Evesham’s axolotl rescue HQ

Available for over a year

The Reptile Rescue Centre has received hundreds of the salamanders handed in at a time, their popularity exploding with appearances in Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite. Pet shops report a boom in sales, but experts warn that with fewer than 1,000 axolotls left in the wild, the creatures are seriously endangered. Conservationists fears people are taking them on as pets without knowing exactly what is involved in looking after them. Tara Costellow runs the Axolotl and Reptile Rescue Centre in Evesham. The BBC Make A Difference Award winner tells Tammy Gooding how the salamanders require a lot of water to be looked after, with regulation of the nitrogen levels essential and a chiller for the tank. Image credit: Axolotl and Reptile Rescue Centre