Illness/Sickness: Axolotl wont eat

rb6k

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My Axolotl hasn't eaten in what must be 3-4 weeks now.

She looks fine, is still rather 'wide' and I've added some live food into her tank which she ignores - they've started their own civilisation they're so comfortable in there!

I put her in the fridge, a few white bits of skin seemed to come off over time but otherwise she hasn't changed, put her back in and she's swimming around etc but eating nothing.

Seems perfectly normal otherwise!

I decided to put her back in the fridge as I was getting concerned. She seems to be ok in there although today her belly looked a little bit pink.

It didn't prior to today, so I don't know what caused it or whether I just riled her up when I switched her into a new tub of cold water (the temp was the same as i fridge water each time too)

Could she just have a very full belly and a slow metabolism at the moment in the cooler air?

Could the fridge be making that longer?

If she is constipated how do I encourage her to poop considering she wont eat anything I offer her? I can't get her to even react to something in front of her face.

She seems perfectly normal otherwise. It is baffling me...

She would normally eat a few times a week, on pellets mainly.
 
What are your water parameters? 3-4 weeks with no food is pretty dangerous. It is normal for them to have slower metabolism in colder water, but never to that caliber. How long are you keeping her in the fridge for? Putting her in and taking her out back-to-back is not safe; leaving her in for a few days at a time would help her if she were constipated. However, she would also be floating at the tank's surface if that were the case. It's hard to judge without photos of the axolotl.

What do you mean when you say "white bits of skin?" Could this perhaps be fungus? Fungus looks like little bits of white fluff on the axolotl, so if you see any of these, a series of salt baths can correct this.
 
Sorry for the slow reply I've been researching this in the mean time, as you'll be shocked to hear she still isn't eating - or at least i've not seen evidence of it.

But apparently when they're engorged with eggs and there's no male to impregnate them, female axolotl can live off the eggs inside them for some time? I wasn't sure if this would be the issue, but today I came home and she was face down bum in the air and it looks like there's a jelly like substance coming out of her gills a little.

I put her in a container to look at her and she's plodding about in it like there's nothing wrong now. Her gills have shrunk from the stress though.

Water parameters are fine, its not fungus, i've done all of the route one obvious stuff for axolotl including putting her in the fridge for 2 weeks straight.

Really at a loss with this, thought she was dead when I got home and saw her, was mortified. Luckily she is alive, but I don't know what to do!
 
What is fine water parameters for you?
 
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