Question: Is our One Legged Axolotl ok? O_o

[RedJesta]

Yes one leg... After seeing this little guy not moving at all in the pet store, they said it got attacked by the others, and seeing it the following week alone in the tank I felt so sorry for her and had to buy it.

She has one front leg and the other looks like its growing back but i actually don't know.

Would someone please be able to tell me, in the pictures i have, does this look normal for a leg to grow back or is this the begginging of some kind of fungus?
It looks weird and I hope you can see it clearly in the reflection of the tank in the close up picture.


The petstore said she hardly moved or ate anything but the night i got her home she loved the earthworm i gave her and has hardly stopped swimming around so she seems fine in the "acting normal" way..And Geisha is fine and happy with my other Axolotls..


I hope there is nothing wrong with her leg which is growing back but i want to be sure.
Thankyou for your help.

[RedJesta]

oops..sorry..im just TRYING to attach the pics now..

[RedJesta]

here is the close up pic for now.

[Kaysie]

Looks like fungus to me. See how it's all fibrous, like cotton wool? You'll need to do salt baths.

[RedJesta]

so as you can see, the back legs are bare but the front leg has a bit of white sticking out of it and itts surrounded by white fluff looking stuff..Is this normally what a leg looks like when its growing back or is it something worse?
thankyou ^_^

[RedJesta]

ahh..so thats covered in other forums here. I thought the same thing. Do you think it Could affect my other axolotls?

[Kaysie]

The white thing is bone. Yes, it could. Ideally, you should have quarantined the new animal for at least a month after all signs of illness were gone before introducing it into the community tank.

For now, try keeping the new guy cool and clean and see if the salt baths help. Keep them as mild and brief as you can while still being effective, as it will be uncomfortable for your axolotl on open wounds.

[RedJesta]

Ok. Thankyou very much for your help. I was hoping for better news but its so great having this forum to learn exactly what the right way to take care of him is. Thankyou ^__^ I hope it will work and soon he/or she will be looking better and feeling better.

[Kaysie]

That's why we're here, to help! I've seen axies come back from worse, so hopefully your little guy does ok. Luckily, it seems like a decent weight, so you don't have starvation compounding the issue.

[RedJesta]

Yes she is the perfect weight and she is still eating so I expect she'll be fine now that I know what to do.
Is this fungus a common problem for axolotls growing limbs back?

[Kaysie]

It is, especially with newly acquired animals.

[RedJesta]

Geisha had her first salt water bath today for around 7 minutes and seemed to be alright after that because she even ate some blood worms. And now she's resting in the fridge:)
Hopefully she'll recover soon. ^__^

[Kaysie]

If you're fridging, just be sure you refrigerate your salt bath water too. You don't want to cause thermal shock.

[RedJesta]

Yes thankyou for that Kaysie. We are fridging her so that really was good to know. :)
I hope she starts to improve soon...

[RedJesta]

Hi there, our Axolotl has been in the fridge for 5 days and hasn't eaten this whole time. I'm starting to worry even more about her.
Is it ok for her to go so long without eating. I'm not sure, because I read when they are fridged that they eat as often. I tried bloodworms and earth worms.
I'm not sure what to do. Any suggestions please?
Thank you.

[Kaysie]

5 days isn't a long time to go without food. I've heard stories of axolotls going for months (and have had periods of anorexia with mine as well). It's common for them to go off food while fridging, as fridging slows their metabolism.

Keep offering food 2 or 3 times a week, but don't be too alarmed.

How does the fungus look?

[RedJesta]

Ok i won't worry her eating problem then..I'll keep offering like you said. :)
Her fungus doesn't look any better OR any worse. It looks just the same.
I have attached a pic to show you. All 3 legs look like they might have grown a few millimetres..


Does the fungus usually clear up in 5 days? Because i have been doing 2 salt baths a day like suggested but i wonder how long i should continue doing them, I assume until its cleared but because she is only a young axolotl i'm not sure..
Thankyou very much for your time and advice Kaysie.

[Kaysie]

Is there still fungus on the leg? Or is that just dead tissue? It's hard to tell from the picture. You can continue salt baths for a few days after the fungus is gone just for good measure, but they are irritating, so you don't want to do them longer than necessary.

[RedJesta]

Hi again..well the little axolotl's leg hasn't changed at all..
So now i really wonder whether it is fungus or not because it hasn't cleared up after having a salt bath twice a day more then 2 weeks.
Do you think it could be muscle tissue or something when you look at these pictures?

She still hasn't eaten anything in all this time but i'm persistant in trying to get her to eat.
Is there anything i could do to help her?
Thankyou for your help. ^__^

[Kaysie]

To me, it looks like that's just dead tissue around the leg. Is it still in the fridge? Regrowth will be faster at the warmer temperature of the tank.