It wasn’t long ago that the smile of the axolotl took over the internet. The exotic salamander that always seems to be smiling has become a famous pet thanks to the influence of TikTok and the appearance of the species in the game Minecraft.
But what seemed like a minor trend turned into chaos. Thousands of axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) are returned or abandoned after owners can’t cope with the animals’ reproductive speed and the specifics they require in their care.
According to the Guardian newspaper, just one shelter in New Zealand has delivered around 2,000 of the species’ amphibians for care 600 of them in one week.
The reason is amazing: it is difficult to castrate the animals or even to determine their gender. As a result, many owners put breeding pairs together in one aquarium, and the result is a large number of eggs.
but not Minecraft He is very much appreciated and seems easy to care for as you can see below.
“They can produce a large number of eggs. This situation can get out of hand very quickly,” Alison Vaughan, a science expert at the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in Portuguese), said in an interview with the newspaper.
Curiously, axolotls are considered critically endangered, but they are probably the world’s most popular amphibian species and inhabit the aquariums of many owners.
But success as a pet keeps them at risk as genetic diversity decreases dramatically, leaving them vulnerable to dangerous diseases.
Despite the popularity, caring for the animal is not exactly easy. They require special aquariums, special food and an appropriate temperature. And they live a long time too: they can live up to 25 years.
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