Mudpuppies

[fishboy]

Anyone ever had the pleasure of seeing one of those things in the flesh? I'm just wondering cause i think they're awesome but I've never seen one

[angelfishamy]

I've seen them at Newport aquarium they have a very nice setup it looks like a REAL natural habitat.I know thats the idea but they do a nice job with all of the housing there if you haven't been and you get the chance you should go.

[flamingo]

My parents used to keep them a few years back. Pretty easy, but you have to have clear, well filtered water. They mess things up fast- and they absorb water and oxygen through the gills and skin. Sadly, they're getting harder to find now... most places can't even sell them. A big tank with one would be nice- otherwise you can try looking at axolotls (spelling?). They're like a mudpuppy, more like a giant tadpole with a long body and feathery gills though. Kind of "different"... but I think they're cute, i've seen them in regular brown to black phases to an almost albino form:

[Fishboy93]

I've seen those twice at my lfs, both were reserved specially though...

[fishboy]

I'm heard of those axolowhatever they're called. A cool little aquatic mexican salamander. Sadly my limit on tanks keeps me from obtaining anything new that can't go with a current setup, or else i'd be looking in to those amongst some other cool things.

btw flamingo that's awesome that ur parents used to keep them, i think they look so cool from pictures and videos i've seen

[flamingo]

lol yeah- we've been trying to find them... but haven't seen one yet. They used to be in waterways around here...

My parents had a small one that was a greenish color; they had a party once though, and someone had stolen it. Someone stealing something out of a tank at a party- how nice.

[TREASURECHEST]

Did you know that a mudpuppy is the larval stage of a Tiger Salamander?
I have a male/female pair of these salamanders but I don't have them set up for breeding...just in a paladarium habitat.
If I ever set them up for breeding, and have any success, I'll post it here.

[flamingo]

Treasure, you might be thinking about a "water dog"- like a giant newt like mudpuppy that turns into a tiger like said. True mudpuppies stay in a sort of larval like stage through their whole lives- and keep the feathery like gills.

[fishboy]

flamingo if you can't find them look into these other aquatic salamanders

Amphiumas-Large/eel like.Not sure if they have gills but they're aquatic

Axolotls- Smaller and usualy more common aquatic salamander. Albinos as well as natural black/brown colorations are available. Can be VERY easily obtained by scientists or teachers from universities like this one http://www.ambystoma.org/AGSC/ they don't sell "pets" they sell living research material, but any K-12 teacher can get the "live material" for you

Hellbenders-For an oddball lover who is up for the challenge of finding one on the market though that might be harder then a mud puppy to find as they're becoming endangered

Sirens- Cool little "salamander". They lack hind legs, have very small front legs, and are aquatic. A bit of a challenge to find, but nto impossible

[Kyoberr]

I saw one when I went to my cousin's house in California, it was pretty cool.

[flamingo]

I've been trying to collect them... they've pretty much dissapeared though.

As for the axolotls... I can get them, but, I don't feel like devoting a tank for them. Hellbenders and sirens are okay... but they hide way too much and are almost impossible to find. I've seen sirens online- but not willing to pay 100 bucks to get a few in. I saw a few at an aquarium- pretty boring. The hellbenders to tel you the truth, aren't even worth buying. They sit under a rock all day....and you need excellent water conditions.

[TheOldSalt]

Axolotls are the juvenile Tiger salamanders. These are interesting in that they can breed in their juvenile form, which is pretty rare a thing to find in a species known for it's metamorphosis. In fact, they sometimes never grow up, remaining juveniles for years. (Ambystoma tigrinum)
Noturus are the waterdogs/mudpuppies. These only have 4 fingers instead of 5.
Hellbenders are endangered and protected, so there is no reason to bother them. (Plus they bite like a pair of pliers.)
Sirens and amphiumas are weirdos which are very hard to collect, hence their high price, and hard to keep as well as uninteresting in behavior.

[TREASURECHEST]

Hi Flamingo and TheOldSalt,
Thanks for your comments, they made me go back to my books and other research info. I guess we were all kinda correct, and kinda in error.
Here's what all my info states:
The Family Ambystomadidae includes the Tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) and the Mexican salamander (Ambystoma mexicanum).
The Axolotyl IS a Mexican salamander which remain in it's juvenile or larval state throughout it's life and breeds in this condition as TheOldSalt stated. Axolotyl is an Aztec word that literally means "waterdog". Axolotly was a mythical Aztec god. BUT this is not the larval stage of a Tiger salamander...they are close relatives.
The larval form of a Tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) are commonly referred to as "mudpuppy" or "waterdog", but that is in error.
The TRUE waterdog or mudpuppy is actually a Necturus species from the Family Proteidae.
An Axolotyl (as do some other forms of salamanders) stay in their larval state due to lack of iodine in the native waterways.
The EXACT species of Tiger Salamander that I have are "Texas Barred Tiger Salamander" (Ambystoma tigrinum mavoritium) which is supposedly the most attractive of all Tiger salamanders.
Sorry if this got so long-winded, but I hope it helps clarify things.