What Body Parts Can Axolotls Regenerate?

Abdul Wasay Khatri | Administrator

Last updated: 9 January, 2026

Direct Answer

Axolotls can regenerate limbs, tail, gills, jaw, spine, parts of their brain, heart tissue, eyes, and skin. They regrow these body parts multiple times throughout their life without forming scar tissue. The regenerated parts work just like the originals legs grow back with bones, muscles, and nerves, gills regrow their feathery filaments, and even parts of damaged organs repair themselves completely.

How Their Regeneration Works

When an axolotl loses a body part, cells at the wound site form a blob called a blastema. This blob contains stem cells that “remember” what used to be there and rebuild it from scratch. The whole process takes 4-12 weeks depending on what’s regrowing. A toe might take a month, while a full leg takes closer to two months.

The regenerated part looks and works exactly like the original. New legs have working joints, blood vessels, and feeling. Regrown gills filter oxygen just fine. This isn’t like a lizard tail that grows back weird axolotls do it perfectly, every single time. Scientists still don’t fully understand how they pull this off.

Water quality matters huge during regeneration. Clean water with zero ammonia and nitrites lets them heal faster and reduces infection risk. Dirty water slows healing and can cause fungus to grow on the wound. Keep the tank pristine if your axolotl is regrowing something.

Limits and Recovery Time

Axolotls can regenerate the same body part multiple times. There’s no set limit they can regrow a leg five, ten, even twenty times if they keep losing it. Each time takes about the same amount of time, and the quality doesn’t drop with repeated regeneration.

Brain and organ regeneration is wild but limited. They can repair damaged brain tissue and heart muscle, but not regrow an entire missing brain or heart. Think of it more like patching holes than building from nothing. Still pretty amazing compared to what humans can do.

Some injuries heal better than others. Clean cuts regrow faster than crushed or mangled tissue. If another axolotl bites off a leg, that’s a clean wound that heals great. If a leg gets caught in a filter and gets shredded, healing takes longer and might not be as perfect. Position your filter intake carefully to prevent accidents.

FAQ

Can axolotls regrow their head?
No, they can’t regrow a completely severed head. They can heal jaw damage and some facial injuries, but losing the entire head is fatal. Same goes for massive body trauma there are limits to what they can survive.

How many times can an axolotl regenerate the same body part?
There’s no known limit. They can regrow the same leg or gill dozens of times throughout their 10-15 year lifespan without any decline in quality.

Will the regenerated body part look different?
No, it grows back looking identical to the original. Same color, same size, same shape. After a few months you won’t be able to tell which leg was regenerated unless you’re keeping close track.

Do baby axolotls regenerate faster than adults?
Yes, younger axolotls heal and regenerate faster than older ones. A baby might regrow a leg in 3-4 weeks, while an adult takes 6-8 weeks. The quality is the same though.

Should I do anything special while my axolotl is regenerating?
Keep water extra clean, avoid handling them, and don’t use rough substrate that could damage the healing tissue. Feed normally they need energy to rebuild body parts. Watch for white fuzzy fungus on the wound and treat it immediately if you see it.

Abdul Wasay Khatri
Administrator
Abdul Wasay is the founder and lead author of Axolotl Portal, a trusted site for axolotl care. He spent almost nine months learning about axolotls, including their tanks, feeding, water care, and common health problems. His knowledge comes from trusted vets, research, and real experience from long term axolotl owners. All Posts by