Illness/Sickness: Axolotl mouth agape for 2 weeks and odd tounge movement

Note: Sorry if this is a little wordy, or has too many pictures (4), but I'd rather be thorough now than later in the comments, so I can get the best help possible.

First of all, I'm glad to see that Caudata is back online, when this first started (2 weeks ago) I had to resort to some sub par resources on the internet, which honestly only made me worry more with claims of "Organ failure" and the like.

[Alby The Axolotl is 4 years old and is housed in a 30 gallon tank. Bare bottom, with a couple of hides and plants growing on an object made of coconut shell]

Anyway, to the point: On Febuary 22nd I fed my axolotl, Alby, two small-medium sized earthworms. While watching her eat she eventually spit them both out, I probably should have waited for her to fully swallow the first one before offering her the second. I promptly removed one of the worms and tossed it and let her finish eating a single worm. No problems so far.

The next day (See picture 1) I noticed her mouth was hanging open and her gill stalks were very red and she was flapping them every few seconds. The most distressing part was that I could see her tongue move up and down every time she flapped her gills. I had no idea an Axolotl's tongue was even moveable.

I gently lifted her towards the top of the tank so she could grab a few gulps of air with her mouth.

I tested the water parameters and the ammonia was a little high, so I promptly did a partial water change and added a bubbler to my tank. Ever since I've been doing partial water changes every day or every other day for the past two weeks. It's been a few days since my last water change and I just tested the parameters. Ammonia and Nitrite Levels are slightly elevated, but we're definitely on our way to restoring the cycle. I'm going to do another water change after I submit this post.

During the first week after her mouth had this problem, I tried feeding her on two occasions with her normal diet of earthworms. Both times she had trouble gripping onto the worm, and they usually just fell out of her mouth. She managed to fully swallow a small piece of worm a little less than an inch long.

A week after I first noticed this mouth problem I purchased some bloodworms and thankfully she was able to eat two cubes with little problem. So *Phew* she still has the desire to eat and is able to get something in her belly.

Another week passes with pretty much no change, she still happily will eat bloodworms,with a little extra effort on her part.

That's about it, and brings us to today. I guess the central point of this post is: Has this happened to anyone else? What could it mean? Is this just a temporary physical injury to her jaw region and will eventually subside, or is it a sign of something more sinister?

Thank you so very much for taking the time to read this lengthy post. I appreciate any kind of replies you may have for me.
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Finally, short descriptions of the pictures I'm including with this post.

1. [Two weeks ago] First time noticing Alby's mouth being agape
2. [Today] Just after eating. I feel bad saying this, but the mouth issue looks a little cute.
3. [Today] An example of what her tongue looks like when it moves while flapping her gills.
4. [Today] View from abvove.

What did she eat before she couldn't close her mouth? Maybe there is something stuck in her mouth or throat, like a big piece of food or a small decoration item?

Does she show signs of pain, like pressing her hindlegs against her lower body?

qannp said:

What did she eat before she couldn't close her mouth? Maybe there is something stuck in her mouth or throat, like a big piece of food or a small decoration item?

Does she show signs of pain, like pressing her hindlegs against her lower body?

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Thank you for your response.

She has eaten almost exclusively earthworms since she's been old enough to do so, and is all she's eaten in recent history as well.

For tank decorations she has a small faux rock cave, that is solid enough that no pieces would ever break off.

The only real possibility that I can fathom of foreign material would be what the coconut/plant decorations are made out of. It's sort of a soft shredded material wrapped in order to keep a plant anchored. I'll include a picture of one of them.

I also currently have a couple of catappa almond tea leaves in her tank. These are used to prevent or treat mild fungal infections. Because of this mouth issue, I thought it wise to help prevent any kind of infection if this would be an injury that is prone to it. No sign of fungus at present, though. I feel like the leaves would be even less likely to cause a problem if digested.

From a casual observance I don't notice anything in her throat, but admittedly I wouldn't know how to get an in depth look.

Hindlegs pressed against her lower body? Do you have a photo example of this, I'm not sure I've ever witnessed anything like it, or quite sure how to visualize it. But no, her legs seem to be behaving normally from what I can tell.

Oh no, did I speak german-english again? I'm sorry.

I can't find a picture, I meant: Do her legs look like this I---- ("I" are the legs, "---" is the tail :dizzy or like this <----

If they look normal to you, it should be fine.

You could take her out and open her mouth carefully with a small spoon to look whats in there. I could never do this and I don't want to recommend it.

If she was mine, I would take her to the vet, who could do an x-ray. I did this with one of mine, and it didn't cost much, about 30 Euros.

qannp said:

Oh no, did I speak german-english again? I'm sorry.

I can't find a picture, I meant: Do her legs look like this I---- ("I" are the legs, "---" is the tail :dizzy or like this <----

If they look normal to you, it should be fine.

You could take her out and open her mouth carefully with a small spoon to look whats in there. I could never do this and I don't want to recommend it.

If she was mine, I would take her to the vet, who could do an x-ray. I did this with one of mine, and it didn't cost much, about 30 Euros.

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Not a problem, thanks for clarifying. Her legs do not resemble what you demonstrated.

I would like to preface this next part by saying I love my axolotl, and she has been a faithful companion since I got her as a little adorable feather necked creature that she is. I took the utmost care in this next step, as to keep her as comfortable as possible while I took a couple of pictures of the inside of her mouth.

I used my fish net to lift her up to the top of the tank, then I cupped her torso firm enough so she wouldn't wiggle away, but loose enough that she still had a little movement.

I didn't have the heart to actually stick anything into her mouth to get a better look, but I tried my best to capture a couple of moments when she opened her mouth wider than normal to gulp some air.

Here are a couple of pictures that I took with flash. I didn't notice any foreign materials, but I do have a couple of questions based off of them.

1. In the back right of her mouth (and left, but not pictured) I noticed what appears to be rows of teeth. This is probably normal, right? I was aware that axolotls had a form of primitive teeth that felt like sandpaper, but had never personally seen them before. This is by a cavitiy that I assume is near her gill slits at the back of her head. (You may need to zoom in to see the 'teeth')

Fill free to correct me, I'm not an axolotl anatomy expert.

2. On the left corner of her mouth on the outside I noticed a small...growth or bulge that didn't quite exist on her right side. Is this a cause of concern, or what may be keeping her mouth from fully closing shut?

Thank you so much for all of your time, and again sorry for being so wordy. I'm a firm believer in details details details

Respect, I couldn't have done this. However, I'm blessed with a vet who takes care of axolotls herself who is just 10 minutes away…

Yes, they have tiny teeth. :happy:

The brown stuff looks weird. I have no idea what it is. Maybe it belongs there, maybe it's stuck food…I don't dare to make a guess. Hopefully somebody who knows will react shortly.

If nobody else here answers within the next 24 hours, I would really take her to a vet. At least she's been feeling uncomfortable for two weeks, and she can't help herself.

PS: In my first language I'm wordy, too.

I agree that the brown "stuff" looks abnormal. Hard to say what it is as her tank doesn't have anything that should cause a problem, but you never know.

I would try taking a small pipette and flush it a little bit - the tip should be small enough that you don't have to pry her mouth open and might even be able to suck a little bit of it up(assuming its not solid).

If that doesn't work, I'd also recommend taking her to a vet who will be able to probe her mouth safely and also check her throat (however if she's eating, I'd assume her throat is ok).

Bizzare. I've enlarge your photo....Have you ever fed her mealworms or morioworms....it looks like one embedded in her throat......can't think of anything else to help but it looks like some form ofCreature....please keep us informed

What brown stuff are you guys referring to? Like near her 'teeth' in that picture? I assumed that was a shadow of the area her gill slits lead to as a result of using flash. If I have to I can try to take another look, or attempt the 'flushing out' option as suggested.

No, she's never been fed mealworms or morioworms. Strictly earthworms, and recently bloodworm cubes.

And of course a vet is always on my brain. A year ago when I accompanied my roommate to get his tortoise looked at, I asked them if they would ever see an axolotl, should I ever need to. The lady i talked to said probably, although they had never heard of such a creature before.

The lack of knowledge makes me hesitant, and the drive I would have to put Alby through to get there.

Which is why I'm trying to gather as much knowledge as possible before resorting to the vet. Like If anyone here has heard of something like this before, or what It could mean.

It's odd how we paid attention to different things…yes, we're referring to the brown thing on the first picture near her teeth.

I wouldn't stress her again if she's going to the vet anyway.

It's great how you collect information to assist the vet as good as possible! Just be careful if he wants to prescribe medication without research. As we know, amphibians react completely different from mammals, so medication is kind of tricky.

If it's necessary to remove something she couldn't swallow he should be able to do this.

Don't let him touch her without latex gloves (you shouldn't do it neither ). It's not good for her skin to touch her bare-handed.

Do you know how to transport her already?

I really hope she gets well soon.

I was referring to the first one of your last two pictures....the brown " thing" looks strange on the left side of the picture.When I asked a vet about axolotl...he said...how do you spell it!!!

Just another thought....could something have come out of the plant root soil or whatever is inside the coconut webbing?

charleybambino said:

Just another thought....could something have come out of the plant root soil or whatever is inside the coconut webbing?

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Do you mean something alive?

I am wondering if she damaged her jaw somehow. If so, there might not be anything that can be done (safely). But as long as you are able to feed her food she can eat, she can probably live a normal life. Keep us informed. :happy:

LSuzuki said:

I am wondering if she damaged her jaw somehow. If so, there might not be anything that can be done (safely). But as long as you are able to feed her food she can eat, she can probably live a normal life. Keep us informed. :happy:

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This is sort of my thinking, why I mentioned she might have had too much in her mouth with the two worms.

As for the plant, there isn't any soil. It's similar to those plants grown in lava rocks, no soil needed.

I haven't gotten the courage to look into her mouth again yet, but her mouth does appear to have closed a little bit in the past couple of days. I'll post another picture when I can.

Wow, I wonder what caused her to gape that way. She looks like the grill of my old clunker Miata. XD She's super cute, either way.

Judging from the "axolotl yawning" pics, the anatomy of her mouth looks normal.

I hope she keeps eating and smiling for you!

qannp said:

Don't let him touch her without latex gloves (you shouldn't do it neither ). It's not good for her skin to touch her bare-handed.

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You should never use latex gloves when handling amphibians. They can react very badly to the latex. Link: Latex laboratory-gloves: an unexpected pitfall in amphibian toxicity assays with tadpoles.
For example nitrile gloves are a lot better.

Thank you, Keiko! I had to look "Einweghandschuhe" up, and I found "latex gloves". I thought, it is a synonym, like when you say "Uhu" in german when you are referring to glue. :uhoh:

I come with some good news!

I won't say Alby's 100 percent back to normal, but her mouth has made a very nice improvement!

You can't imagine the relief it gave me to see her (sort of smiling, too) like this.

Anyway, I'll let the picture speak for itself, thank you all for your words through this.

I'll make one final update after I attempt to feed her an earthworm in a day or so.

P.s. I'm still keeping a close eye on her, I'm hoping her mouth will eventually close all of the way.

It's great that Alby's mouth is good again
I've been following the thread for a while
and good luck in the future.