253 - Mud Puppies
I had one of these as a pet when I was in high school. Technically an axolotl:
An axolotl is somewhat of a freak of nature - it’s a salamander that never progresses out of its immature stage. The adults retain their gills and remain aquatic, like a frog never maturing from a tadpole. You can keep them in standard fish aquariums.
Unfortunately, it turned out I was swindled - mine really was a young salamander and as it aged and absorbed it’s gills not surprisingly it became increasingly agitated in its tank, as did I because my set-up was for fish, not amphibians. Luckily I found a home for it.
As an example of synchronicity, after I wrote this tune down today some friends visiting for dinner tonight brought a bottle of red wine with them from Stone Hill Winery, a Missouri wine company - Missouri Hellbender. I thought that an interesting name to slap on a bottle of wine. What I didn’t know and learned later was a Hellbender is large aquatic salamander with a big flat head and tiny eyes covered with folds of skin and Missouri is the only state in the union that has both recognized subspecies of North American hellbenders. Makes the name on the bottle of wine even stranger. It was delicious, by the way.
I suppose you could say alongside some of the worst politicians in the nation Missouri is also known for slimy hellbender salamanders. It’s not easy distinguishing between the two.
