The baby sitter needs help!

i just got an axolotl from a friend as she is going over seas for a year and wanted me to look after him. She didnt leave me with much information so ive read all the info and got a tank for my axy. i just want to know how do i know if hes happy and if his behaviour is normal? He tends to stand on his tale and have his head at the top of the tank so he is vertical? is this normal? Also, he keeps snapping the top of the water, but won't eat any of his food. We recently had him in with gold fish - not realising he would eat them, so would he not be eating pallets because he has the taste for fish now? The water levels and cycle of my tank are all right for axies. I think he is roughly fully grown.

You should read http://www.axolotl.org/

I only just got my first axie and found it really useful. In general, you can tell if he is stressed if he gets white patches on his head, his gills stand up, and/or his tail curls at the end.

Sometimes they can take a while to eat when settling into a new home. Mine took a few days, so don't stress too much just yet. Have you tried hand-feeding him? It's unlikely that he is not eating because he has the taste for fish, probably stress. You really don't want to keep him in with other fish because they tend to nibble at his gills, which will cause unnecessary stress.

Mine also stood on his tail the other night for about 2 mins, but there seemed to be nothing wrong, and I have never read anything about it being bad, so I guess it's ok.

How long did you cycle the tank for?

Anyway, hope this is of some help. Keep us posted on his progress

yeah im just worried about him, because i dont know if hes o.k or not. he is missing one of his gills, but it should grow back right? Hes a bit of a scary axy coz he'll try to eat my hand if i put it in the tank so im too scared to hang feed him lol!!
He is blowing up a heap of bubbles though. Do all axys do that?

Yeah, they burp when they get too much air inside them. Its probably from when he was at the top of the tank breathing in air.

He doesn't have teeth, so he cant bite you. The worst that can happen is that he will latch onto your finger and suck it for a bit. Always make sure that you wash your hands first (not with a toxic soap) so that if he does latch on, he will not consume any harmful bacteria.

He is probably trying to "eat" your hand because he can smell the food and wants to eat it.

I find that the best way to feed mine is to put my hand about 20cm above his head, hold still for 5 sec, and then drop the food.

That way, he knows that the movement in the water is the food, and not me, and he also doesn't touch me at all.

Make sure that if you drop any food that you either try to feed it to him again, or throw it out. Otherwise the water will become stagnant(*) and turn green and smell.

The gill should grow back. Apparently they will eat their own legs if they are left too long without food, and they still grow back (pet store advice, so not to be taken as 100% true), but the gills should be fine.

(Message edited by ~lorzie~ on November 10, 2005)

oh awesome! thanks for that. i might have to get a different food because the food i have is really tiny. i cant hold it in my fingers, if i were to feed it to him id have to hold my hand flat :S

He seems happier when i turn my filter off. my filter makes bubbles on the top the water. i dont know anything about filters my dad set it up but is that o.k? it sits in the corner and the air goes to the top of the tank? would that be stressing him at all?

You can always use tweezers or chopsticks to feed him or to drop it in the tank. The smaller food is sometimes easier for younger ones, but if he if fully grown as you say, then he should have no problems with larger food.

If the filter is creating a strong current in the water then it would be stressing him. You never want the water to project directly onto him. If possible, face the water jet onto the side of the glass. I'm not sure if it would injure him, or if he just doesn't like it, but I'm sure that if you had the filter on a high setting, then you may be able to cause bruising .

He would also be stressed if you are keeping the light on all day. While I find that mine doesn't mind the light, I keep it off for the majority of the day, usually only turning it on for a couple of hours at feeding time (morning) and again at night, so that the plants get the light that they need to grow. The light in the room should be sufficient. So it may actually be the light, rather than the filter.

Wait, Kezzy did you cycle your tank? I know Laura asked you this but you didn't respond. If not, that could cause future problems and possible sickness. You need to cycle new tanks. Here is a link about cycling: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

it doesn't actually have a light on my tank, and the room where the axy is, is generally not very bright.
i did cycle it for several days, but however in the mean time poor axy was in with the gold fish. he was having a feast eating them!
i just hope hes o.k, i think ive got most things right so far. i just don't really know what to look out for.

You need to check the ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite levels of your water. The tank is supposed to cycle for 30 days to get the levels right. You can probably go to your local pet store and have it checked for free. If not, you can buy test kits. You will need to add various chemicals depending on what (if any) levels are not ok.

I found that the best way to look after mine is to not stress about what he is doing for the first week. Its unsettling for him and there is a lot of stress involved.

If you find that all your levels are fine, then just sit back and observe what he does. If you pressure him to eat, then he will probably resist until he feels comfortable in the new environment.

Good luck with it all

Kezzy, because you just have one Axolotl in the tank, and like Laura said, Watch your water levels and keep a close eye on him.

The tank doesn't always need to be pre-cycled if there is just one animal living in the tank, but keep a close eye on him and the water levels

let the tank run for 30 some days and then after that if the levels are normal 25% water changes need to fallow with weekly tank cleaning.

Most axolotls stress when moved around alot, so your best bet would be to leave him in the tank for now and offer him food.

Stress Coat or Amqual are two good brands of Declorenator to use. These are safe to use with Axolotls.

Earthworms are best to feed, but you can also feed him bloodworms, blackworms, adult frozen brineshrimp, these sorts of things and Crickets too as long as the crickets are gut loaded, but I usually see these as snacks for Axolotls, not a stable.

It doesn't always take 30 days though. To speed up the process you could use sand, water, a filter form another already established(cycled) tank.