What hatching actually involves
Eggs hatch in roughly two to three weeks depending on temperature, warmer water hatching them faster. What comes out is about a centimetre long, has external gills and a tail, and has no legs at all.
Here is the part that catches people out. Larvae will only take live moving food. They will not eat pellets, they will not eat anything frozen, and they will not eat anything that is sitting still. That means live baby brine shrimp or microworm, cultured at home, several times a day, every day, for weeks. If you cannot commit to that, do not buy eggs.
They also need separating. Axolotl larvae are cannibalistic and will take each other's limbs and gills, so once they have front legs they need to be split into individual or very low density containers. Five eggs can become five separate containers needing daily water changes.
Who eggs are right for
Eggs suit someone who already keeps axolotls, has a stable cycled system, and wants the experience of raising animals from scratch. They are a poor choice for a first axolotl. If this is your first, buy a juvenile that is already feeding independently, which is how everything else on this site is sold. See our axolotls for sale.
If you do go ahead, read baby axolotls for what the juvenile stage needs once they are through the larval phase, and the tank setup guide for the grow out system.
