Salamanders-axolot-experiment

Report metamorphoses Ambystoma mexicanum.

Salamanders

On 22 October 2003 I started experimenting, to let a 7 months old wildcoulor female Axolotl metamorphose.
First of all I isolated the animal which I baptised to ' Harrie ' in a bucket which I filled with 10 cm water. After some surching on the Internet I came to the conclusion that I could bests start with administering Tyroxine. This is the hormone, which ensures among other things the metamorfose and pigment shaping. with Axolotls this hormone is insufficiently produced as a result of which does not metamorphose them. Informing at a pharmacy I discovered, that i only get the stuff with a recepe. After some explanation from our local vet I got what I found. I bought 50 tablets of Forthyron 200 of 200 micro-grams tyroxine per tablet. I gave the tablets by breaking

them into pieces, and filling the worms with it. It was difficult, but in the end I succeeded. I gave the worms with a pair of tweezers.For a month, each day I put two tablets in a worm, and I also disssolved a number of tablets in this water After six weeks the size of his tale. started to decrease slowly, but he remained the whole time in the water. The external gills were not completley shrunken yet, wich made me worry about the outcome of the experiment.

I decided for new measurements..."Glands"! The problem however, was how and where to find it. By the new legislation in the butchersbrange, glands no longer end up by a butcher. Again the vet helped me out. When I told the vet, (he was informed about the experiment) he spontaneously offered me a gland, which they remove regularly from pets. 7 December "Harrie" got his first cat-gland , and he was transferred in a plastic box of 30 cm by 40 cm

that was set into a small angle from 10 cm of water to the bottom. The same evening, for the first time, he climbed onto the dry- part. Respectively12 February and 15 March he got his 2nd and 3rd shield gland and gradually he lost his gills. At this moment he looks like a tiger salamander and only eats in the water. The reason that I have been experimenting is to find out more about the Axolotls, and their habitat.

At the moment I have 30 to 40 adult Axolotls in my pond. Unfortunately harrie died on 28-10-2004.......!