How does the dehydration timer work for axolotls in Minecraft?

Hi everyone! Today I ran a small but very telling experiment in Minecraft and, honestly, I’m still impressed. It was something else! I decided to test an interesting hypothesis about axolotls surviving on land. The very thought made my heart ache, but curiosity won. And I wasn’t wrong — the result made me see the devs’ attention to detail in a new light.

Preparation

For a clean experiment, I set up something simple. I built two small aquariums from glass blocks, placed flush together. Key point — I didn’t fill them with water. Then I carefully placed one axolotl into each of these dry “pens.” First thought in my head: “What kind of monster am I?!” But I reminded myself this was for science and to understand the game’s mechanics. Of course, I prepared everything in advance to save at least one of them.

One throw decides it all

As soon as the axolotls were on land, their dehydration timer kicked in. Both started twitching periodically, taking damage. I waited a few seconds to be sure the process was in sync and readied a splash water bottle. At the critical moment, when their health was almost gone, I made a precise throw — so that the splash would hit only one axolotl. This was the moment of truth: would the mechanic work on a single target or save both?

Winner by splash

The result amazed me! The axolotl that got splashed stopped taking damage instantly. Its dehydration timer reset; it was saved and crawled around briskly in its glass cube. Its neighbor, sadly, kept suffering and died a few seconds later before my eyes. I was both shocked and thrilled. What a finely tuned mechanic! Rescue doesn’t work at a distance, and that feels fair and logical.

Targeted mechanic, big meaning

This small experiment showed that even tiny details matter in Minecraft. A splash water bottle isn’t just “magic,” but a realistic tool with a limited radius. For gameplay, this opens interesting tactical options. For example, during an ocean monument raid you might accidentally pull an axolotl onto land. Knowing this, you can save it quickly without building a water tank. It teaches you to pay closer attention to your little pixel helpers.

Pros and cons of using water bottles

Pros:

• Quick rescue: The fastest way to save an axolotl from dehydration far from a water source.
• Accessible: Making a splash water bottle is easy; resources are almost always on hand.
• Targeted action: You can save a specific mob in a crowd without affecting others.

Cons:

• Short-lived effect: The bottle only resets the timer; it doesn’t solve the problem for long.
• Miss risk: In the chaos it’s easy to miss and waste precious time.
• Doesn’t save from other threats: It won’t protect from hostile mobs or fall damage.

What other hypotheses should I test in the game? Share your wildest ideas in the comments!