Axolotl
Today’s critter is one of the coolest, craziest, interesting looking animals you’ll ever hear about, and it has some pretty amazing abilities! Our travels take us all the way to Mexico City, to one lake called Lake Xochimilco. We are learning about the amphibian called the Axolotl.
Get ready for an adventure, let’s go!
Critter At A Glance
What is so special about the Axolotl? These critters, unlike many amphibians, do not go through metamorphosis. Instead, they grow lungs but keep their aquatic breathing gills.
How do they eat? Axolotl use suction instead of teeth to suck up their food from the bottom of the lake. They eat things such as worms, small tadpoles, and small fish.
What is their life cycle? Once they reach a year and a half old, they’re ready to become moms and dads. When they meet each other, they do a dance. The mother lays up to 1,000 and lays them on safe places like leaves. She lays them one by one and after 2 weeks they hatch. Baby Axolotl are very hungry and they eat whatever they can as soon as they can.
What else can we learn about this super cool amphibian? Don’t miss out on this story below!
Are you ready for an out of this world fact?
Axolotls are like the superheroes of the animal world. They can grow back lost limbs in only a few weeks. They even regenerate their lungs, heart, spinal cord and parts of their brain, if they suffer a head injury. They heal without any scarring!
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Be sure to join our CritterQ today!
Today’s challenge is to make some amphibian characters for your own stories. Attached is a template for a frog and axolotl. Can you decorate them, add some puppet sticks OR tape them to a paper bag? Paper bags make PERFECT puppets, and puppets are GREAT for telling your own story. Be sure to share your creations!
<= Click to download your PDF!
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“17 Astonishing Axolotl (Mexican Walking Fish) Facts.” Fact Animal, 5 Dec. 2020, https://factanimal.com/axolotl/.
OConnell, Rebecca. “11 Awesome Axolotl Facts.” Mental Floss, Mental Floss, 16 Apr. 2015, https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/63130/11-awesome-axolotl-facts.
“Axolotl Facts for Kids: Axolotls Information.” Animal Fact Guide, 7 Feb. 2022, https://animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/axolotl/#:~:text=Axolotl%20Range,Mexico%20City%2C%20called%20Lake%20Xochimilco.