Environmental Enrichment

What is enrichment? Enrichment is increasing the quality of your animals' life by including new sights, sounds, smells, and other sensory elements to their environment in an effort to prolong their lifespan and help them lead happier, more fulfilled lives. Enrichment prevents boredom, stimulates the mind, and exercises the body so that the animal does not become overweight.

Animals that are enriched are more confident and comfortable, healthier, and exhibit less signs of stress. You will see more behaviors that you would see in the wild, which leads to more enjoyment for both the animal and you!

Natural Environment & Hides

Amphibians might not play with a ball or play, but studies have shown that enrichment in the form of something as simple as providing them an environment that matches their wild one can significantly extend their lifespan. Morphed axolotls would have lived among the leaf litter in a forest on the shores of a shallow lake. They would have spent the majority of their time under leaves or in burrows dug by other animals. They benefit greatly from having a "forest floor" habitat that mimics their natural lakeside home. Provide damp leaves, naturalistic hides, and soft substrate for creating burrows to make the most of environmental enrichment.

Swimming

Despite having left their aquatic bodies behind for a terrestrial one, you should remember that morphed axolotls are still amphibians! The addition of a swimming area in their habitat can provide a lot of enjoyment. Many still love to spend time paddling around in the shallows or sitting on the edge of a pool, ready to jump right in if something spooks them. It's not uncommon to see them digging around in soft, sandy substrate at the bottom of their pool too, if provided!

Exercise

Morphed axolotls spend a lot of time buried in their substrate or hidden in burrows, and this shouldn't be cause for alarm. However, even low-energy animals need to move sometimes. Switch up their environment from time to time by providing an obstacle for them to climb over such as a rock or stick or provide new textures with a new type of leaves. Hold a worm just out of reach on a pair of tongs and make them walk to it instead of bringing the food directly to their face every time.

And always provide an adequate environment for the animal. An inadequate environment can create a depressed animal that shows no interest in exploring or moving around the habitat. Stress behaviors like aggression to tankmates or self-harming behaviors like glass climbing can occur if the right environment is not provided.

Substrate

As mentioned before, morphed axolotls are a member of the mole salamander family. They spend quite a bit of their days burrowed into the soil. It might not sound like much, but it can increase their quality of life to provide them with the means to fulfill this instinctual urge. Moist substrate is a staple ingredient for a healthy, happy metamorph. Not only does it make them feel safer, but it also keeps their skin moist! A dirty salamander is a happy salamander.

Predator Detection

In zoos, enrichment for amphibians, reptiles, and small animals is given through the introduction of predatory sights, sounds, and smells. This makes the animals use all of their senses as they investigate and try to figure out whether their home is safe. Compulsive behaviors like glass climbing or self harm stop in their tracks when these sensory elements are introduced, and the animals have proven to have longer lives than those who don't receive stimulation.

A great way of providing this stimulation in the home terrarium is to place a snakeskin into the habitat once in a while. This provides olfactory/chemosensory enrichment as they investigate this dangerous new smell. Morphed axolotls have been observed to be more active and alert for a time after the skin is introduced.