Sick axolotl

Wow i'm glad i found this site... ok my sister's axolotl is pretty sick... she will not eat (been 6 or 7 days since she last ate) and is really slow. The temp is 23-24 degrees we tried the ice bottle method... but the pet store said not to do that and when i asked about the fridge she said thats a big no no too... i'm so confused!!! The pet store gave us some medication for her in case the high temps start causing infections... but she looks ok.. just a little pinker...last week the Ph was a tad acidic.. so im guessing the combination of acidic PH and high temperature has made her this way. We are just about to move her tank into the bathroom on the tiles, so i am hoping this will be enough... Do you think she will live? from what i have been reading her chances of survival are quite low seeing the temp is quite often around 23-24...

well thats pet shops for you, half of them cant tell a neon from a oscar!! (an exageration but you get my drift).
seeing as you are in aussie this is the start of your problems, alot of aussies have invested in coolers but they are very pricey.
putting her on the tiles is a good start but you can put her in the fridge, axolotls prefer cooler temps and can even stand close to freezing! as long as your fridge isnt below 5C its ok. place her in a ice cream container etc, you can put a lid on if you like to stop her jumping, you may also wish to wrap the container in a towel to stop her freaking when the lights come on and the temperature spikes from opening and closing the door. dont worry about poking holes in the lid as cold water contains heaps of oxygen.you will need to do complete water changes every day so keep a bottle in the fridge so she doesnt get stressed from the temp changes. this will slow down her metabolism so she probably wont eat as often, but still offer it to her.
she may not be eating because of the stress heat brings to them. it is not unusal for axies to just go off their food at random.

What medication did the pet store sell you? Chances are its not safe.

There is a list of safe medications here.
http://www.axolotl.org/health.htm (down the bottom of the page)

There are other acceptable medications that arn't on the list, but i cant advise you either way till you tell me what you have been using.

Chances are your axie isn't eating because of stress from the move and/or you're not feeding it the correct food. Most axies don't like the store bought axolotl pellets.

Hi Katie,

Don't be too worried about your axie not surviving the temp issue...Surprisingly the little ones are a lot more hardy than led to believe. Though while the hot temp is not ideal alot of the Aussies who visit the forum, including myself, have had their axies kept in temps up to 24 due the fact we can't afford coolers. They get a bit stressed but generally manage to pull through okay. I'd definitely recommend putting her in the fridge or getting a cooler if you can't keep the temp 24 or below though...wouldn't want to push it too much lol.

As Sharn already pointed out it's perfectly safe to pop her in the fridge if you think the heat's stressing her out to much. In fact the best place for a stressed axolotl is the fridge (my little girl dudette and westinghouse "the fridge" get on famously!) cause it helps them to recuperate and destress.

So Salma still isnt eating... my sis was too scared to put her in the fridge (wouldnt the temperature change be too much of a shock for her????) if i can persuade her to put salma in the fridge.. how should i go about it as in what size container,how cold is too cold, how long should we keep her there and do you think she will eat something?? the food she gives her is a frozen cube... some fish thing... do you think something more exciting would make her want to eat???

Put her in a container with a lid. Most of us use food-storage type stuff. If the fridge is warmer than 4C, you're okay. Most are. Just put her in some clean tank water, like stuff that comes out of the filter, and put her in the tub with at least enough water to cover her. Then stick her in the fridge, and the water will cool down gradually. Put extra water in a jug and put it next to your axolotl in the fridge so you can do water changes with water that's the proper temperature.

To get her more excited about eating, try live foods such as earthworms, crickets, blackworms, bloodworms, or any soft-bodied foods.

(Message edited by joan on December 23, 2005)

the pet shop recommended stones for the bottom of my tank and one of my axy's got real bloated so i took him out and into a container with constant ice and he pooed 23 stones in two days, so i changed to sand... my tank has been sitting at about 23-24 degrees but it was the cooler temp that help him pass all the stones, also he had a little chunk out of his tail that seems to be repairing itself better in cooler temps. so i've been putting ice and frozen plastic bottles in the tank and its kept my temp at around 20degrees so far and my baby's are doing fine!!!