Deadly looking air bubble

Hello,
My name is Dane. My axolotyl, Echo, has developed a large red bubble, which appears to be coming out its bum, but could be coming out a wound in it's side. This was only noticed tonight. He is also gulping for air every few minutes, which is something he does not usually do. I have attached a photo of the axolotyl with the bubble. Please respond with suggestions of how to care for him. I do not want him to die.
Thankyou,
Dane Rhoades.

oh my, i have a sick boy to. first remove all gravel they eat that size and it causes blockages,and can kill. looks a little like a hemorrhoid could be cause it straining to poo,

Woah. That looks damn nasty.

Could you post a few more pictures? I think a view from his underside might help shed some light on what we are looking at.

I take it the bubble is just full of fluid?

First thing you should do it put him in the fridge. This will calm him down. When in the fridge the Axies metabolism slows right down so that will give other more experienced people time to reply to your post, and also helps prevent your axie from starving itself to death in the meantime.

If it were me, and the bubble is only full of fluid. I would carefully pop the cyst relieving the pressure on the surrounding areas. Then i would monitor Echos recovery whilst in the fridge. Giving the Axie mild salt baths 2-3 times a day to prevent any infection.

I would however wait until someone with a bit more experience has posted, as i have only had to do similar things with goldfish.

Your local vet would also be worth a try. Though finding one that can help with an axie might be a problem. Their fee's would also probably be more than the cost of 5 axies so you'll have to weigh that one up.

Isobel's advise on your substrate size is also worth listening to. I would change to sand. You can do a search through some of the old posts and make a decision on what substrate to change to. It is better to have no substrate than to have those pea sized rocks.

Please keep us all posted on Echo's situation.

Finally Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for your help.
I have put Echo in the fridge in a plastic lunchbox. I have also removed gravel from the tank. He is still gasping for air and is unusually docile. Here are some more photos, including one of the underbelly. I think that the bubble is coming from the bum.
Thankyou,
Dane Rhoades.

Okay while I am not a vet what your axolotl has is known as a prolapse and the protruding tissue is tissue from the cloacal or large intestine. Do not pop the tissue or manipulate it in any other fashion. Given the severity of the prolapse, you need to seek a vet as the axolotl needs prompt and immediate treatment to deal with the prolapse which may require surgery.
Prolapses can be caused by many different things, including but not limited to obstructions, calcium deficiency, and/or parasite loads. You need a vet to identify the underlying cause of the prolapse.

Ed

If you are looking for an axolotyl specialist in Australia, there is a vet called Jim Greenwood who gives phone consultations for $20. He owns a vet clinic in Surrey Hills in Melbourne, but now only offers phone consults in the evening, as he stopped practicing vet science full-time and works for the fishing industry during the day. He's spoken at many, many conferences about axolotyls and is considered an authority within Australia on these creatures.

If you want a phone consultation, call Canterbury Vet clinic during the day on 03 9836 6009 and say you wish to organise a phone consult with Jim. You will need a credit card, as you have to pay the $20 there and then and they then organise for him to phone you in the evening. I had phone consultations with him for both of my sick axies and found him very helpful.

Good luck!!

Christina

Good luck with helping poor Echo,keep us posted

Thanks for your help, especially specialists phone number. We will call tomorrow. Echo seems to be quite calm in the fridge. The bubble has not reduced in size at all. Our other axolotyl, Gabrielle, has passed two stones since we have removed Gabrielle. She has always been healthy. I think that removing the gravel has been life-saving advice.

Jim Greenwood is on holidays. He will not be back for a week. Echo has not got any better or worse.

Hello my name is Dane.
Echo was put in the fridge but she is still sick and now she is upside down. Today at 3:30 Echo is going to be putdown by vet. I thank everyone of you who helped with advice and support over the last couple of days. The rocks have been removed for Gabrielle.
Thankyou.

Oooh, so sorry for your loss. That looked really uncomfortable. You tried your best. It is so scary when these little guys get sick,and we don't know what to do.
it is obvious he was loved, and now gabrielle also will be better off with sand. hang in there.

Hello Dane

Really sorry to hear about your loss. We lost our two much loved axies, Dune and Giddy, within the space of two weeks of each other and it's terribly sad when you lose a loved pet

Christina

Sorry to hear that Dane.

Was there nothing that a vet could do for him?

No there was not and anything that could have saved him was to expensive

Sorry about your poor axy. I saw some bloodworms in your tank (photo). I actually called Jim Greenwood about my floating axy and he told me not to use bloodworms as they can cause peritonitis and carry parasites. I really don't know enough to comment of course but I wonder if people should be warned about this - it could have been related to the problem you had with echo.

Ed, Joan or Jennifer (or anyone else ) are you able to shed some light on was Emil has been told?

Ive never heard of this... ???

PS Hi Emil

Hi Jojo. This is a great site. Yes, I would like some more information about blood worms because the vet I called was adamant that they are not a suitable food for axolotls and yet the pet shops often recommend them to new axolotl owners.

bloodworms should be fed from frozen and thawed (hence free of gross things). most companies use a thing that makes them bacteria free (cant remember what its called, gamma something something?). they are very suitable for axies as far as i know (i dont reccomend live ones, read they carry alot of germs) and i'll bet nearly everyone on here has used them at one stage or another. i have bought my baby up on blood worms from the time he could eat normal foods until he got too big for them. i think your vet might have been talking poopies but do wait for someone else more knowledgable on them to answer

(Message edited by sharn on February 23, 2006)

There are some issues with the common nomenclature of live foods available in the pet trade. In some pet stores tubifex, blackworms and blood worms are all sold as the same thing.
In reality these are all different invertebrates from different habitats.
Tubifex (Tubifex sp) are often collected from sewage outflows and can contain pathnogenic bacteria.
Bloodworms (Chironomus sp.) are actually the larva of a gnat and were in the past often collected from rain barrels or other standing water sources and were known to contain heavy metals
blackworms (Lumbriculus variegatus) are aqua cultured and with the exception of the predatory leech (it feeds on the worms) that comes with it are a pretty clean food source.
Sharn is correct, freezing an item for at least two weeks is a good method to control parasites as this will kill most parasites.

My suspicion is that there is some confusion as to what is being called bloodworms.. (to confuse it even more at least here in the USA there is a worm used in fishing that is collected from tidal flats that is also called a bloodworm)

Ed

After my post please start a new thread if you are not discussing prolapses.

Thanks
Ed