here's a new critter in my collection, ambystoma mexicanum, the axolotl. Native to only a small area in mexico, these salamanders almost never metamorph into their adult phase, instead spending all of their lives in the aquatic "neotenic" life stage. They are functionally extinct in the wild due to habitat loss, but there are copious amounts in captivity.

sorry for the image quality, this was shot through scratched up plastic - his temporary home until I find a better enclosure.

http://www.sushigaijin.com/images/photos/axolotl%20small.jpg

wow...what a neat 'collar' on this guy....looks like he's from another planet...

R.

Very cool looking critter!

Erik, I have always been fascinated with them, so what do they eat and how hard is it to take care of?

The collar is his set of gills - juvinile salamanders have an aquatic life stage where gills are needed, when they metamorph into a terrestrial life stage the gills un-grow, for lack of a better word. Some fully aquatic salamanders do not have external gills, and instead breath through their skin, genus Cryptobranchidae and Andrias.

The care is not difficult, pretty typical for fish - just watch the temperature and ammonia levels. They do best at 60-70f, which is a bit cooler than I like to keep my house, so he will have to stay close to the floor. They eat bloodworms and blackworms, and some will take trout chow.

that's pretty easy sounding to me.