What are the facts about this strange animal, axolotls?

Thumbnail image made using Gemini

This is one of the weirdest animals on planet Earth and it's not the way it looks because it kind of looks like it came out of a pokemon movie or an actual alien.

It's called an axolotls and people have so many thoughts about it, some are facts but some are also misleading opinions.

So what is true about possible myths and drama about axolotls? What do you see? When looking at an axolotl from the top, you see pink and feathery things around the head, counter to the shape of the head, to the left and right of the eyes. What are these? They're external gills that are on the head, and they are the reason why axolotls can breathe underwater. Axolotls have smooth skin that allows them to absorb oxygen. Yes, axolotls do have lungs, but the gills do most of the work and they breathe through their gills while they're underwater.

Most people just see axolotls as caterpillar like creatures that can regenerate parts of their body like Deadpool, but that is just the tip of the iceberg about axolotl regeneration. What some people do not know is that completing the process can be repeatable at least 5 times, but as they continue completing the process, it slows down due to the axolotls aging or getting too injured. Even though the axolotl have the ability to regenerate, it does not mean that they are invincible. If the quality of some water that is in the axolotl tank gets too bad or the tank gets too crowded, the axolotls will suffer.

What people do not know is that young axolotls do not eat limbs of other axolotls on purpose and do not understand the idea of their regeneration. The young axolotls, when they are in the same space as each other, or in a small enclosure or bowl, they compete over food, and if they don't, they'll bite each other. As these axolotls age, they bite each other much less often.

When you take these features into consideration, you begin seeing an astounding creature defined by certain biological characteristics, including a limit to their length. While their uniqueness will impress you, you have to remember that they are just a living organism like any other, sticking to their roots.

Someone told their story of having a pet axolotl.

I had years ago a pet axolot. Another fish in the tank ate all 4 limbs, all 6 external gills, and his tail. I came home that day to a sad little sausage, barely alive. I separated him from the others, super aerated the water, and in a few weeks all eleven appendages had grown back and he (or she) was eating and back to normal.

https://youtube.com/shorts/P66Z-MyW4wU?si=EB7ys-uR4UB_vXxb