Hurt Axolotl, Advice Please!

One of my axolotls is pretty hurt. I have two little guys about 8 months old. They share a 20 gallon tank in my third grade classroom. We had a few snow days last week and a friend was able to stop in and feed them, so not sure what happened. I came back to school mid week last week and the one that is more fragile was laying in the side of the tank. I took him out and discovered that one of his arms was missing at the elbow and the other hand was without flesh (bones there). I put him into a large tupperware container and took him home to change the water and feed him by hand twice a day until he could regenerate. He is still missing his limbs, but looking happy. This morning, the door to my son't bedroom must not have been shut tight, because I found him on the floor cornered by my two cats. Poor guy. He is still alive and not missing anything else. But his side and tail are now scratched up. I think it had just happened as he got right back into water and began to move around. I assume that he will regenerate and his wounds will heal. But without vets to get checked out I am worried. Is there something that I can keep in his water to ensure that he does not get an infection while he heals? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sounds like the little guy has had a rough time. You could try Indian almond leave or maybe give him a tea bath. I am not sure where but there are instructions on giving a tea bath. Keep his water nice and clean and cool and if he is in a tub he will need daily 100% water changes.

You could also try a large ziploc container (because they are cheap) and poke holes in the lid so that you can securely cover it. That way, if/when the cats find their way back to where that interesting-possibly-edible creature is, they won't be able to terrorize him again.

That is what we had done, but they are crafty cats and got the lid off. The new container had a much tighter lid so hopefully that will help. Also, my husband put him into the fridge this morning to see if that would help. Our vets office has never even heard of axolotls so they were no help at all. I will look up the tea bath. Any other ideas would be appreciated as I would hate to tell my students that they are down to one class axolotl.

Since you put him in the fridge I would recommend reading the fridging guide if you haven't. You'll need to keep the axolotl fridged for several days. I would look it up, because I've never had to do it myself, but I know you can't take them in and out of the fridge too quickly.

I saw a few links around here for vets. I can't remember, but you could possibly do a search for herpetology veterinarians, or exotic animal veterinarians to find one.

Here is a link.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...canum/f58-sick-axolotl/75182-looking-vet.html

Also, call around other vets and see who they send people to for exotic creatures. (My regular vet's receptionist knew exactly who to send me to for exotics they don't handle, like axolotls.)

Don't be afraid to ask question of the vet. Some treat axies like reptiles, and they most definitely are not, and can be harmed by treatments that are safe for reptiles.

Some vets will do telephone consults with local vets who then administer the treatment.

Thanks for these vet tips. When I called my vet for assistance they actually had me spell axolotl because they had no idea, and they are one of the biggest in my area. Though being a small farm town, they are more used to helping with cows than anything. We are going to try the tea bath and see if it helps. My poor guy, he looks like he was in a bar fight. I just hope he can survive his injuries. He has always been more fragile and timid than my wild type, but that has actually made me more partial to him.

Oh my god poor little guy!! No salt baths at this time, I would use indian almond leaves as it is gentle. Fridging is good as it calms the little one down and avoids infection growth. Your worse nightmare in this case is infection. Good luck!

How is the little guy doing now? Any improvement at all?