How do you take care of an axolotl?

Everyone is talking about axolotls, but what exactly are these fascinating animals, and how do we care for them? We are joined by Animal Care Specialist America Sahagun who cares for our axolotl squad at the Aquarium to discuss these "water dogs"

We also discuss our newest exhibit, FROGS: Facing a Changing World, which is open now!

Episode Transcript

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:05

Hi, I'm Marin Lundy. And I'm Madeline Walden, and this is Aquarium of the Pod Civic, a podcast brought to you by Aquarium of the Pacific, Southern California's largest aquarium.

SPEAKER_02 0:15

Join us as we learn alongside the experts in animal care, conservation, and more.

SPEAKER_04 0:21

Welcome back to Aquarium of the Podcific. I'm Madeline Walden, the Aquarium's digital content and community manager.

SPEAKER_02 0:27

And I'm Aaron Lundy, newly the manager of conservation initiatives here at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

SPEAKER_04 0:34

Live audience.

SPEAKER_02 0:36

We did, however, record some of these Manager of Conservation Initiatives. Thank you. Thank you. We did, however, record some of these episodes a little bit ago. So if you hear my title change, I did not get re-demoted. I just I just we recorded this episode a little bit later. However, more excitingly than that, we want to talk about one of the aquariums' best, most favorite. Everyone asks about animals today. And those are Axolotl. Axolotl. Axolotls are probably the most popular animal at the aquarium currently.

SPEAKER_04 1:14

Yeah, they're very popular in popular culture right now, too.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

So it's one of those animals that people come in specifically looking for that animal, and we're like, It's like penguins, otters, axolotls. And I feel like that's sometimes sharks, sometimes other animals, but they're up there. They are way they are probably the most requested animals right now, and I think that a lot of video games and pop culture has a lot to do with that. But you know what? I'm okay with it because amphibians fall in love with them. Heck yeah. Amphibian love. We do love when people love their amphibians. So today we are going to be talking to America, who's one of our animal care specialists. She takes care of our axolotls as well as actually all of our amphibians around the aquarium. But her first and foremost love is, of course, our axolotles.

SPEAKER_04 1:56

And you guys work really closely together because you've been building this new gallery, which we are so excited. It is as of this episode's release, it is officially open. A froggily open. A froggily It's been a froggily open.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

It's called Frogs. Facing a changing world. Perfect. Uh really meant to highlight some of the threats to amphibians worldwide, and also to showcase how diverse and beautiful and amazing these animals are. I hope that all of the exhibits that we've built kind of highlight that, and I hope people come in and they enjoy them. They are colorful, they are beautiful. All the plants are real in every exhibit, which is crazy, except for our mountain yellow-legged frogs, but that's because we needed something to do with the colour. Which we're gonna have mountain yellow-legged frogs? Correct. For the first time ever on our um exhibit space, we will have our mountain yellow-legged frogs out and about, and people can see them. My favorite part about them is that they are actually going to be the releaseable animals that are out on display. Cool. Um, so if at some point later in the summer, that exhibit is empty, they went out to the wild.

SPEAKER_04 2:54

Like, what a great story. You guys gotta come visit and pick out the next big chicken, if you know you know from last season. You have to pick out the new big chicken.

SPEAKER_02 3:03

Yeah, we'll name her something else. We'll talk medium goose, you know, something like that. But anyway, without further ado, let's get into this episode and learn a little bit about exolotals.

SPEAKER_04 3:13

And come see the new gallery. Now. Now, now welcome back to Aquarium of the Pacific. We are joined today with animal care specialist America Sagoon. Hi. Hi, hello, hello, hello, hello. What are we gonna talk about today, Erin Lundy?

SPEAKER_02 3:29

We are gonna talk about one of our favorite animals, one of just general popular right now, this animal. I think it is the animal we get asked the most about at the aquarium. And while our amphibian gallery has been under construction for a brand new opening, this I want to talk to you guys about that.

SPEAKER_00 3:47

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:47

Memorial Day weekend. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

It's so close.

SPEAKER_02 3:50

But because these animals have been off exhibit for quite some time, we have been getting inundated with requests on when when can we see them again? Where are they? And of course, those animals are our axolotls.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Yup.

SPEAKER_02 4:03

That's it. Yeah, those are it.

SPEAKER_04 4:05

What is an axolotl?

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Um, so a lot of people think that they're fish, but they're actually amphibians. So that is a salamander um who has really, really cool looking antennas, but that's actually their gills. And so it's really cool to just see, I mean, new generations just coming up and being. Oh, super fans. Yeah, exactly. Truly. Yeah, and just being super excited about these animals. Um, and it's it's really cool just to see um how these like axolettals are really like a staple to the aquarium, even though they're amphibians, they are aquatic, you know, and um it's awesome just to be able to like showcase that and also just like put in that really strong and important message of conservation just because how endangered they are. So yeah, it's like a really, really exciting thing. Um excited to learn all about them today.

SPEAKER_04 4:56

I jumped ahead a little bit. I guess I should ask you about yourself. Um you've been here.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

Sure. Um, yeah, so my name is America. Um, other people will call me USA. Just kidding. Um I do. You can call me Miss America.

SPEAKER_04 5:11

Miss America, you can call me Lady Liberty. You can call me Yes.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

Whatever. Um, so uh yeah, I am an animal care specialist, but I do definitely specialize on amphibians. I specifically really, really, really enjoy working with Axolatos, and um, I can't thank Erin enough for trusting me. I remember just kind of cornering her one day and being like, I love Axel autos. And then I just kind of like hit her with like a bunch of like facts, and she was like, Oh my god.

SPEAKER_04 5:39

So what animals were you working with before?

SPEAKER_00 5:42

So I still work with um the same animals, which is the birds and the mammals. Um, and it I mean with amphibians, um, when I was a volunteer, that's when I started to like be very intrigued by just the range of amphibians that we had, but the axolotles were just something that I was always super interested in. Yeah, and so I was very, very intrigued um from day one. And yeah, from I mean, the rest was history. I I started, you know, working with them closely and learning from all staff. And uh shout out to Frankie, she's listening. She uh she's listening, yeah. She is really she's really. Uh yeah, she she taught me a couple of things on like their water changes, and so um I was able to not only learn about these animals, but also the water qualities. Like, that's another thing. There's so many things that as a bird and mammal um like person that takes care of those animals, you don't really deal with like the water quality as much. And so now it was like a totally different world that I was like submerged in. I mean, it was kind of like another side of my job that I was very, very intrigued because I had to talk to Aquarist and I was like, hey, you know, like I'm sorry, but like what is that? Or like, you know, what what's the the ammonia and like what do you mean about this? And what do you mean about you know? And so I I was always asking questions until I was able to really understand. And I was just very thankful for that because thank God that our waller qual waller waller quality, our water quality um lab was very uh helpful in that sense. And so every time we would give like water samples, they would really walk me down with like everything that they test on. Yes, and so it's um it's just it's amazing. I I like till this day, I I am always I'm not shy about asking those questions because I know that sooner or later uh somebody else will come in and you know help with this awesome, you know, project that we're doing, or just in general taking care of our animals, especially with the axolatos. And they're so you know, they're they're they're very, very sensitive with what they well the water that they're in because they do sometimes break breathing. Yeah, they they absorb from their um skin. They're super super sensitive.

SPEAKER_04 7:53

So we talked a little bit about last season kind of the differences between exhibits, between an outdoor exhibit that has our sea lions in it. It can fluctuate in not the the quality of the water is like not the right way to say it. But the salinity, the parameters, all of those things definitely. It's uh a sea lion is not as sensitive as an axolotl. A sea line is not sensitive.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

I mean, emotionally emotionally, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

Cain Parker.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

Have you Makaia?

SPEAKER_02 8:20

Very emotional. I think it's really funny that you mentioned that because so much of our team, on especially on the bird and mammal side, and now our team is bird, mammals, and amphibians. And so we're taking care of this huge range of animals, most of which do not necessarily matter as much what these individual water parameters look like. Whereas when you think about an aquarium, you think of saltwater fish and corals and things that are a little bit more sensitive to specific things being in their water. And so learning from the Aquarus and learning an entirely new skill set when you're starting to work with amphibians, that that matters a lot more and understanding those parameters matters a lot more was kind of the steepest learning curve, I think, for everyone kind of taking over learning frogs. But it's been a really good journey, and definitely we have a really cool team that helps us on all sides. And my very first introduction to America was because she had been assigned to help us put away some of our live food order from the amphibian area. And the live foods for the amphibians is just bugs. And every week America was so excited to put away bugs. And partially I think that you like bugs, but I think it was more just because that was a good opportunity to be around some really cool animals and ask questions. And then if you were doing this task that, to be honest, is sometimes a less desirable task because it's crickets everywhere, like it's just everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

It's so many.

SPEAKER_02 9:36

I remember last season I had a cricket in my shirt.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

Yeah, it happens, it definitely is. It happens, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:42

But um, yeah, and so America was always like, Can I put away the bugs today? And you're like, Yeah, you can.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

But then yeah, and I'm so sorry to interrupt you, but this um it was so funny because I that was my thing, and I would definitely like go back to how I was taught to do it. Um, I'm gonna give another shout out to Sarah. She was another one that would um tell me about the little crystal um the water crystals. So she would tell me about like how much to pour into like the one weeks and the three weeks. She would tell me, like, just pour a little bit because maybe they could drown. And so ever since that, that just kind of stuck in my head. And then like I just I treat them like they're babies, you know. Everything's a baby.

SPEAKER_02 10:18

Everything's a baby, even the crickets we feed.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:22

But when we're getting food for our axolotls to circle back, what are they mostly eating here at the aquarium?

SPEAKER_00 10:29

They are eating earthworms. So earthworms are already a very nutritional, like um balanced diet that they don't really need anything more other than that. At least in our experience, we have obviously axolotls do eat some pellets that are already they have a bunch of other things included in them. But for us here, we really like the ability to feed them live foods, especially just because axolotls are very aware of what's moving around them. And so I really love making sure that when I feed them, there's some sort of movement so that way they could kind of like hunt it. Yeah, and it's so awesome because axolotls actually don't they they don't have like teeth, they have some sort of like suction. And it's really, really funny because they almost like thrash it around. It's it's like insane, like it's not going anywhere, you know, but they just thrash it around. Um alligator like exactly, yeah. And and it's just it's amazing um to just see them. It's so funny to see their personality really come out, especially when they're hungry, because they're so aware. Like they where you move, they move, and they know exactly where like what's going on. Even if I open up like the the actual like warm container, they already know like it's right there. They can see the worms coming. Yeah, yeah. Even if like the tongs are out, they're like, oh yeah, it's coming. Yeah, it's time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:48

We've had adult exilatals, which primarily are eating earthworms, and then um uh recently we've had some juvenile ones, and so we've had to offer some smaller food items, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:57

Yeah, so that that's when um blood worms come in. Uh these guys are not alive, by the way. These guys are um blood worms are frozen, and so we uh take them out, we put them in a little bit of um aural water, and then kind of let it defrost, and then once they're in um a better state, then we just kind of offer it to the little baby axolados, they eat it, and then sometimes when they do get older, we have to chop up the worms, and this and and Erin hates it. Like I had a can I already see her face. She hates it.

SPEAKER_02 12:29

Sounds like we're talking about the chopped up worms.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Yeah, I I get some scissors and I have to like um yeah, I have to cut it like in a very, very small piece so that way they're able to um digest it and also not create like yeah, an abstraction or anything.

SPEAKER_04 12:43

Maybe you can tell us a little bit about uh axolatos in the wild. Where are they found?

SPEAKER_00 12:47

So the wild axolatos are from Lake Sochinilco. This is in the in the city of Mexico. And so this lake is a very, very, very, really long lake, and it's known for its cold waters, and it's also known for its um, it's not strong, like the currents are not strong at all. It's a very mellow river, and so that river itself, that lake, um, is it's a perfect thing for a ractolotos to be able to thrive upon. Yeah, I think that they're cold water. I don't know why I've always assumed that they're warm water.

SPEAKER_04 13:16

I think people know they're tropical, yeah. Oh warm.

SPEAKER_00 13:19

Yeah, exactly. I think it's tropical, but no, these these waters are very cold. Um, I'm they range from like I want to say maybe like 60 to 64. They're I know it's below 70, so it's it's it's cold for me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:32

And they're only found at this lake.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

Only in this lake world. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 13:38

What? How? Why? Why? It's just that perfect. It's that perfect.

SPEAKER_00 13:43

Um I know that axolato means water dog. Axolatos were named after Salado, the Astec god of fire and lightning, who could take on a form of a salamander. Uh Salado is also associated with dogs, and adult is an ancient ASTIC word for water. So axolato is sometimes translated as as water dog.

SPEAKER_04 14:03

You think they're dog like? Uh yeah. I feel like they are.

SPEAKER_00 14:06

Erin says no.

SPEAKER_04 14:07

You guys do not have little water puppies. I feel like the pinnipeds are water. Honestly. Well, that's that's incredible. I think that's really great info to have. I think it's probably one of the most unique animals that we have at our aquarium. I think or maybe just exists.

SPEAKER_02 14:25

Well, I think what's really funny is that axolotls are this like very culturally significant both in sort of like pop culture now and also like in history. Although they are a relatively new species. I think they evolved, they think, in the last 10,000 years, which is really interesting to think about that this is new-ish to us and that they're evolved from tigress salamanders. But the part that I find funny is that there are animals that retain their juvenile characteristics and kind of look like axolotls, they're just way less cute. And so I don't think they get the airtime.

SPEAKER_04 14:57

Like what animal?

SPEAKER_02 14:58

Well, so don't if you don't be creeped out by it. Don't Google it. But there are these animals called amphiumas, and there's one toad, I think, and two toad amphiumas, and they are pretty similar to axolotls. Um, a little bit gross, you have. Um two toad amphiumas. Are they gross? Um picture like a less cute axolotl. They kind of are. I guess these guys don't have the external gills, but um No, I think it's cute. And there's sirens too.

SPEAKER_04 15:35

They look like axolotls without the gills.

SPEAKER_02 15:38

Here, let me finally do this.

SPEAKER_04 15:39

They kind of remind me of um what are those um little sock puppet looking guys that we had? Sicilians, yes, they do.

SPEAKER_02 15:49

Um here, here's the sirens. So there's like lesser sirens, greater sirens. This is like a long accent. Uh but yeah, siren is like also just the long, creepy form of it. There's the really creepy one are called cave ohms, and those are upsetting to look at in just the creepiest way, so hold on.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

There's some that are also called mud puppies. Uh these mud puppies are they're salamanders and they're almost like hellbenders, but except they have gills like axolotls, so it just looks like a really huge axolotl.

SPEAKER_02 16:18

Really cool. The cave ohm? Yeah. You think that looks cool?

SPEAKER_00 16:21

I want to see it.

SPEAKER_02 16:22

They look like some okay, that is the creepiest thing I've ever seen. I don't know about that. I think it's cool. I like it. Ohms um are very similar. They look almost exactly like someone sat on and then pulled an axolotl into a very long straw-like shape. And they're cool, but I think that's Axol has the cuteness going for them.

SPEAKER_04 16:43

That's why they're a little more popular than the cave ohm. They have the Also they're called cave.

SPEAKER_02 16:50

Um but that being said, there are a couple of different species that retain those sort of juvenile characteristics for longer in their life, and that's what axolotils do, right? They're salamanders, but most salamanders are on land and look sort of more lizard-like than an axolotl. And so why is it that our axolotls have gills and external gill structures and are aquatic as opposed to other salamanders that are maybe out and about?

SPEAKER_00 17:12

Um, well, these guys never leave their metamorphosis stage, they always stay babies, and they could reach their like sexual maturity at at at that um like status, which is like it's kind of like maturing. Uh it's like a butterfly maturing, no, like a caterpillar maturing, except he's not turning into caterpillars. Yeah, they just say caterpillars. It's like they never grow into like a butterfly. They're just a caterpillar.

SPEAKER_04 17:38

Do they hatch from an egg?

SPEAKER_00 17:40

Yes, um, they do. They have thousands of eggs. That's the thing. It's a lot of eggs that they um eventually like if they do breed, um, it's a lot of eggs. And so um from they they literally look the same. They have little gills and they all have like, you know, very um it's like it's not long because they're babies, but they're just they just look like really small axolatos and it's so cute. Yeah, it's very, very cute to see it. Um, but uh this could definitely the thing about axolatos is that they do have to be bred with something that's not related to them because if they are related to them, then genetically they are going to be um messed up. I know that some sort of axolatos they do become less like maybe like their gills won't look as bad.

SPEAKER_04 18:27

Or just health issues in exactly we'd like to diversify the species as if possible.

SPEAKER_02 18:34

I think it's been interesting too with axolotls that are under human care. Um, like you mentioned, they're critically endangered species. Like there are not that many axolotls out there, but then you go to the pet store, not here in California, hopefully, but elsewhere where they are legal to own as pets, and you'll just see axolotls everywhere. So many. And you're just like, what? There's pink, there's yellow, there's ones with glowing green eyes, there's all kinds of different ones. So why are they still critically endangered if every pet store is selling axolotels like crazy?

SPEAKER_00 19:00

So those axolatos are genetically bred, so they have these awesome colors, but in the wild, they're definitely much bigger and they are um adaptable to whatever they have in that lake. So they could definitely adapt to the temperature that that that you know lake is is potentially that's what they okay. If you ever like let's say you release that pink exolato, right? That exolato has zero chances of actually surviving just because it's not gonna be able to camouflage. It's pink. Um exactly, it's gonna be right there. There's already so many herons that that's like one of their number one um predators. Yeah. And so that's I didn't know that. Yeah, yeah. Herons. Herons, yeah. So yeah, it's the it's uh the herons actually are like one of the main predators, and then they also have to um put into consideration of like pollution and just like drought and all of that. So axolados have to be a certain color, which are that you're be you're gonna be able to find them, which is a darker color. There's different types of morphs. So um I wanna I wanna dig in into uh those morphs. So uh there are about I want to say maybe like 10 morphs, 10 types of morphs, yes. And one of the main ones that I really enjoy are the wild types, those are gonna be the ones that you'll be able to see in the wild, not as big, of course, but the color. So it's gonna be a very darker color. Uh, they are gonna have spots that uh resemble like a rock, which is awesome. Yes, super cool. And then uh, which is the pink axolatos, those pink exolatos are are they they're leucistic?

SPEAKER_02 20:32

Um I think the totally pink with no color in the eyes are albino, and then there's leucistic that has black eye. Like there's just some different types with a little pigment, no pigment.

SPEAKER_00 20:44

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 20:45

Those are kind of like the character axolotls, right? Those are the things that you think of an axolotl, you're thinking of the pink one with the with the red eye as well with the black eyes.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 20:52

And they're really cool. They're so so so cool. But do those do pink axolotls exist in the wild?

SPEAKER_00 20:57

No.

SPEAKER_04 20:57

No, so it's a specifically bred trait. Maybe like one. You know, like yeah, like because it's like a music.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

Maybe one. He's like, I survived out of spite.

SPEAKER_02 21:08

It's where they all started. Yeah. What I also know is that they've hybridized um axolotl DNA with tiger salamander DNA to create more color morphs and create more types of like pet axolotls. And so we can't just release the ones that we have under human care. It's sort of like like how some people are like, okay, dogs and wolves are technically the same species, can crossbreed. You're not just gonna release a chihuahua and be like, we saved the gray wolf. You know, like that's a very different the different DNA, we wouldn't want that hybridizing and then just being out there. There's no offense chihuahuas, but I do think that that is a salient point of like we can't we've done so much to like alter what this organism is that they're basically not even the same animal anymore.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

They're not, no, their diet is totally different. Really? Yes. And I one of the things I know I didn't know that they were able to actually, you know, eat was meal worms just because I know that they. Have an exoskeleton that they won't be able to actually digest that would possibly create an abstraction. And so um I know that wild axilatos, they're they even eat crustaceans, and so it's interesting. Do they have teeth? No, no, they have some sort of suction, but I think they're able to digest it again. These wild axolatos, one, they're much bigger. Um, because I know regular axolatos, they could go up to maybe eight inches, uh, maybe about ten. But wild axolatos, I mean, I I've seen um in articles that they could reach up to like maybe twelve inches. So twelve to like yeah, twelve to maybe thirteen, I don't know, but they're a little bit more more bigger and very robust.

SPEAKER_04 22:37

They're just hardier, they're they're wildier.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:40

I think they also differ they eat they're built different.

SPEAKER_00 22:43

They're built different.

SPEAKER_02 22:44

I think they eat um rocks and gravel and stuff, sort of like birds do, and they have like rocks in their gizzard, and they don't have a gizzard, but they'll just keep those rocks in their stomach and use it to grind up those shells items. Whereas here we wouldn't feed them rocks that they can ingest.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

No, we baby them so much too. And when I say we, it's me. We baby them. I I have them with like the finest type of sand, um, just because if I know if they do ingest it, they'll be uh able to just pass it. Yeah. And uh it's really interesting just to see how awesome these guys adapt to anything that we you know put in their tank. Uh so like anything that would enrich them is very, very, really fascinating uh for me to see. I know that one of our Axel autos um really likes plants. And today I was actually uh Which one? Darla. Darla loves it. Yeah. Um Darlo, actually, it's a male, it just happens all the time. And so Darlo loves plants. And today I was um I have this little tank right next to theirs, and you could see right through it, and I'm pretty sure he was able to see it. But I was like arranging some of the plants, and he just went directly to it. I've never seen him go so fast, and he was just looking at it, and I'm like, yeah, buddy. He's ready. Yeah, this is up for it. Yeah, and it's really interesting to see that.

SPEAKER_04 24:02

Oh, I would love to learn more about um the axolotls like we have here at the aquarium and their personalities. Would you say that they have their own little unique quirks or are they just kind of like there?

SPEAKER_00 24:11

No, no, no, no. They have so much personality.

SPEAKER_02 24:13

Yeah, they have first and foremost, how many axolotles do we have?

SPEAKER_00 24:16

We have about 11 um axolotles.

SPEAKER_04 24:19

Wow, are they all gonna be on display in the new gallery?

SPEAKER_00 24:21

I wish. Some are going to be secret axolotles. No, they're they're um so we have geriatric axolatos, meaning they're um they're older, and so axolatos are able to live for um a range of like 10 to 15 years. And so the ones that we have already are pushing that, they're pushing that limit. So um I definitely giving them the best care. Yeah, definitely. They are in a retirement home.

SPEAKER_01 24:43

Yeah, yeah. They're in retirement home.

SPEAKER_00 24:45

Yeah, they're in the retirement home. And so um we make sure that they are in the best possible, you know, care that they could have, just because I'm not saying that they are in their last days, but they can they get the case. They're old for exilatos, right? Yeah, they are. Um, yeah, so we have two, three we have three geriatric um axolotols, we have two juveniles, we also have three babies. Um yeah, very, very cute. And then we also have one, two, three more confidence. Three more confiscations. Yeah, the ones that are in. Um they just um got out of quarantine, which is really awesome. And these guys are really cool. Um, their morphs are awesome, which is um one of the honestly like the coolest morphs that I've seen so far because he is a um melanistic uh axolato, but he has green eyes, and that has to do because of the genetic I I forget the it's a G GFP. GFP, exactly. Um, and that just it's what makes them glow in the dark. Um and so with that, yeah. They glow in the dark, they glow in the dark, dude.

SPEAKER_02 25:46

Just her eyes. Just her eyes, you know, she's stunning. It's the the GFP is the green fluorescent protein, which is the same thing that is found in glowfish. And so if you're ever. Yes, exactly. And so because people have not modified the axolotls enough, they also went through and they intentionally spliced DNA of these um proteins that could then generate this glowing green protein within the axolotls, but because she is melanistic, which means she is totally dark everywhere else, it really only shows through her eyes. And so she looks like this hulking giant black axolotl with these like laser green eyes.

SPEAKER_00 26:19

And she's really cool. She's super cool.

SPEAKER_04 26:20

Do you find that these modifications to their DNA affects their lifespan, their health at all? I don't know if it does or doesn't.

SPEAKER_00 26:28

Me either, honestly. Um I think it yeah, I think it all comes down to like how well their water perimeter is, because I think that's something that is very, very important to them, how well their diet is. Um, because I know some exilados do get very robust and um, you know, they're they live very happy, you know, and and some they could be living the same life, but if maybe their water perimeters aren't the best, you know, it's something that yeah, you know, and it all it all comes down with like the temp and everything. Yeah. So it's great to have them um j here at the aquarium, but you know, as pets, they require so much care. And I know a lot of parents would want them to have like want their kids to have, you know, a pet like an Axolato, especially not here in California, but in other states. But it's it's a lot of care. Yeah, it's a lot of care. You have to make sure the temp is is right, um, the water perimeters, and I mean it's they're delicate. They're very delicate, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:24

They get stressed easily. Yes, it's honestly the same. Um I think to kind of circle back, I think that maybe it would be interesting to I think that those color morphs and those different genetic variations might not be advantageous for an animal that was going to go back in the wild, like we talked about earlier.

SPEAKER_04 27:41

Have your eyes glowing. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 27:42

And I'm sure that there are not to keep comparing it to dogs, but I'm sure there are some modifications that we don't know if they sort of artificially shorten or expand their life expectancy. Like I don't know if we know enough about that, but certainly um even like the albinism and things like I can tell those axolotls have poorer eyesight than the ones that do not have that because so much light gets in through their eyes that they can't see very well. And so, as cute as they are, just know that if your axolotl is a true albino, which means that its eyes have no pigment whatsoever and they can either be gold or pink, they probably can't see the best. And so really bright light can actually be really detrimental for them because they're like, oh, it's so they have no way to filter it. Yeah. So no eyelids, no anything, just nothing, straight eyes, just vibes, just vibes, just vibes and eyes directly exposed to life.

SPEAKER_00 28:29

Yeah, so funny.

SPEAKER_04 28:30

I think I interrupted you talking about their personality. Yeah, I was gonna circle back to that. Yeah, we're gonna circle back to that.

SPEAKER_00 28:35

Yeah. So we have um Darla, which um we got them a year ago, and they were very off the bat. It was just like their personality showed off. Uh Darla was very um, she wasn't aggressive, but she was just an endless pit of worms.

SPEAKER_02 28:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:56

Yeah. And so um Anemo was more uh Nemo was a little bit more calm, and also because he was smaller and without an arm. So because again, um axolotels don't have great eyesight, they are basically kind of blind, and so anything that moves around them, and if they are hungry, they will snap it. And if you know, if exactly, yeah, and so if it's mm-hmm, and if it's their arm, if they are uh young enough, they have um uh card cartilaginous cartilaginous um bones, and so it's really easy for it to like snap off, but uh because they're able to regenerate any you know organ and part of their body, they're able to do that about like five times in their uh lifespan, I believe.

SPEAKER_04 29:41

It's one of our questions later on is like how can they just continuously regenerate? Hopefully their the same limb isn't constantly being five times removed. Yeah, but it's about five times.

SPEAKER_00 29:51

It's about five times. Um the in their lifespan, it is about five times. However, I mean I'm pretty sure they could possibly do it as much as they if it requires for them, right? But it is about five times. And it the most interesting part about this is uh the fact that they could also regrow parts of the brain, which is insane. Um I don't know how they would do that.

SPEAKER_02 30:10

Yeah, you're like, do you remember the stuff? Yeah, like where is it gone?

SPEAKER_00 30:13

Like, do they turn it off? Like, I I have questions about that too.

SPEAKER_02 30:15

Like I wonder if they're gonna be.

SPEAKER_00 30:19

I'll let you know. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 30:24

Um I think it's good information to know that axolotls are considered a restricted species here in California. And so all of the axolotls that we have are actually confiscations that were donated to us by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Um essentially, what happens is people are excited to own axolotls or they're breeding them or they're selling them illegally here in California because they are a very popular item and people love owning them. However, um, because of the risk for them to be released to their natural habitat, hybridize with our vulnerable California tiger salamander, and cause major issues for sort of the you know environment here, um, they are considered a restricted species and you're not allowed to own them as a pet. And so when we say Nemo came in missing an arm or some of these animals were in worse condition, for the most part it's people either didn't know what they were doing, they got transported to us their donations, and we don't have a lot of information on what their history looks like. So if you ever see axolotls at the aquarium, and we really would love to have wild type axolotals to talk about what they are and what they look like, but we've got pinks, we got yellows, we got all tenids. And that's just we got donations because these animals needed a place to go, and you know, fish and wildlife does not have an aquarium to hold these animals. And so also for our geriatric animals that are maybe not going to be displayed again. Whereas with some other animals, maybe we would retire them to other institutions or different parts of the aquarium. They are very difficult to move in and out of the state. And they basically have nowhere else to go here in California. So although they are living behind the scenes and most of our animals, we would never want to keep in a holding system indefinitely. We try to make that place as enriching and as beneficial for them so that they have a very good like quality of life for the remainder of their life. And we are gonna have our exolatals basically indefinitely because of all the restrictions around them. So we have a special permit to hold them. We are allowed to hold them, but we're not allowed to breed them. Exactly. We're not allowed to transport them, trade them, do all those things with them, but we get a lot of exolatals so many. And they're not always in the best shape when they show up, but we have no idea what their history was. Um so yeah, our GFP melanoid, that one that we were talking about with the green eyes, she is honestly, she looks pretty robust and healthy.

SPEAKER_00 32:30

She does, but she also has like a really bad curve um on her spine, and that has to do because of the space. So I believe they were what in like a five-gallon, right? Yeah, they were in a gun. It's like in a really small, small thing. So I mean they could adjust to it, but that obviously brings up like deformities. Yeah. Um, and then you know, it all it all comes down with like their diet again, like you know, making sure that they are getting exactly getting like the right food. And uh the the one that that really really impacted me was um the release we got a really, really skinny one. So so so skinny. Um not always gills, never kind of upsetting.

SPEAKER_04 33:03

Yeah, like oh I'm sure it's upset in in rehabilitation and rescue and when you're receiving confiscated animals. It looks good now though.

SPEAKER_01 33:09

Oh, yeah, yeah, he's getting on his curves.

SPEAKER_04 33:12

They just need that they just need the America treatment. Needed some worms, yeah. Butchered worms.

SPEAKER_00 33:19

I made sure that they're in the kids stuff. Yeah, exactly. But they're doing pretty good. Um, another thing I wanted to say is um it's an interesting fact. So you had mentioned the tiger salamander. And so the tiger salamander doesn't have any gills, right? It just has like, it's just it's pretty much it looks like an axolotl without gills. Yeah, a terrestrial axolatal, literally, with like really cool stripes. But with axolatos, one of the like a really fun fact is if they are exposed to a chemical called iodine, they could actually become terrestrial and they lose all their gills. I feel like they because they they stay in this like jelly-like form because like their skin, obviously it's already so sensitive, right? But when they come out of the water, like they have this like shiny, it's just so weird. It's like really, really weird. And so, um, yeah, that's a really interesting factor.

SPEAKER_04 34:04

So they're introduced to iodine, they lose their gills. Yes. Do they live a relatively normal lifespan after that? No.

SPEAKER_02 34:12

No, no, it's they come out, I just they're not evolved to do that. And so it takes some adjusting. Uh-huh. There's I'm in a bunch of weird Facebook groups, to be honest, but there's one that I'm in. People sometimes are like, hey, I have a morphed axolotol that was neglected. It's not necessarily like iodine is a trigger for those hormones to kick start that metamorphosis, but also poor water quality, their body will just be like, get out of the water. Yeah, they defin I don't think it's good for them.

SPEAKER_04 34:38

So do they spend any time out of the water? No, full, fully equative.

SPEAKER_00 34:44

Yes, they um, if they do spend some time um like out of the waters because we are here in like in this institution, we have to make sure that they are um safe enough for them to be placed with our other axolados or amphibians. And while the main things that they do get uh swapped from, like physically, like we actually have to get them from the water and really swap them is for Kitrid. And that's just like with um what is like a cotton swab, right? Like it could just be like ill on their bodies just so that we know um that they're yeah, that they are safe. Exactly for a second, yeah. Because Kitrid is very, very dangerous, and I mean they are a donation, so we don't know where they're coming from. Yeah, and we have to make sure that they are safe and clean. Exactly. Very simple.

SPEAKER_02 35:27

Very briefly, they are lifted from the water, swabbed, and then put back into the water. Very, very briefly. They are very mad the whole time. Oh, really?

SPEAKER_00 35:34

They're like eels. Like, I swear they're super slimy.

SPEAKER_02 35:36

Yeah, and I believe it's like flick their whole body, oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 35:40

Whole body, yeah. And there's only like a few that you'll just pick up and they're like, okay. Like they're so polite. Again, personality. They're just like, all right, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 35:50

Who's the polite one out of all of them? Sumpy.

SPEAKER_00 35:52

Yes, Sumpy is super polite, and she's like always up and alive and always kind of welcoming. She's cute. She's super cute.

SPEAKER_02 35:59

We have Sumpy, Pinky, Floyd, and then it's Nemo, Darla. Then we have three juveniles that we have no names for yet, although I'm sure America does.

SPEAKER_04 36:08

Well, can you tell me a little bit more about their conservation? So we know that they are endangered, is that right?

SPEAKER_00 36:13

Yes, they are endangered. Um, I mean, it just from what researchers have been updating, there's about a hundred left, I believe. Um, but there is uh other articles. Yeah, I know. And we have eleven. Um, but there's other articles that um specify that there's 50 to 1,000. It's it's just it's a bit around that, yeah. Um, and that obviously has to do with again, like, you know, the droughts, the contamination, climate change. Yeah, there's a lot of things that sure. Yeah, there's there's so many things because another thing, this is just like a fun fact. Um for Lake Tolchamico, it's it's well known for a tourist site. They do whatever they want. And so, like beer spills, they have so many things. And so if you research that lake itself, um, you'll see like right off the bat what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_04 37:02

Is it being protected in any way? Is there a way of protecting the lake?

SPEAKER_00 37:05

Yeah, there's um well, I believe there's a connection with a university in Guadalajara that they believe that they're able to not necessarily like create a new population, but just see how these Axolados will um thrive on another lake in Guadalajara. It has the same thing, they have the same um like temp on the like the water. It's a much cleaner lake as well. And it it just like mimics the same thing as like Sochimilco, except it has no um, they they're not worried about it being like having a drought because there are sections there where water just keeps on flowing. And so that's a that's a really you know, it's a positive thing. Yeah. And so what they do is just they have in these wild exolatos, they tag them and then they um release them and they kind of just track it down, see how they're doing. So far, there's been very positive things, but obviously, this is not something that will be all of them, yeah. Exactly, put all of them there. It's just just something that I know that that university is doing, and so far it's been pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 38:07

Yeah, that's really, really cool.

SPEAKER_00 38:09

One thing about Mexico is that I know that they have different types of museums um because a lot of people do go to see if uh they're able to like find one itself, right? Like a wild one. They're not gonna find it. Um if they will, it's the thing about axolatos is that they always they're always hidden, like they're they're yeah, they're just very they're very to themselves, you know. They just they will um always be in like the murky waters. And but one thing that um Mexico does do is they make these museums that have genetically bred axolados and they're able to like showcase them and so you can come see an accelerator.

SPEAKER_04 38:44

Exactly, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:44

And it's great because that um the that funding goes to that again the wild yeah, exactly to like be able to help all of that like research go in again, like you know, to other places, not only in Mexico.

SPEAKER_04 38:58

And so well, yeah, I that's really cool that it fulfills the tourism side of it. It's like we know people are coming here to see axolotils. It's they're endangered in the wild, they're likely not gonna see them, and if they are going to look for them, they might disrupt the habitat. Yes. Um, let's create a facility where you can you can come see the axols, learn all about them, probably learn about their how how endangered they are, yeah. And just kind of leave with more knowledge and and some ideas of how we could better take care of our planet for animals like axlottles.

SPEAKER_00 39:27

The great thing is that they're very popular, and so if we're able to, you know, get the attention from not only like our audience, like our generation, but the younger generation.

SPEAKER_03 39:39

Oh, we have their attention.

SPEAKER_00 39:42

Yeah, it's in a video game or something. You know what's in a Mexican bill? Like um a dollar, like a 50 peso um dollar bill. Yeah, cool, it's awesome.

SPEAKER_04 39:50

That's awesome. Well, we have some social media questions. Okay. The first one is can I have one? Not me, but a specific user asked, Can I have an axolotl?

SPEAKER_00 39:59

Um, you can if you aren't here in California. Um, so anything that is with an ambistoma species, so that has to do with uh axolado, with a tiger salamander, you know, like any salamander in that sense, you won't be able to have it here. It is an invasive species, and it's very, very important to understand that. Um if eventually uh you do have one or you find one in a really sketchy place, it's great to just kind of, you know, make sure you call fish and wildlife.

SPEAKER_04 40:30

I didn't realize it was the the the law exists because they are an invasive species and they would really affect the habitats here in California.

SPEAKER_02 40:37

Yeah, I think too it's to protect the species from being collected as well. You know, like I think there's a lot that goes into it. But yeah, I think it, you know, California is very strict with a lot of its wildlife laws, and there's a lot of animals you can't own in California that I think in other states you definitely there's no law about not owning a raccoon in some state. You know, like there's things like that where check your state-specific legislation if you want to own an axolotl um or your country specific, depending where you're listening. But that's a lot of work as we're talking about.

SPEAKER_04 41:03

It is it's a huge amount of work. It's kind of it's not similar similar, but also similar to people who always say they want a pet otter. And I'm like, no, you don't. It's poop everywhere. You don't want poop everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 41:14

So much food, so much poop. Oh, that's it. That's that goes with exolotals too. Axolotls poop so much. Yeah, another thing for exolatils is uh the temperature. So they do have to be in a cold temperature, right? Again, but if they do go a little bit higher than that, so maybe like let's say your axolotl is in a 64. If you do a water change and it goes to like a 66 or maybe like a 67 and it stays there for a bit, um, they will get the urge to poop. So the warmer the temperature is, it they know that it's time to poop. It warms them up. Yeah, they're like, it's time to let it rip. And so they they do indeed let it rip.

SPEAKER_04 41:47

Well, so you so if you wanted an axolotl at home, that's how much that's just one aspect of their care is maintaining their temperature so that way they poop the correct amount and you're not constantly cleaning it up. So it sounds like not an ideal pet.

SPEAKER_00 42:01

It's a hobby. It's it has to be a hobby if you really want these animals to be able to thrive upon, just because there's so many things that go into it. It's like an easy pet.

SPEAKER_02 42:12

I'm a huge proponent of responsible amphibian ownership, especially as a pet. You know, like if your animal is captive bred, not wild collected, does not have diseases that you're introducing, you're not releasing them, and they're kept in appropriate habitat. I think owning amphibians is a wonderful thing. Like I am biased. I obviously have helped with the galley renovation. I have frogs of my own. Like I have. I have frogs. I know.

SPEAKER_04 42:35

I love that you take care of frogs here and then you go home and take care of your body frogs.

SPEAKER_02 42:39

But I think that there's a way to do it right. And I think that these animals, especially amphibians in general, it's so much more about maintaining the integrity of their enclosure and their habitat and where they live, because they live in balance with everything that they do. And so if you have axolotils and they are in an appropriately sized, cold enough, clean enough, good water temperature, you know, good water parameters, I am all about it because people loving axolotls is what is going to drive people taking care of their natural habitat. And if all the things are met and the animals are happy, I don't take issue with it. Obviously, check to see if it's legal and you say we don't have them here in California. But at the same time, like that's cool. I think a lot of people just might not have the information there to do right by the axolotls that they might own. Yeah. Um there's a lot of misinformation out there, and there's a lot of hobbyist information. Amphibian husbandry is coming so far, but it is still a little lagging behind, like we really know how to take care of dogs and cats and things like that, but we don't necessarily always have all the information on amphibians. And so if you're doing your best and you have everything that makes those animals happy and their ecosystem or their environment is healthy and safe, I don't take issue with it. So, yes, if it's legal, we have to perfect.

SPEAKER_04 43:56

Um Do they burrow in the mud at the bottom of these lakes or is there

SPEAKER_00 44:00

any do they are they a burrowing species which is mud they will bury under rocks if they if there's mud there then yes um but they're not like burrowing and like sticking their gills out no no no no no it's not like um yeah they're not like mud skippers you know mud skippers usually are like probably that's what this person's thinking no they're not like that what other fish or creatures do they get along with any other species that they are able to be housed with um other axolatos but specifically they got these guys are not social atom they're not friends they are not mm-mm they have anything that moves they will eat yeah so if you put them with any fish those fish are gonna become their little um snack and they are not really well with other um animals so if you want to put them with anything else I would definitely suggest another axolotl that is about the same size and same sex and same sex yeah what is their reproduction like and is there a difference between the male and female so it's their uh cloaca um their cloaca on a male is much more enlarged um it's like a really big bump and it's between like their tail and um their stomach and it's it's just it's much more enlarged you would definitely be able to see the difference between you could definitely tell yeah with a female it's not as um enlarged as a as a moon yeah and that's that would be the difference the males will um drop a sperm packet if they know there's a female around and they're receptive to breeding the female actually go over and pick it up with her cloaca and that's how their eggs are fertilized.

SPEAKER_02 45:36

And so um that's actually weirdly common with salamander species is the sperm packet behavior.

SPEAKER_04 45:44

If you're interested here go over there.

SPEAKER_02 45:47

They've got some like elaborate courtship ritual that they do first to sort of get in the sperm packet mood. And then I think that's like tails intertwining they're sort of like dancing they go in circles yeah it's cute. We've never seen it here because we're not allowed to breed them but um if you look it up it is actually kind of cute to watch sexoles flirt with each other a little bit and then a thousand babies later.

SPEAKER_04 46:08

So what's the gestation period?

SPEAKER_02 46:10

Uh it says 14 to 21 days as an egg before hatching but it is temperature dependent so um similar to a lot of other animals they will develop more rapidly if they're in warmer temperatures and a little bit more slowly if they're in the does the temperature of the water affect their sex I don't think so I don't think so either.

SPEAKER_00 46:26

Uh-uh um I do know that juveniles or just like um younger axolados do have they have to be in a little bit warmer um helps our growth you know yeah it's um it's something that if you keep the normal axolatos at a 64 you would probably want to keep it at a 66 no more or no less just at that specific one yeah. Are they immortal what's the average lifespan for an we kind of talked about that America wishes I know I do so randomly they do live up to um I believe it's 10 to 15 years and um it it definitely changes um because of like how well you're keeping up with them and stuff but a really well axolotl would definitely live up to 15 years.

SPEAKER_04 47:07

Yeah I guess the thought is is if they can regenerate you know their limbs maybe they can just continuously live forever but that's not the case they regenerate the whole entire life.

SPEAKER_00 47:16

Exactly cool um do they have ears they don't have ears no ears I don't think they have ears they definitely sense vibrations they sense yeah very they're very very sensitive to the city eyesight isn't great and they can sense a vibration is that kind of how they're sensing food in the water is through the the vibrations of the um they see like shadows and so they're able to like pick up where it's like coming from or if they see like um I think I have I I'm just assuming at this point but I've just I've seen them um so much that I I just came up with this assumption and this theory that I feel like they know exactly how this object looks because when I feed these baby axolados I feed them with this blue uh little like tweezers looking because they're very small and they know exactly where to go like they don't go anywhere farther than you know like to my hand or anything. They know exactly where the food that little thing is. Yeah and so they might be able to see that.

SPEAKER_02 48:10

Yeah I think they get the gist of it. You know what I mean? They're like I'm gonna do my best.

SPEAKER_00 48:14

Yeah they're just trained for it.

SPEAKER_04 48:15

Yeah um what about their migration patterns?

SPEAKER_00 48:19

You know if they're doing any traveling I mean they're staying in that lake right they're not they're not leaving the lake they're not they're not unless somebody's introduced the closest answer that I could possibly answer to that is um is just if the waters are if the currents are too strong they would definitely migrate to somewhere where it's not um it is a water stream so we don't know how water could you know impact you know it it it water's moving all the time so we don't know if it might be too strong of a current in this section where they were so they'll just migrate to somewhere where it's more chill and more um soft because again they are very very sensitive to vibrations so in this case um they don't like any sort of like really strong current they like a very still water and if they do like some sort of current is a very soft soft like drop like it's just a little rush. Yeah just a little rush yeah just a little bit are there any studies being done for medical research um for humans the fact that they can regenerate parts of their brain that would be awesome for us humans or even our limbs is there any any medical research being done there is there is um medical research uh we are far far um from like anything that comes up but it's it's just interesting knowing that the study is like on a cellular level where like they want to see how their cells could interact with ours. But like I said we're very far from that. And I know that creatures yeah exactly and I know that these guys are also um thousand times yeah it's a thousand times less susceptible to be able to get cancer. And so it's it's a great thing for them to be able to know that. Study and understand that yeah and so if they're able to one day eventually like isolate the reason if they can yeah and maybe even like help humans out to do that then that that that'll be amazing you know but I'm pretty sure we're very far from that. Yeah um I I don't know how an axolotl could possibly you know interact with my DNA like their DNA or my DNA she's hoping she's that's how will it be can you please tell me now I'm trying to grow guilt outside of my body. Please please and thank you.

SPEAKER_02 50:23

Something I was reading about kind of recently because someone was asking me like how do they regrow their limbs um is I guess with the axolotls they actually have the same um it's like mRNA and RNA that helps create proteins and it's the same thing that we have but we only activate that if we have an excess of nutrients and so think about like if you're going to the gym and you're bulking up you're going to create all that muscle and all that tissue when there is an excess of nutrients and that is available for all those proteins to be built. But for axolotils trauma actually induces a flooding of all those nutrients to one spot so that all of those cells can pull from that and create what they need and they can regrow an entire limb in a matter of weeks without it being an issue at all.

SPEAKER_04 51:03

Yeah I was gonna ask how long five weeks it's pretty fast.

SPEAKER_00 51:06

Uh-huh and then with Nemo It's like if you get a bad cut sometimes I'm like it's still not yeah you know what's really funny about that though so axolatos um for like their fingers right that they have they have like about five or four maybe um depending on like how they regrow it sometimes they just regrow like three. Really? Yeah it's just it's kind of funny um but they regrow it it's just different but it's there.

SPEAKER_04 51:28

I want to talk a little bit about the new gallery I'm so excited it's called Frogs facing a changing world facing a changing world thank you um and you guys have been working tirelessly I have I don't know I'm pretty tired tiredly I guess that's how I should probably say it. But it's been months in the making and um I'm really excited to see this new habitat.

SPEAKER_00 51:50

Can you tell us a little bit more about what we can expect in this new gallery axolotles are going to be there yes axolotl are going to be there um they have a really really cool um section I don't I really just want to um make sure that you guys are so excited as much as I am I see it every day and I'm still like wow it's just so amazing um you will be able to definitely know where the axolotles are now at the aquarium you won't be able to miss it. And yeah I mean it's gonna be axolotles we do have our um our close neighbors that's what we call them so the the ones that are here in California are the ones that are close to California. They're all gonna be all together so you'll you'll find those species all together and then in our frog gallery that's where we have a lot of stuff.

SPEAKER_02 52:36

Yeah we have a lot of stuff it looks beautiful already gorgeous it's been probably you know six eight months in the making and a lot of that is planning and we couldn't close off the gallery until we were really ready to start building so that we're in the middle of our gallery yes and an inconvenient place to be closed and I apologize to all the guests who have had to be detoured around the weight. But just to sort of highlight the tropical amphibians we have that entire section of the Tropical Pacific gallery highlighting different animals that you would find in tropical regions. And so we have amphibians from everywhere from like Madagascar to Vietnam to like Costa Rica and a bunch of different species some of them are familiar some of them are new and something I'm really excited about is sort of highlighting sustainability in amphibian keeping. Like I said I think people should own frogs if they do it right and it's you know responsibly collected and all those things. And something that is a major cause of decline for amphibians in general is collection for the pet trade. And when you have a lot of really cool colorful frogs out in the wild that just sit out in the open because nothing is threatening them because they're poisonous, people can just go and pick them up and then they sell them and that becomes a huge issue and that's actually why golden mantellas are critically endangered because they are so poisonous that they just sit outside and they're like nothing's good nothing you come and get me if you want. Yeah. And then they did and that was the problem. So similar for Kaiser Newt's um once a year they will go all breed in the same stream and they're just out and about because they're doing breeding stuff. And so people have learned the habits of these animals and when to collect them that's easiest for people but unfortunately that leaves them pretty vulnerable. Yeah. All that to say is that in the gallery we have what's called the frog nursery and it is an area sort of meant to highlight sustainability in breeding and keeping amphibians. One of my favorite things about amphibians this is going to sound weird is that they all require very specific environmental cues to get them in a reproductive mood. And it's really hard to know those things until you've tried and tested a couple of different things. Yes we have tried a couple of things we put on changing the lighting and genuinely as much as that sounds crazy sometimes it's a matter of lighting change. You know like that will do it. And so like California newts are a great example where people have had almost difficult time breeding them under human care because they require a period of migration and you can't obviously migrate a newt from its system to another system and have it feel like it walked miles. But sometimes I guess what they had discovered is they could create sort of an elaborate series of almost like hamster tubes to get a newt to walk what it felt like was miles and be like, whoa, I don't know where I am. And even if it ended up back in its own exhibit, it was like yeah I'm ready. That can be enough to trigger those hormones to cause them to breed. And so finding ways to get these sort of rarer or less kept amphibians to breed under human care means that we are not collecting as many from the wild, that we are helping to support sort of the population under human care and showcase them at zoos and aquaria in a very responsible way and I am very excited about that. And also they're doing really cute stuff in there just yesterday one of our frogs was carrying a tadpole around and I was like it's pretty oh you guys are about to open okay actually let me go with my baby just put them around my back here.

SPEAKER_04 55:47

So got you it's pretty cool. That's so cool.

SPEAKER_00 55:50

You guys I'm so excited to see it very excited one more question for you America yeah what do you love about taking care of axolotls or what do you love most about axolotls pick one pick one um so man there's so many things but I think it has to do with well just one being able to interact with not only the animals but also the people um all these little kids they they just come up and just ask like hey where are the axolotles or hey where are the the lautles you know they can't even say it that like properly but it's just so cute and it really warms warms my heart um to be able to educate them and then also educate their parents um my favorite part of it just in general is just being able to spend every day with the Axolottos and making sure that they're okay um getting to know them and their personality and honestly like educating or just kind of being able to show the passion that I have not only to the people that ask me but also like to my staff members and you know just being able to learn every day because these guys are are so different um every day honestly you don't know what you're gonna get uh sometimes you'll get like a ex auto that's just kind of in his little cave and then yeah and then like another day he's just like sassy and then the other day it's just like he's just funny. I mean it's just it's it's crazy to see it um and it's better to explain it uh when you're in person but yeah that's exactly yeah and talk to America all that exolato was yes I will I'm here yeah I will definitely talk your ear off cool that's it yeah thank you so much thank you for being a little bit more than a lot of