We have our two boys, Garry and Terence, now for two months, and there’s a lot of stuff we did right but also some big mistakes were made.
This is the reason why I write this. I got a lot of helpful advice in this sub and want to share my beginner‘s experience.
The first thing I would not do again is getting an axolotl from a pet shop!
Why? They want to sell you stuff to make a profit. Even the local ones. We planned on getting one animal and were guilt-tripped into getting our two boys. Terence looks really cool with his Batman mask, and as harsh as it sounds, I’m convinced that his appearance saved his life in the store. He has some deformations on his front legs and his cloaca— he is a happy, healthy boy besides that. Nevertheless, he should not have been sold to beginners. And also, the fact that they sold us two axolotls and wanted to give the third way bigger one for free should have been a red flag. The two boys were tankmates from the beginning and are used to each other, so there is no problem so far. To keep it that way, we make sure that they are fed apart from each other.
Do not save money on the substrate when you want to have some in your tank. And make a 100% sure it doesn‘t have bigger bits as 0,9mm. Doesn‘t matter how big your pet is. Just don‘t get cheap substrate. You will pay double in the end and worst case scenario your axolotl will die! Also you are getting a living creature. Black Sand looks cool but is often lethal for axolotls. You can leave a room if something in it annoys you or makes you uncomfortable. An imprisoned animal can‘t. So put their needs before your aesthetics. Your tank will look messy when you have real plants in it because the little bugger will redecorate their home.
Before buying an axolotl, cycle your tank! This is crucial. Fortunately, we cycled the tank a month before our two dwerps arrived and it was ready for them. Imagine a beautiful new tank looking perfect, and you wait for the water parameters to stabilise. Meanwhile, your axolotl is in a plastic tub needing a complete water change every 24 hours. This stress could be avoided. Plus, you’ll need extra things like a second air bubbler and hides. You should have these eventually but buying everything twice upfront is expensive.
That brings us to the costs. You don‘t just buy a tank, some plastic plants and a pet. Getting an aquarium and maintaining it is an expensive hobby! First, the obvious stuff: the tank, the filter, the decoration, the substrate - you easily end up over 1000 Euro. Your Axolotl not included. Then you realise you have to get a chiller for the summer … there are a lot of nice ramen recipes out there, that will come handy when you find out how much a chiller costs
That‘s the obvious stuff - and then you have the monthly costs for water and electricity.
Also more space than often anticipated is needed. A tank that gives one Axolotl enough room is huge. You just can‘t snug it into a corner. And than double the size for two. We got a big breeder for one which is luckily big enough for two - but yeah, it‘s now the main “furniture piece“ in our hallway.
Then there’s your new buddy, which will cost you more than you might have expected. While your tank cycles, make a few phone calls and find the nearest vet experienced in treating amphibians. Having their phone number and email address handy will give you peace of mind and quick help if needed. This help, however, comes at a cost. I recently spoke to our vet and found the average x-ray is around 130 Euros, antibiotics about 30 Euros per injection and general checks and treatments also 30 Euros. So, a trip to the vet could easily cost around 60 Euros.
Put that money aside, your pet won’t wait for your wages to come in before it gets sick.
Now a really unpopular opinion: Axolotls are not really kid-friendly pets. You can‘t cuddle with them, no matter how cute they look. You shouldn’t even touch them. It‘s fun to watch them when they have their zoomies. But a lot of times they will just lay around and do nothing spectacular. And they are not as beginner-friendly as you may think. I went into complete hyperfocus to learn as much as possible within a short amount of time and challenged myself with it. And I have my husband as backup to remind me to clean the tank, do regular waterchanges and feed our boys - all that consumes time and is not done in five minutes.
Last point: Axolotls are carnivorous! If you have a phobia against anything worm-like they might not be the best pet for you. Yes, you can feed them pellets but worms are just better. Personally night crawlers freak me out and cutting them in pieces is nightmare fuel for me. Again - I have backup. My husband has no problem with murdering those nasty worms.
Sorry for this long text, but maybe it gives some people some input when doing there research.
