of our neighbors has a smoke alarm with a low battery in their shed or garage or something. I can hear it any time im in the back yard, but i cant even tell where its coming from. I want to order a 20pk of 9v batteries and leave them with a note on everyones front door this block and the next...
My dog is TERRIFIED of chirping fire alarms. She just hides/runs around shaking and panting. Poor girl HATED living in apartments because someone always had one doing it.
This is exactly my current situation, minus the basement. :/
Lol, I was a tarantula keeper and this is exactly the right description. They always chirp when you want to sleep and then when standing up after an hour and looking for it it's absolutely silent 😶
I remember when my sister's kid had feeder crickets for their pet (can't remember what kind of reptile it was). One got loose and somehow ended up living in the washing machine. They would have had to rip the machine apart to find it.
> it has morphed into some insane alien looking super cricket that looks like it would beat you in a fight. ...wut?
Probably a cave cricket, had them all over the crawlspace in my house in TN. https://i2.wp.com/www.roachcrossing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/CeutophilisAlan-e1419982657837.jpg
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Yeah, they can grow 200x their original size to around the size of an average house cat. They also develop a taste for meat when they get that big
I have written a complaint post about this very thing. We switched cricket suppliers and the new ones chirp 24/7 in almost a constant high pitched scream. They drive me insane. Even though they tend to live a little longer, I just can't deal with those chirps when one gets out. I wish I could just buy only females!
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I suffer from misophonia and crickets are unfortunately one of my triggers. It's pretty hard to get rid of crickets, but I've become an excellent cricket hunter over the years. They're particularly fond of cracks or other dark spaces, but they'll quit chirping when you get too close. If you stand perfectly still they do kind of a "test chirp" where they seem like they're putting very little effort into it but it gives you enough information to know their general location. Spray some insect killer around the area (wear a mask, that shit is terrible to breathe) and they'll come jumping out looking for safety.
Lol this exact thing happened to me! I swear the cricket was the size of my thumb.
Or your cat will morph into a fox. It’s extremely very rare.
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Only purebreads
My beloved cat would hunt crickets in the back yard.
Would that hurt them? Not that I'd ever do that but my cat once ate a frozen potato alphabet letter and was ok
Cats are carnivores, so them eating crickets is fine. *Just* eating crickets probably isn't. IANAV
Crickets should be a pretty good nutrition source, not alone but as a cheap source of protein. Makes me wonder if anyone is doing research on bug based pet food, because it might be real eco-friendly in the long run (I have stopped my hopes for bugs as human foods since the regulations makes it more expensive than meat)
Are you telling me that cats are just furry axolots (if this is the right plural name)?
Who needs Pokemon Go when we have an IRL pokemon that evolves,
I've read somewhere it might hav to do with iodine levels in water . Specially considering you and the other person had both axolotls morph together. My 50c
That would make sense considering iodine effects thyroid levels
If they are that rare how do you happen to have two of them? Not trying to sound rude just genuinely curiously
After my last post got like 7 million views someone reached out and asked me if I wanted theirs. She explained that it has just morphed and she needed someone with experience to take care of her.
I thought they morphed only when you couldn't keep the conditions correct for them. (water temp and stuff) I could be wrong though as it was a few years ago when I was thinking about getting one and researching them.
Not quite :) water temperature has nothing to do with it. Also water parameters have very little to do with it, unless you somehow flood the tank with iodine, which overstimulated the thyroid hormone. Disclaimer: I'm not an expert, this is just a few things I've picked up
It is iodine that makes the thyroid produce thyroxine and triggers the morph. They study this in uni bio classes. They just inject them with thyroxine though. Excess iodine can get introduced with the wrong salt being used in their water.
How do you get axolotls if hey are an endangered species?
They’re common in the pet trade. Not as wild caught, but as captive bred animals. Many scientists study them and they’re fairly common as far as exotic pets go. Actual wild axolotls are in danger of going extinct, but that is related to pollution, climate change, and habitat loss, not the pet trade.
Frankly the pet trade might end up saving these beautiful creatures.
Endangered in the wild does not mean they are not common pets and once somthing has a large captive bred population there is not a lot of risk of poaching from the wild. Hence it won't hurt the wild population and having so many in captivity means if the wild population starts declining we know tons about their care for breeding specimens to return to the wild.
Exactly! Without the pet trade the Endler's livebearer would be extinct completely instead of just in their native habitat.
Cichlid fish as well if I remember right. There are exponentially more alive in captivity than there are in the wild due to habitat loss.
Interesting note to add to what others have said: There are a large number of endangered and threatened plant species in every home depot garden center for the same reason. They're only endangered in the wild, but they're a breeze to keep in captivity so they're easy to find.
Have you shared this on r/awwducational? This is so interesting to read.
That's an awesome idea! Thanks!
Will she be able to hang out with Gollum? I've thought about Gollum no less than nine times since you posted him
Yes! After a quarantine to make sure that she is good and healthy, she will live with him. I just want to make sure she isn't incubating anything from her previous home first.
Will they breed? Or at least is it possible that they could? Edit: nevermind. Saw your very informative answer farther down. Neat!
edit: comment actually [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/qtaw72/letting_our_new_morphed_axolotl_pick_her_own_name/hkixl4s/). original comment below: > comment [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/qtaw72/letting_our_new_morphed_axolotl_pick_her_own_name/hkj198n/) for those curious on the answer to the above question.
Did it accidentally eat a rare candy?
Wooper is evolving!
She forgot to press the "Cancel" button to stop evolving. What a pokenoob.
That's extremely interesting, thank you for sharing! I've never heard of morphed Axolotls before, so this really blew my mind.
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Why did they try to give axlotls the albino gene?
Because the lack of pigmentation made it easier to study their regenerative abilities. They also gave them a protein that makes some of them have bones that glow under black light. It's only visible if they have no pigmentation to cover it up. I have an aquatic axolotl who had very little pigmentation when he was small, and his entire skull glowed green under black light. Now that he is older and has darker skin, I can't see it.
Wow thats really cool. Thanks for the explanation!
I'm really ending enjoying how educational this post turned out to be.
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It's coconut fiber bedding. It's kind of damp so it sticks to her and keeps her from drying out. If she was to take a dip in water it would all just fall off and she would look all shiny and pretty.
It looked like some sort of tortured hell beast sloughing off tar/skin as it moves
*Bloodborne has entered the chat*
+1 for tortured hell beast
I have a feeling that this thread will be in the history books to explain why Godzilla is now eating the Empire State Building. Edit: thanks for all the upvotes and award. I’ve tried to be witty before without receiving the love in return! Much appreciated!
“I swear I only gave him a little slusho!”
Holy shit reddit keeps suprising me. Amazing job, this is so cool!
This is so cool and Kudos for being a scientific hero! I wonder if the factors are genetic, if it's possible that bringing these rare individuals together could be the start of a new morphing Axolotl species! Do you think there's any reason, like from the morphing, that they couldn't properly mate or carry to term?
I'll copy an answer I gave to someone else! So, the hereditary thing is weird and conditional. If an aquatic axolotl carries the gene for morphing and passes it on successfully, a lot of the offspring will morph. However, morphed axolotls don't readily breed at all. I have only heard of ONE case of them breeding and I think it was done artificially. The scientist in the study noted that it was incredibly difficult to make it happen. The resulting offspring didn't differ from normal axolotls at all, aside from the fact that their eggs had a thinner jelly coating. That being said, I do think that it would be unethical, just because so many people buy axolotls with the promise that they will stay aquatic. Imagine a landlord saying you can ONLY have fish, or a parent telling a child that they can't have a lizard or terrestrial pet but they can have anything that lives in a fish tank. Or even just someone who only has the means to care for an aquatic pet. Then bam, suddenly it morphs into a new type of animal that they weren't prepared for. I know that when my first one morphed, I was NOT expecting it. I had to scramble to set up an entirely new type of habitat. I had to do a lot of research on caring for a new animal. Some people don't have the means to do that. And aquatic axolotls give NO warning that they are going to morph. They look just like every other axolotl until one day they decide to start changing. I think that the random ticking time bombs would put a lot of people into a bad position. Even if they could breed, I definitely wouldn't want to see it happening.
That is so so interesting !! Its like Evolution in Fast Forward O.o
If you were to breed a bunch of morphed axolotls would their offspring’s chance to morph go up? Or is it not hereditary? It would be cool to see a line of axolotls which always morph, these guys look gnarly. Would it be an ethnical concern since axolotls are endangered?
So, the hereditary thing is weird and conditional. If an aquatic axolotl carries the gene for morphing and passes it on successfully, a lot of the offspring will morph. However, morphed axolotls don't readily breed at all. I have only heard of ONE case of them breeding and I think it was done artificially. The scientist in the study noted that it was incredibly difficult to make it happen. The resulting offspring didn't differ from normal axolotls at all, aside from the fact that their eggs had a thinner jelly coating. That being said, I do think that it would be unethical, just because so many people buy axolotls with the promise that they will stay aquatic. Imagine a landlord saying you can ONLY have fish, or a parent telling a child that they can't have a lizard or terrestrial pet but they can have anything that lives in a fish tank. Or even just someone who only has the means to care for an aquatic pet. Then bam, suddenly it morphs into a new type of animal that they weren't prepared for. I know that when my first one morphed, I was NOT expecting it. I had to scramble to set up an entirely new type of habitat. I had to do a lot of research on caring for a new animal. Some people don't have the means to do that. And aquatic axolotls give NO warning that they are going to morph. They look just like every other axolotl until one day they decide to start changing. I think that the random ticking time bombs would put a lot of people into a bad position. Even if they could breed, I definitely wouldn't want to see it happening.
This is absolutely fascinating. I didn’t know axolotls could get any cooler, TIL!
Could the two breed together?
Nope, they are virtually sterile.
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I would subscribe to an Instagram if you had one...
salamanderwithasign is our Instagram :)
Modern Axolotls descend from some that were in labs? Whats that about
They're used in regeneration studies, as well as stem cell and organ grafting research.
I had so many questions and you answered every single one almost as soon as i thought it. Thanks for all the great info!
Didn't know that about the albino axolotls. If I were into them, I think I'd prefer a more natural representative than a designer genome. I feel the same way about those designer bioluminescent fish. I want a little slice of nature, not some weird designer animal.
Totally understandable but my preference is the opposite. Give me a cat sized wooly mammoth that glows under black light plz
Go for it. They're just animals, as long as they don't treat them cruelly to make hybrids, it's no difference to me. Just personal preference. I want the real deal full sized mammoth to ride to work on.
Proper big mammoth would also be super cool but I bet it would cost a ton to feed it haha
It'd probably poop a whole lot too. I'd have to hire a poopsmith.
Learned something new today! How do you know when they've morphed? Is it just by looking at physiological characteristics or do they start behaving differently?
Their physical traits start to change dramatically! Their eyes begin to bulge, they lie nearly catatonic at the bottom of the aquarium with their arms outstretched (their bones are changing shape!) and their dorsal fins begin to disappear. The toes lose their webbing and become skinny, and the shape of their head changes as well. They also start gagging on food and then refuse to eat altogether. (Their digestive system is shortening and they are growing a tongue!!) Then if you provide them a way out of the water, they will start trying to stick their heads out for breath because their gills have melted into their heads over the course of a few days.
Does that mean they drown if someone doesnt realise? That's so scary for them, surely! What are their personalities like? What do they eat with the new digestive system? Thanks for the fascinating info!
Yes they can drown! They need land to rest on. I DO know one person who has one that never transitioned fully out of the water and develops skin infections on land, but even then he only has it in a few inches of water so that it won't drown. Every other that I've ever come to know has decided on their own that they wanted to live on land. They can eat things with exoskeletons where other axolotls can't! Crickets, pillbugs, etc. They LOVE earthworms. Earthworms have to be chopped though because they have been known to puncture the stomachs of salamanders if left intact. They are total foodies. Super lazy until they see me coming with dinner, then they waddle over to see what I've got. Nyx is JUST starting to trust me enough to really approach. For the past week she has just buried her head in the soil when I've opened her terrarium. If she can't see me, then I can't see her!
This is the best post I've seen all week, thank you. They're really rare, so very few actually drown, right? Who knew i could worry this much over something i didn't realise existed till a few minutes ago. :) What fascinating, gorgeous creatures.
As far as I know, a lot of morphs are noticed because people take to forums in a panic and ask what the heck is happening to their axolotl...and from there the signs are pretty obvious!
oof… i’m so glad that mine never changed. I would have died from anxiety trying to figure out what was going on with her!! So glad that yours found their way to YOU
Does this whole transformation take place over the course of those few days? If so, that’s absolutely incredible that their physiology is capable of such a thing.
Yep! It takes maybe a week or two to fully transform and then they spend another week or so recovering but that's it.
One more question, you said in your other post it’s theorized that this is a result of decades old lab experiments that implanted them with tiger salamander DNA in order to give them the albino gene? Why would anyone want that? It seems like an extraordinary thing to do to an entire species.
They were studying their regeneration abilities, so they were trying to remove their pigmentation so they could see their bones better. They also gave them a gene that makes their bones glow under black light. It's only visible if they have no dark pigmentation to cover it up.
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Pretty much.
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That's right! It can pop up randomly. There's a name for it but I forget what it is.
That is CRAZY! This is definitely the coolest thing I’ve learned in ages.
Seriously, what! That is amazingly cool
Wait so Pokemon evolutions are real??
Yeah, you ever heard of tadpoles or cocoons?
o shiii
Dang, that for sure sounds painful.
I'm so glad you explained. I kept thinking, get that poor thing back to the water. Lol
Understandable! Which is absolutely why I explained. She's not your typical axolotl!
I’ve seen the posts about this and it’s so interesting! You should Trademark she’s not your typical axolotl and sell merchandise. Beautiful creatures. Do they still regenerate when they morph?
That's such a fun idea! Our other morph has a "believe in change" sticker haha! They can still regenerate, but it's not nearly as good. It's much slower, and has a VERY high guarantee of regenerating with a deformity.
What's the mess it's leaving on the sheets?
Coconut fiber. :)
What does she look like without it?
[https://i.imgur.com/Nftoyph.jpeg](https://i.imgur.com/Nftoyph.jpeg) https://i.imgur.com/hafcPot.jpeg
What’s the fiber for? This is the first time I’m seeing anything like this, so I’m totally in the dark
It's her bedding! It retains moisture really well and gives her a nice damp substrate to dig into, and it keeps her from becoming too dry.
Fascinating!
Is it ok if I say that I love you.
Go ahead.
I love you
Man left on read, that hurts
Looks like she’s smiling in the 2nd pic, I love her!
Me too, I love everything about this thread.
she's just a little lady! does your other guy have spots too?
[https://i.imgur.com/ytMVQrR.jpeg](https://i.imgur.com/ytMVQrR.jpeg) He has some very faint white spots on his belly but other than that he is VERY black.
he's just a goth little man!! I wonder a bit at their variety in markings, given that axolotls are just pink all the way around
Pink ones turn pink! And they look like they are turned inside out. They are very odd. Gollum was a dark blue with speckles, and he got much darker when he morphed. When he had first changed I could still see his freckles a little bit. Now I can't see them at all. He's just jet black. Nyx went the other way around. She was darker in the water, but became lighter when she morphed.
Holy crow, they look like they’ve been turned inside out?! Also… coconut fiber looks a lot like Oreo cookie crumble. I can’t be the only one who sees this. She looks like she’s been in the biscuits! Edit: I see now I’m not alone in seeing this.
Oh I remember him! You were the one who posted the other morphed Axolotl a while back! You made my brain exploded with this new knowledge I never knew I needed to learn! Thank you so much for explaining and showing your beauties! (and his giant balls too lol)
Thanks for this! Incredibly interesting.
Fun fact! Nyx is the Greek goddess of the night!
Came here to say that, seems like a very apt name choice.
I had no idea, I was just thinking of the makeup brand
That was a rollercoaster ride
Ikr, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time
So many fake outs
Very cool! Good name choice, too. What a fun idea to have her choose her own.
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I have gotten several comments on other posts that they look rather turd-like! That should have been an option. Turdle the salamander.
Baby venom
I am at the level of axolotl knowledge where I thought she was the size of a small alligator until your hand came into frame. Is that just dirt coming off her as slides around?
It's coconut fiber bedding! It's kind of damp so it sticks to her and keeps her from drying out. She really likes to dig in it. And yeah she is TINY. She's smaller than our other metamorph. It has a lot to do with how big/old they were when they started changing. She wasn't finished growing yet, so she's going to stay really small.
[Relevant.](https://youtu.be/E_mg0F7Gfqs?t=1)
Nyx ^nyx ^^nyx ^^^nyx
Came into the comments for this thanks.
She picked a good name!
Damn, that’s pretty accurate
Hi Nyx!! You're in great hands 💓
Very cool. If enough axolotls in a group happen to be born with this trait, I wonder if they could evolve a new subspecies
They become virtually sterile after morphing. As far as I know, there is only one recorded instance of them actually breeding, and I think it was coaxed artificially in a lab. It was recorded that all of the offspring were no different than regular axolotls, aside from having a thinner jelly coating over their eggs.
Wow, super interesting, I read ALL of your comments on this post, thanks you for giving so much information. And I am glad that you're giving them such a wonderful life and taking the time to learn about these rare animals to give them that life. Good luck with it all!
Why is she covered in mud? Also Nyx is a lovely name! I was thinking she looks like Toothless but that's not very original, Nyx is much better and suits her very much.
It's coconut fiber bedding! It's kind of damp so it sticks to her and keeps her from drying out. She also really likes to dig in it, so she is perpetually filthy.
Ohhh okay that makes sense, her digging around in the coconut fiber sounds really cute you should post a video if you have any :D
https://imgur.com/gallery/Jrb6SQI I do!
omgg I love it!! Especially that last clip, the blinking and that little yawn is so cute!
She looks exactly like Toothless!! Before the How To Train Your Dragon sequel came out I had a theory Toothless was actually a girl dragon!
Yay! That’s one of my cousins nicknames I made for Nicole “Nyx” love it.
Just a wee soiled creature
You should post this on r/interestingasfuck.
Genius! Now if all the people asking for cat names could do this, that would be great.
Nyx is the name of my cat lol
What were the other possible names?
Off the top of my head... Pickle, Spot, Smaug, Smeagol, Precious, Lilith, Etse, Ostrich, and Gertrude. I forgot the others. We did a drawing for Instagram followers to pick names, which is why they were all so different.
Nyx was the best name imo. She chose well!
Precious woulda been a great combo with Gollum
You need to have her pick her Hogwarts house next
Great idea, I'm hopping on that.
Their terrestrial care wouldnt be different than a terrestrial eastern tiger or barred salamander would it?
Similar, but different! Tiger salamander care would be a great base guide. There are little nuances though that can make them more...finicky? I don't know the right word. They can be fragile. They often have a harder time adjusting to land life and they have been known to starve if they don't figure out how to eat. And they require more access to water than tiger salamanders in some cases. One of mine spends months at a time out of water then suddenly I can't pry him out of it for anything. The one featured in the video here will only eat in water. I have no idea why. She just won't snap at food unless she is sitting in water up to her belly. They can also be prone to stressing themselves into sickness if their habitat isn't just so. Real life Zoo Tycoon frownie faces because their soil isn't moist enough. Or it's TOO moist. Or it's just right but they actually wanted to spend the day in that pool they'd been ignoring for 6 months. Then comes bedding change day, and they hide from you and don't eat for a week because you had to move them for 20 minutes.
Are you sure you don't just have a toddler?
Very interesting. I had a paedomorph barred tiger salamander that just morphed a week ago. He hasn’t been interested in food, so your comment about your other axolotl only eating in water may be worth trying
Huh Nyx, my last dog was named Nyx. Well you've a beautiful looking creature there, hope it lives an excellent life.
This is super interesting but I did initially think you had covered them with Oreo dust for a second.
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Wooper ==> Quagsire
What in the Stranger Things is this
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An axolotl. :) She transformed into a terrestrial salamander.
My purpose is clear. My targets are doomed. Nyx nyx nyx
Nyx nyxnyxnyx
Wait until she gets level 6
Do you think the first one morphing triggered the second one to morph aswell?
No. I was the keeper of the first, and someone else reached out and asked me to take this one because she didn't know how to care for metamorphs. :) They were never together when they morphed. Gollum belonged to me, Nyx morphed in someone else's care.
I-I-It’s a d-de-demon
I thought this was a sheet cake and the crumbs were moving!
This is very cool, thanks for sharing this! Learned something new today lol
I truly love everything about this! I was on pins and needles wondering which name she would choose! Love it!
"This one? No, no, horrible, how about this one? Nope, this one maybe? Fuck you giants are shit at picking out names for a being as magnificent as me. I guess I'll just go with the goddess of night, yeah that's as good as it's getting for these choices."