Illness/Sickness: Axolotl just excreted blood

[Jessie]

Hi,

Our male rescue axolotl just excreted some blood. He refused food a couple days ago and was acting weird, so we put him in the fridge starting on Friday. We took him out Sunday evening since he excreted a lot of waste. This morning, when we got up, there was a strand of blood in the water with him. I've attached 3 photos. Also, there appears to be a reddish spot on one of his gills (also in the photo with an arrow pointing to it).

We got these axolotls from a coworker who has had them for 6 years, with gravel substrate, feeding them turtle pellets, no filter, no hides, and a light on top of their 15 gallon tank (there were 2 adults in the tank). Just to give you some idea of where they're coming from. When we got them, we fridged them for a week, and they got out a lot of stones, but they have been pooping regularly with no more stones. Our tank has an empty bottom, lots of weighted down plants, and several hiding spots.

Thoughts? Help! He's back in the fridge now and still refusing food.
Thanks!
Jessie

[Jennewt]

I have no idea what is causing the blood or the red spot on the gills. All I can do is try to help you provide the best husbandry possible. Overall, the axolotl appears to be in good condition, so don't despair.

During the time that the axolotl was NOT in the fridge, was he eating? What food(s)? Have you tested the tank for ammonia, etc? The first month or two with a new tank are the difficult period when ammonia and nitrite in the water can be a problem. Is the other axie still in the tank?

If the medical symptoms persist, a vet would be recommended. I'd recommend doing the research (phone calls and internet searches) now to find if there is one near you that will treat an amphibian, if it comes to that.

[Austin]

Are you sure it was excreted? I've had an Axolotl's gill been bitten off by another, and it bled a fair amount of blood. Maybe the gill was injured by something?

[Jessie]

Thanks for your responses. I can't be positive it was excreted, but it happened while he was alone in the fridge. We tested the water after he started acting weird, and everything appears normal. The other axolotl is still in the tank, swimming around happily, and eating well. We feed them earthworms from our garden, so we know what is in the soil. He was eating pretty well from the day we got him (about a month ago), but it did take him a bit to get used to eating worms though that's not surprising.

On the vet front -- I'm, luckily, married to a vet, and we know a good axolotl vet in the area. So, if it comes to that, we're all set. Anna, my wife, was wondering if she should bring home some antibiotics -- thoughts?

Thanks!
Jessie

[Jessie]

Things are MUCH worse -- there is blood seeping out of his gills, and he is regularly spitting blood out his mouth. My wife changed his water about 2 hrs ago, and when I got home, the water was noticeably not clear. I'm getting really worried.

We're calling the vet, but I'm not optimistic.

[Jessie]

Just got some x-rays -- there's a stone in there, but it seems totally small enough to be passed. It is definitely not the largest one that he's passed thus far. We have an appt with the exotics vet for 6 pm, but I'm not sure there is much we can do besides wait and see. Maybe we can help support his system with some antibiotics in the hopes that helps him heal quicker.

X-ray is attached. Fingers crossed!

[Jessie]

The bleeding appears to have stopped. We just got back from the vet, and we have baytril and sucrolphate to give him. I'm really hoping this stone dislodges and he's able to pass it. Keep your fingers crossed!

[Jasper]

Thanks for the update. I wish you and your axolotl the best of luck. Will do!

[natasha]

I hope he gets well soon and the best of luck.

Tash

[Nova]

Poor wee thing Hope the meds work!

[Jessie]

Things are not looking good. We have been administering the meds as prescribed. He continues to excrete some blood and tissue though nothing as badly as before. He has also developed what appear to be sores on his skin. There are at least three spots that are actively bleeding. Any ideas why this would happen? We're getting increasingly worried about him.

Thanks,
Jessie

[Jasper]

Originally Posted by jmknapp21

Things are not looking good. We have been administering the meds as prescribed. He continues to excrete some blood and tissue though nothing as badly as before. He has also developed what appear to be sores on his skin. There are at least three spots that are actively bleeding. Any ideas why this would happen? We're getting increasingly worried about him.

Thanks,
Jessie

If I were to guess, the axolotl has a suppressed immune system, allowing bacteria to manifest as the blood blister and the open sores.

I would recommending looking at Caudata Culture Articles - Illness Part 2 .

Although the symptoms are not exactly the same, there are some general accounts that you will probably find relevant.

I wish you the best of luck...

[Jessie]

Here is a picture of the two spots that are bleeding, and you can see some of the white stuff (tissue or passed/regurgitated sucralfate).

We're calling the vet to see about giving baytril baths instead of oral meds to avoid handling him.

Thanks for all your advice and support!
Jessie

[Jessie]

As an update -- nothing major to report. The female hasn't passed any stones, and the vet thinks her xrays look "very interesting." We might try to get a lateral view of the xray, but that would require sedation, so we'll see. Neither the vet nor I am convinced that the female actually has a stone as opposed to some sort of a bone growth.

The male isn't actively bleeding anymore, but he is excreting some tissues still. He's on antibiotics, so we're hoping that holds off infections. We'll see where it goes, but so far, he seems ok.

[Jessie]

Well, I'm sad to report that our male died yesterday. He was pretty listless yesterday morning and had been excreting bloody tissue pretty consistently for a day or so. We did a necropsy, and his stomach was very inflamed and had grown completely around the stone. His spleen was also full of tumors. We may never know the real cause of his death, and we are, of course, very sad, but we did our best. It is hard not to wonder if we had just left him with my coworker, would he still be alive? We seem to have bad luck with axolotls thus far, and we're getting a little discouraged.

The vet said the female's x-rays looks suspect, so we're going to try to get some better views. She thinks it looks more like some sort of spinal growth than a tumor. If it is a spinal growth, I think we'll just let her live out her days happily with us. She behaves totally normally, so until something happens, we just want to make her happy.

Thanks for all your help and support.
Jessie

[Austin]

I'm very sorry for your loss.