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Damaged and not eating.

A

a

Guest
I mentioned this in another thread, but Ari needs his own.

He's an ignorance rescue, severely underweight, and WAS floating upside down.

I made a little miscalculation as to sizes (yes, I know the rule, but I got it mixed between cm and inches), and my bigger axie mistook him for a bit of sliced chicken and damaged his tail.

Now, I THINK I'm doing most of it right, as I've looked after poorly ones before - but I wouldn't mind some tips or pointers please...

I'm not allowed to put him in the 'fridge (I live with my health-obsessed grandmother) SO I did this:

Foodsafe plastic tub, in the TOP of the tank, just under the surface of the water, resting on the playhammock.
(lol - don't ask - it was a mad idea, but it's proved VERY useful, and Spyyk loves it.)
The water flows gently over the top, keeping it aerated and clean. (I use a filter with a venturi system, rather than airstones)

It's got a bare floor, some large green stones (so he can rest on them, and aid getting airbubbles if he wants it) and a little bit of plant in, which he seems to like.

I put a few splops of fresh aloe vera (straight from my plant) in, well mixed of course to soothe his scrapes on his side. Which are healing well btw - a little red, but not puffy now.

He's also receiving saltbaths, half Holt's once every two days, just to keep damage down.
Little guy doesn't like that one bit - he's shattered out, BUT back on his feet! Wibbly though - but understandable:

Interestingly, he shed the damaged tail, but seems to be coping, and he can reach the top without having to swim too much - it's about twice as deep as he is on his feet.
The remaining stump is JUST after his cloaca. It's a touch raggedy, but the saltbaths seem to be helping.

I tried to feed him various foods, leaving them for him an hour or two - however, I think his previous owner was feeding him live bloodworm, so the only thing he's eaten so far was some chicken I wiggled about by hand. He MAY have had a little of the jelly brineshrimp, and judging by the present he left me, I'm guessing he had some frozen food too.

Also, he kept the food down a day or two, but has vomited a chunk of chicken back up.
He's VERY skinny anyway, so I'm a little concerned about this - so I'm going to get some fresh live bloodworm tomorrow.

I WILL be rinsing them carefully, and feeding just the healthiest looking one by one to him see if he accepts it.
If not, the fish can have it (in a different tank, don't worry!) - I know how tough it is trying to convert Spyyk back to frozen.

Anything I missed?

Oh, the tank is 2foot - stable at about 22C (although this might not be accurate, I have an... interesting thermometer) - they have a fan to cool them down, and the readings are all in the safe perameters.
 
R

rickard

Guest
I think that you have covered the most and are doing everything you can. I wish you luck and I hope that Ari(?) makes it. Godspeed
wacko.gif
 
A

a

Guest
Thank you!

I've not lost a 'Lotl in my care yet... so fingers crossed.

Lol, yup, it's Ari.

Short for Aristotle the axolotl.

My grandfather kept calling Spyyk "Aristotle", so when the new guy came along, it fitted!
 
R

rickard

Guest
Well.. then he is named after a great man.
Let´s hope little Ari grows up to be a great little dude/dudette to ;)

As I said, good luck and I hope the little fella makes it.
 
A

a

Guest
Glad to say, Ari is now eating with a little livefood persuasion, and is now tucking into nice healthy frozen foods!

The tail stump is healing over very quickly - I expect it to be grown back in about 5 months.

Interestingly, he dropped another chunk of vertebrae off it - fascinating.

But, as I say, he's eating well and settling nicely.
 
A

amber

Guest
Just dropped by to say, Ari is doing incredibly well.
Will post pics in Gallery later.
 
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