Want an interesting pet that needs TLC?

Newts and salamanders can normally be characterized by a moist, porous skin (in common with all other amphibians) and, more specifically, four limbs of roughly equal length, in contrast with frogs, with their hugely developed rear limbs. Most importantly, newts and salamanders have tails, whereas frogs and toads don't.

Most salamanders spend part of their life in water - yet cannot drink. They take moisture through their skin. Some become so terrestrial they may drown while mating in trysting pools. Some are lung-less. Some are blind.

Newts prefer a half land and half water existence. You can pile the substrate up on one side of the aquarium and leave the other half uncovered with maybe a rock to climb upon.

For warmth and a homey atmosphere, a normal fluorescent or incandescent aquarium light can be used during the day. Turn off the light at night to produce a natural cooler setting.

Substrate: Large aquarium gravel should be used so it is not accidentally ingested, especially for the axolotl. Plants, rocks, moss and wood can be used to create hiding areas and land portions.

Because Oregon newts, the rough skinned newts, originate from a temperate climate, they are happy at temperatures about 60° F. (room temperature is adequate for newts).

Some sort of filtration should be provided for the water or daily partial water changes should be performed. The land portion should be spot cleaned regularly.

Axolotls feed by evacuating their mouths of water, then suddenly opening them very wide, thus causing anything in the immediate vicinity to enter, be it food or substrate, or rocks, so it's important to bear this in mind.

Thorough cleanings can be achieved by using a 5% bleach solution, which needs to be rinsed off well. It is very important to wash your hands thoroughly after handling the newt or cleaning the cage and cage accessories because of the toxic secretions of the newt.

Mating usually takes place once or twice a year in winter, as the summer is usually too warm. Female axolotls shouldn't be allowed to breed more than once every two months for health reasons.

The breeding tank should be furnished with plastic plants for the female axolotl to affix her eggs. Flat, rough pieces of stone should be placed on the bottom of the tank onto which the male can deposit his spermatophores.

Remove dad after he has deposited his sperm and mom after she has laid the 100 to a thousand eggs. The eggs will hatch after 14 days at a comfortable room temperature.

The babies will soon open their little mouths and eat small pieces of worms, shrimp, etc.

Axolotls are cannibals. Feed the babies enough so they don't eat each other.

Newts will take live insects including crickets, wax worms, and blood-worms. Make sure the prey is small enough for the newt to eat. Some newts will eat fish food such as shrimp pellets, brine shrimp, or turtle floating food sticks.

I know a newt that eats only live crickets, but ours ate the floating food sticks with frozen shrimp as an infrequent special treat and he lived for about 15 years. Diets that alternate different kinds of live food are desirable, and a diet consisting solely of meal-worms is notoriously unsatisfactory, according to experts.

In order to keep crickets alive, they need to be fed a healthy diet. Neglecting to feed crickets is probably the most common reason people have trouble keeping them alive. Many pet stores do not feed their crickets, and when they are purchased the crickets are often starving. In order to get the most out of the crickets, it's best to house them for a day or two with food so that they can fill themselves prior to being offered to your pets.

A good cricket diet should consist of both fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as a dry component. Good vegetables and fruits to offer include lettuces and dark greens, apples, oranges, sprouts, carrots, sweet potato, squash and melons. Good dry diets to use in combination with the vegetables and fruits include high quality fish flake, dry dog food and rice baby food.

Water: Providing a source of moisture is vital if the crickets are going to be kept for more than a few days. Crickets readily drown in standing water. A moist sponge or piece of foam rubber can be soaked in water and then used to provide drinking water. Replace this every few days.

Feed fruits or vegetables that have a high moisture content instead of offering water. This will force the crickets to consume these vitamin-rich foods in order to stay hydrated. Sliced oranges work particularly well for this.

Children especially, and pregnant women and the elderly should not handle amphibians as some of them harbor pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella. Wash hands well before and after caring for these animals.

A killer fungus disease threatens the world's amphibians, especially frogs. Zoos are being asked to house threatened frogs while scientist are wiping out the fungus.

Amphibians contain chemicals that may benefit humans - Amphibians have foul-tasting chemicals in their skin and glands that protect them from predators. Some of these chemicals can be used in medicine as, for example, heart stimulants, painkillers, and organ glues.

Please do not release any captive reptiles or amphibians into the wild as this will disrupt the natural order of our environment.

Axolotls, Ambystoma mexicanum, only naturally live in Lake Xochimilco, Mexico. According to an article in Montana Outdoors magazine, some axolotl appearing fish have been found in Madison County in Montana.

Sometimes people use the word "axolotl" loosely, to mean any
large neotenic (keeping its gills through adulthood) Ambystomata.
The tiger salamander larva looks like the axolotl, and with at least 6 morphological variations, may be confused with the axolotl.

The ones found in Montana are greenish-brown and not cute like the others. Tiger salamanders are frequently sold as larvae called
waterdogs. Waterdogs closely resemble the axolotl (Ambystoma
mexicanum).

The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) has been characterized as
immunodeficient, and scientists have been studying that and the polymorphism in the fish.

For over ten years wild life experts have been studying the decline in the amphibian population. Their deaths are a wake-up call to environmentalists.

A good website: www.caudata.org/cc/species/Ambystoma/A_mexicanum.shtml