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Sick axolotl urgent help needed

axoltlmad123

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Hi I know I'm going to get a lot of judgement on this post so I firstly just want to say I know this is my fault and I feel guilty enough so please try not to judge as I am doing enough of that on my own.

My female axolotl has lived on her own for a while not so long ago I introduced a new axolotl I got without quarantining. :eek: the day I introduced him everything seemed fine until late that evening. They were both flapping gills and gulping air excessively. Later that evening I noticed they both had an upset stomach. I thought it could just be the stress of meeting each other and the 6 hour car journey Harley had had. The more I thought about it the next morning the more anxious I got so I ran to get my water tested. The results were ... PH - 7.8 . Ammonia 0ppm. Nitrite 0ppm. Nitrate 80 ppm. So I did a load of water changes and carried on until they had returned to normal(The axolotls) by this time it was easter Sunday so I didn't think pets at home was open. ( I don't have a water testing kit so had to get it tested there). Anyways about a week ago axi stopped eating at this time I thought she was a he. She surprised me with eggs. When I noticed she was laying I took Harley out and put him separate. I did the routine stuff taking the eggs out. After she had finished I managed to feed her one worm. She has refused to eat since. ( 7 days later) . A couple of days ago I noticed some fungus on her Gill. She had cut her Gill when laying eggs. I asked for advice on Facebook and got told to tea bath hher the fungus went away. She is in a container getting twice daily water changes. Today when I woke up she was floating and her Gill was bleeding again and the water was murky from blood. I cleaned her water put her back and took my water to be tested the result was. ... PH - 7.8. Ammonia - 1.0ppm . Nitrite 0ppm. Nitrate 40 ppm. The water that was tested was from her container that has twice daily water changes. She is still floating and im stuck now. I have no money until the 20th so can't buy anything or take her to the vets. Even on the 20th I won't have enough for the vets as I need to take them both and I've heard the specialist consultation fee isn't cheap.ive asked about a payment plan but obviously they said no. HELP!!!
 

Bette

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Okay.... deep breath...
I think she will be fine. I just want to clarify a few things..
Was she just getting tea bathes?
Is the fungus actually gone now?
Has the bleeding stopped?

Can you work on preparing her regular tank that she is accustomed to. . Water change etc? I would move her back to her home (solo).
What is your filter on that tank?
It is not uncommon for adult axolotls to not eat for a week, so don't panic.
 

axoltlmad123

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Yes I gave her one tea bath the other day. The fungus appears to be gone. The bleeding has stopped I have plenty of time to do water changes how many should I do? Should I clean the filter? It hhasn't been done in a long time. What about her floating and gulping air and flapping gills?
 

axoltlmad123

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I've just checked her she's passed away. I'm never going to be able to forgive myself it's all my fault. She's my first ever axolotl and is only 2. I should have quarantined harley what if he gets sick Im devastated I tried so hard to get some money :'(
 

Bette

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I am so sorry for your loss :(
Any number of things could have caused it.... we will never know. Try not to be too hard on yourself. Hopefully Harley will be okay. And you have the eggs now :)
 

axoltlmad123

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What do you suggest I do other than get a water testing kit harley does gulp air a lot but that started before I even got him home he still has a good appetite flaps his gills quite a bit but i thought that could be because he has really small Gills. Any suggestions.
 

axoltlmad123

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And I have just been told that it is probably going to be harley next (not how it was said but what they meant) . I'm so stuck right now. I don't know what to do if only there was a vets that would take payments on certain dates from my benefits. I feel so awful I hadn't thought of it like this but as soon as it was said to me I can't get it out of my head. Axi was left to suffer for 8 days that makes me an awful person :'(
 

qannp

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I'm so sorry, and I know how you feel. What happened to Axi sounds like how my beloved Pilpil died last year. She also was only 2 years old.

Pilpil had been in an extra tank until she grew enough to introduce her to the other two. A couple of weeks after she moved to my adults, she refused eating. Two days later I noticed fungus on her gills and took her out immediately and started salt baths. Another two days later the fungus was still there (even worse) and she was bloated.
I rushed her to the vet and we started treatment the same day. Four days later she was covered in fungus and was bleeding from her gills. We put her to sleep.


As Bette said, don't be too hard to yourself. Sometimes it's just too late right from the start. :(
 

axoltlmad123

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Thank you for being so kind and not judging it does sound very similar to what axi had. Did you ever find out what was wrong. Did your males get sick. I know it could be something different to what axi had. Me and my mum managed to get enough money together for the vets they prescribed some antibiotics just in case. They said if he gets any worse then to bring him straight back but otherwise phone on Tuesday to let them know how he is. I will be buying the water testing kit on Monday when I have more money for definite. I did a water change on harley yesterday and decided to start using the antibiotics today as he was very stressed for being moved around so much and I didn't want to risk over stressing him. He appears fine has a more than healthy appetite. He is really greedy. He is in a large storage container with a filter for a smaller tank as I couldn't find one that was small enough.
 

qannp

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I don't think that anybody is going to judge you. You are broken-hearted and looking for help, there's no need to make you feel even worse.

No…there was no happy end for my girls. I sent Pilpil to autopsy, but the lab I chose in the first place didn't accept her, because it's in Germany and I'm in Austria. They didn't want to take the risk to introduce an unknown disease. So the autopsy was done by the viennese university of veterinary medicine.
They made a big mistake and convinced my vet that Pilpil died of Bd. So we treated Quetzalli and Atl, who seemed healthy, completely wrong. I had to empty all of my tanks, too. My girls were put to sleep, too, just a few weeks later. They were nearly six years old. It turned out that it was bacterial infection instead of chytrid, so the treatment was completely wrong.

But, please, don't abandon hope. Just because this happened to my girls doesn't mean it will happen to Harley.

It's great that you raised the money for medication. Keep in touch with the vet. And please, keep us updated.
 

axoltlmad123

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You know what thank you so much and I'm so sorry for your losses. I am going to keep in touch with the vet and will definitely keep you updated. I have an update already after treating harley with his first dose of antibiotics his Gill flapping slowed down and so did the going to the surface for air.
 

blushed

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I'm sorry to see that your girl passed on. You really were trying your best for her, and you are doing even more for Harley.

Good luck and I'm sure you will have a good outcome for Harley!
 
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