Top 50 Amazing Axolotl Facts for Kids

Axolotls as Pets

Axolotls are the aquatic amphibians, also called the Mexican mole salamanders.

Axolotl facts are really worth discussing. They are amazing creatures with amazing colors and morphs and pet enthusiasts love to tame them.

In this article, we will be discussing amazing, scary, and weird facts about Axolotls.

Axolotls are the aquatic amphibians, also called the Mexican mole salamanders.

As a kid, you may have seen them in books, science labs, or even at marine museums.

These weird-looking amphibians look similar to fish but, in reality, are quite different from them.

With limbs like lizards, gills like a big branch, and the cutest little face, it isn’t hard to develop curiosity about Axolotls.

Find out some of the common, weird, and fun facts about Axolotls below:

Key Facts and Information about Axolotl for Kids

1. Axolotl’s name has an amazing meaning. Here Atl means water, and Xolotl means dog. 
2. Ambystoma mexicanum is the scientific name for Axolotls.
3. They are native to Mexico City and are found in Lake Xochimilco.
   • Considering the fact, Lake Xochimilco is considered a UNESCO Heritage Site.
   • Apart from that, they are also found in the canals and waterways of Mexico City. 
4. Until the 1970s, Axolotls were also present in Lake Chalco, Central Mexico City.
   • Though later the Lake drained and Axolotls became extinctive.
5. Today Axolotls are listed as critically endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature.
6. Threats like environmental pollution, habitat loss, invasion of larger species, etc., prove a major threat for Axolotls.
   • Today, there are barely a few hundreds of Axolotls left in the wild.
7. If believed the talks, Axolotl’s are nothing but a dog-headed Aztec deity.
   • As people believe, he has transformed himself into a salamander in order to hide.
8. Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology’s Darwin Project are a few of the organizations that teach and advocate for saving wild axolotls that are going extinct.
   • They even focused on cleaning Lake Xochimilco to ensure a hygienic place for Axolotls to live and breed. 

Petting Axolotls facts for kids.

1. Despite the fact that they are endangered, Axolotls are often bought as cute exotic pets from private breeders.
2. Pets Axolotls require special care.
3. Young Axolotls should be kept in different spaces as they have tendencies to bite each other.
4. Though normally, it requires big aquariums and tanks to pet Axolotls, despite their small size. 

Some scary Axolotl Facts for kids

1. Axolotls can regenerate their body parts
2. An Axolotl’s Skeleton is Cartilage.
3. They do not have eyelids.
4. They can communicate with Chemical cues.
5. Do you know? Your pet axolotl may even wonder how you taste. Scary right?
6. At times, they might eat their aquarium buddies.
7. Axolotls’ breeding season is quite early in the calendar year.
   • They typically breed from March to June.
8. During their mating process, Axolotl’s dance is the initiation phase of mating.
   • However, the dance is nothing but a rub against each other.
     

Fun axolotl Facts for Kids/ kid zone axolotl facts

1. Axolotls exhibit neoteny that makes them look like babies for their whole life. Their average life span is nearly ten years.
2. An Average axolotl is 9 inches long, but it can grow up to 18 inches. However, today it is rare to find Axolotls who grow over 12 inches
3. Never take Axolotls out of the water as they spend their whole life underwater.
4. Tiger Salamanders are Axolotl’s closest relatives.
5. Axolotls are often mistaken for waterdogs. However, it is nothing but tiger Salamander’s larval stage.
6. Axolotls can reach adulthood even without experiencing a metamorphosis.
7. Axolotls aren’t fish, but they do are known as ‘Walking fish.’
8. They are carnivorous and will eat everything and anything, dead or alive. With inadequate food supply, Axolotls will eat their own members.

Physical Facts about Axolotls for kids.

1. Axolotls are a result of four different genes and thus comes in a variety of colors and patterns. Every gene of them creates significant difference in their pigment patterns.
2. Do you know? Axolotls can even change their color to match better with their surroundings.
3. Axolotls normally are brown or black colored with black or green spots on their skin.
4. It is rare today, but you can also find white axolotls at times.
5. White axolotls are leucitic. They appear white due to a lack of pigmentation. 
6. According to researches and reports, white axolotls form back in 1863.
   • It happened by a mutant axolotl that was transported to Paris back then.
7. Today most of the White Axolotls are captive. Pet traders even breed to turn them white. 
8. Axolotls have shapes of a dog-head. As per Aztec beliefs deities transformed themselves into a salamander to hide.
9. They are neotenic, and due to that, they will never grow out of their aquatic nature.
10. Axolotls do have lungs, but they retain their feathery outer gills. These gills regrow right from their head. 
11. Their gills have thin fibers that increase their respiratory surface area. 
12. Because Axolotls can never grow teeth, they will suck in order to eat.

Interesting Axolotl facts/ Cool Axolotl Facts

1. Axolotls are native to only one place in the world, and that is Mexico City.
   • There is no other place than Mexico City where you will find wild Axolotls.
2. They can receive organ transplants thoroughly, just like humans.
3. Because Axolotls are unable to grow teeth, they suck their food.
4. Axolotls are the most scientifically studied salamanders in the world.
5. They will eat fish, snails, worms, and other amphibians, basically anything that fits their mouth.
   • Their ideal mouth capacity can be measured with the distance between both their eyes.
6. Axolotls secrete tons of waste and thus should ideally be placed in large and cool aquariums.
7. Young Axolotls tend to bite their fellow mates, and thus, it is advisable to keep them in separate tanks.
8. When an Axolotl scars, their flesh regrows exactly as it was, leaving no traces of injury behind.
9. They can regenerate most of their body parts including jaws, skin, spinal cords and limbs. They can even grow parts of their brain, though not the entire brain.
10. Even if Axolotls injuretheir limbs, a new limb will grow to heal. Not only that, an extra limb might grow too.
11. Scientists today are researching on Axolotls ability to regenerate their body parts.
12. Because of their regeneration abilities, Axolotls are arguably immortal.
13. It is a very rare occasion when Axolotls reach their adult/mature-looking stage. If they do, they tend to look more like lizards.
    

Fascinating/Amazing axolotl Facts!

1. Scientists have evidently found that you inject an Axolotl with iodine, it will grow mature. Though once injected with iodine, they will not live longer than a year or two.
2. Today there are rarely any Axolotls that you can find in the wild.
3. Where during a survey in 1998, there were 6000 Axolotls found in the wild.
4. The latest survey in 2014 claims no Axolotl is left in the wild now.
5. Axolotls are leucitic, which means due to lack of pigmentation, they are white.
6. Even though Axolotls do not use their lungs, they do possess them from a very young stage.
7. Axolotls are extremely introverted that makes it ideal for putting them in captivity.
8. Axolotl meat was quite popular, It was even a staple in the Aztec diet.
9. Even today, you can visit Osaka, Japan, and eat deep-fried Axolotls.
10. In ancient times, they were a rich source of food and medicine.
11. Axolotls have strong resistance to Cancer and Lymphomas.
12. Some Axolotls can even weigh even less than 1lbs.
13. Axolotls egg capacity caps at 1,000 in a single go.

For Further Reading

• Do Axolotls have Many Colors? ( And Why so Many)
• How Much Axolotl cost? What about accessories?
• How to Feed Worms to Axolotl? A Guide to Worm Farming.

Frequently asked questions

Summary

These were some of the most interesting and fun Axolotl’s facts for kids.

Younger kids have more curiosity towards Axolotls because of their adorable appearance.

If you wish to see them in real, you can visit any marine museum or even go to your nearest pet shop.