A mum has shared how buying her daughter a pet quickly became an addiction she “fell in love” with.
Emma Honeyfield’s daughter had been asking for an axolotl, a unique endangered aquatic salamander native to Mexico City, for a long time before she finally gave in.
But the 36-year-old didn’t realise how much she’d come to love the creatures herself – ending up owning 20 and spending hundreds of pounds on them.
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“It honestly became a bit of an addiction,” Emma, from Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent, in Wales, told Need To Know.
“One quickly became two after I saw another being advertised for free on social media.
“From there it just grew and it took around seven months to reach 20.
“Once you’re involved in the hobby and see others needing homes, it’s hard not to take them in.”
Her seven-year-old daughter, Amber, finally got her wish in September 2025, when Emma bought their first axolotl, who she named Stitch, from an aquatic shop.
Emma said: “We absolutely fell in love with his personality straight away.
“I love their little smiling faces and their personalities.
“They’re such quirky creatures and really fascinating; it amazes me that they can regrow limbs, gills, and even parts of their brain.”
Emma’s love for axolotls developed quickly and she now owns 20 – all with their own names and easily identifiable to the mum-of-three, based on their size and shape.
She has four axolotl tanks running, a tropical tank, and four more tanks cycling, which is the process of establishing a healthy, functional ecosystem by growing beneficial bacteria in the filter and substrate of a tank.
One is based in her front room, with the others set up near the back of the house.
Emma said: “My daughter absolutely loves it, she’s always excited to come home from school and see them and she helps with daily water changes.
“My husband just goes with the flow now.”
But it can be tough to care for axolotl – not to mention costly.
Emma rescued a number of them, and bought her additional animals from breeders, all costing £80-£200 each.
She estimates she has spent around £700 on the animals, as well as spending up to £150 a month on their upkeep and care, not including the electricity costs to run the tanks.
Emma added: “One month I may only need worms, so I buy 2kgs.
“Then another I may need everything or one may have a fungal infection that needs to be treated.
“I find fungal infections more common in the ones I’ve rescued – I have never had a fungal infection in any of the ones I’ve bought from a breeder.
“With breeders, you’re paying for quality and lineage, I have some where I know their family line going back five generations.
“It’s similar to dogs in that sense, but with axolotls, it’s about morphs.
“I’ve also come across a few backyard breeders, so it’s important to be careful.”
But while it has proven expensive for her, Emma says it can “cost as much or as little” as owners want, depending on their setups.
She added:v“I use sponge filters in some tanks and external filters in others.
“Most of my tanks were sourced from social media for free or cheaply, which helped a lot with setup costs.
“To get started properly, you need a good water testing kit like API, a water dechlorinator such as Seachem Prime, and something like Dr Tim’s ammonia for cycling.
“You also need hides, live plants, and decorations like wood.”
Emma says the biggest challenge with caring for axolotl is the daily water change, which needs to happen when some tanks are cycling, and can prove time-consuming.
For now, she is happy with her large brood – though she wouldn’t turn down expanding the clan in the future.
She added: “I’m not planning on getting more, but if I come across one that needs help, I’m always happy to take it in, get it healthy, and re-home it.”
Emma has also shared her advice for anyone considering getting an axolotl of their own – do your research.
She added: “There’s a lot of misinformation out there and axolotls are not easy animals to keep.
“I was really lucky to find the Axolotl Care and Support UK group, which helped me massively after I was initially given incorrect advice.
“Getting the right information makes all the difference.”
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