HELP! MY AXIE JUST LOST A LEG!

S

sarah

Guest
i was watching tv and i started to hear thumping comming from the tank. Daddy was in a fight with butter cup and he lost his leg!! Im emptying the tank cos there is blood in the water. i took daddy out and hes in the carfridge.
he not bleeding now thank god, do i drop the temp to below 5 deg or leave it at normal temp and do salt baths???? PLEASE HELP!!

(Message edited by DVSGAL on September 11, 2006)
 
with the aquarium salt can i put some in the water and leave it in there until i change the water tomorrow? or do i have to change the water again after 10 mins?
 
ok i just called a pet shop and he told me to put a sprinkle of the aquarium salt in his water but dont change it until tomorrow morning. also he said not to drop the temp yet cos there is no fungi developing. is that ok?
 
Woah, hold on.
Calm down, take a few breaths.
This happens sometimes.
If you panic, so will he.

It's fine to reduce the temperature - better before the fungus than after in my opinion.
It just means it will heal over a little slower.

Don't add the salt straight to the container - premix it and add it in SLOWLY so as not to give him pH shock or burns.

About a half teaspoon to a pint should do the trick - you don't want it too strong as it's going to be open and sore.

I would reccommend a little less than that if you want to keep him in it.
Alternatively, go for a Holtfrieters bath.

I personally use 3 TEAspoons of salt in a pint, and mix VERY well.
Then I let the little guy soak for ten minutes, wash him off in a clean dechlor bath, and return to his cold tub.

I'm no professional, but that's my advice.

Deep breaths.
Good luck, and keep us updated.
 
Hi Sarah -

Wounds usually heal fine as long as they do not get infected. There is a section on wounds at http://axolotl.org/health.htm scroll down to "Wounds and Physical Damage".

You said you "emptied the tank" because there was blood in the water. If you have a filter on that tank with carbon, a partial water change might have been better. Removing all the water may cause your tank to "re-cycle".

Keep an eye on the water parameters for the next several weeks.

As Amber said, be careful with the amount of salts you use, you do not want to burn his skin.
 
my mum took him to the vet while i was sleeping :| he put daddy in a 4ltr tub and filled it just over halfway with cold dechlor water and with the aquarium salt he added 10 little stones in his water. then its reccomended i leave him in there for 3 days like that. then i change the water and then i have 1 day with fresh water then 1 with salt water and etc until the leg starts to form again. then i stop the salt baths and and just have him in fresh water. its this ok?

(Message edited by DVSGAL on September 12, 2006)
 
ok i talked to a breeder. he said cold water and salt baths for 1 week to kill the germs/infections or fungus. then bring him back to room temp so the leg can re-form and he can eat. the this method ok aswell?
 
ok i took some pics b4 a water change.
70181.jpg

70182.jpg

:<
 
Sarah - The idea is to keep him cool, and keep infection away.

Please check out this page http://axolotl.org/health.htm
and scroll down to "Wounds and Physical Damage" also at the bottom of that page just incase you need it, is a list of safe and non safe medications.
 
hes gils are now bleeding! hes turning grey like a lifeless color. what do i do?
 
Hi there- the poor little guy sounds like he is in shock- i am no expert but would put him in the fridge ( at the recommended temperature...i am not sure what that is tho')did he lose a lot of blood?
best of luck.
 
If an axolotl loses a leg like in this case, how long, at around 18 degrees in clean, filtered, aerated water, should it take to redevelop completely?
 
It can take several weeks to regenerate. When they are younger, IME, I did notice the limbs/tail regenerated alot faster then older axies that are 2-3 years older.
 
My golden girl is about 15-20 cm. Ive had her 4 5-6months now and she is probably almost a year old. She had her front left leg attacked by my male. They have been seperated for probably 3 weeks now and I'm not sure if the limb is growing back or not. It doesnt seem to bee doing much.
What it did do, though, was drop off the remaining pieces of skin and bone to form just a limb, but the wound is still open. It isnt fungal and the water temp is fine.
 
One of our axies, was munched at feeding time, ie: partial limb bite. And like sound of yours the remaining pieces dropped off within week to fortnight. What was left was nothing then about. 3 weeks later a little budlike limb started forming (it was hard to tell at first), and it took about 3 months to develop a skinny limb with toe tips. Took another month before toes were fully formed and limb looking healthy. It's the only limb that has webby toes, all the rest have separate toes. I know when they were much younger (7cm stage) that they seemed to regenerate tails/legs within 8/9 weeks.
 
Sarah - If his gills are bleeding I think you may have over salted him. Remember salt burns, use it as directed.

I would suggest putting him in the fridge. If the temperature of his container of water is above 70 degrees (21 C) he definitely should be in the fridge.

When you change his water be sure to use a dechlorinator (as directed). If you put him in the fridge put an extra container of water in there to use to change his water with. That way you have water that is the same temp.

I would stop the salt for now. If you can get some Mercurochrome I would put 2 or 3 drops of that in his water.
 
hes been in the fridge since the accident. hes water temp is at 5 deg, i have not givin him a slat bath in 3 days. and i always use dechlorinator in the water. I will try the mercurochrome.
hes gills have stopped bleeding now. and they look a lot better. he also has his pink color back too. the stumpy bit thats remaining look like its wobbly, does this mean is gonna fall off?
 
That's good to hear.
If it's looking wibbly, bloated and pale, that bit will fall off and regrow.
 
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