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Axies in the fridge?

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craig

Guest
Hi all,

My axies look gosh awful at the moment, and they haven't been eating for about a week. I'm really worried about them. I read here that putting them in the fridge may help, I just have a couple of questions:
1) Isn't the temp of a fridge usually around 4C, and isn't that way too cold for an axie?
2) How to you "store" them? I'd imagine anything small enough to fit in the fridge would be too small for the axie to have room to move around.

Thanks,
Craig
 
C

cynthia

Guest
Craig - Scroll to page 17 of this pdf document http://tinyurl.com/c9j2n
it has info on axolotls in the fridge.

Also from http://www.axolotl.org/health.htm
One would assume that the relatively higher metabolic rate caused by a higher temperature would result in faster healing, but this doesn't seem to be the case in axolotls. Lower temperatures (5-15 °C) seem to be a general panacea for axolotls.

Use a food safe container with lid (like an ice cream bucket). When they are cooled down and in the fridge they do not move around that much. Be aware that the light coming on and off will scare them. You may want to tape the light switch in the fridge so it stays off while your axolotl is in there.

Keep their water clean and keep extra water in the fridge to change their water with. Offer them food each day when you change their water. They will not eat as much or as often while in the fridge, but offer it to them daily.

(Message edited by cynorita on October 24, 2005)
 
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jordan

Guest
Like Cynthia said, its just the opposite of what you think, the fridge slows down metabolism and sometimes can help in times of need.
 
C

craig

Guest
Thanks Cynthia and Jordan, I've put them in the fridge now. Poor Norman's hardly moving at all, I hope he gets better. How long can axies stay in the fridge for?
 
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casey

Guest
Craig, they can stay in the fridge for up to 30 days.

Mine has been in the fridge for about 14 days and she's doing pretty well.
 
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rebecca

Guest
fridge did wonders for my axie, i wasnt sure but she perked right up hope norman does the same
happy.gif
 
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joan

Guest
In the fridge they will be quite slow and sluggish. That's normal.
 

andrew

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I too was sceptical about the very low temperatures in the fridge.

What i did was put my sick axie in a medium sized tray with about 3 inches of water in the bottom then placed the whole tray inside an esky.

Then by the addition of ice blocks and things around the tray i was able to regulate the temperature in the water tray between 10 and 15 degrees.

This method also dosn't freak the axie out with a bright light coming on every time you open the fridge door.

Also no relatives freak out and scream upon sighting your favourite buddy next to the milk.
 
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jordan

Guest
yea but the solution for the light is just to tape the switch down.
 
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casey

Guest
Jordan, I can understand why it might not be an option to tape the switch down.

I'm using my Dad's bar-fridge at the moment to house Stella (so he calls her axobottle), but not everyone has more than one fridge.

If people are sharing a house, the other people in the house may get upset with the light switch being taped down - they might want to see what's in the fridge. I know that my parents are already a little annoyed that I'm using one of their 3 fridges! If I were to put Stella in the big fridge and tape the switch down - I think I would be kicked out of home - with my two axies in tow! hahaha.

So, Andrew, thanks for the alternative suggestion!
 
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rebecca

Guest
i put trill in the fridge and just wrapped her container in a tea towl so it was nice and dark for her

i dont know how my brother would deal with not being able to see his food :p
 
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rheann

Guest
Hey all Living in the states, if you are having trouble keeping Axies in the fridge and have money to spare, check out the mini Fridges at Home Depot.

I saw some good ones their that could house sick Axies or food that need cold storage with no problem and they were around $100.

I would like to get one in the future too as soon as we have the room
happy.gif
 
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craig

Guest
Well, Norman died a couple of days ago, I think he was too far gone by the time I put him in the fridge.
Yesterday I took Bernadette(who died this morning) to the vet, and said I'd been keeping them in the fridge for a couple of days, and he said something along the lines of "that sounds like an act of desperation".

I'm not really sure what that means, but I take it that he didn't think it was a good idea. I know he probably didn't major in axolotl care at uni, but he'd know, wouldn't he? I know now that pet stores don't really know what's going on, but I'd say vets would know what they're talking about?
 

andrew

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hmm. maybe you should have asked him how many newts and things like that he had treated before.

I would say he would probably know about limb regeneration and what temperatures they prefer, but i doubt weather he would know even 10% of the knowledge members of this forum have.

Just out of interest what did the doc prescribe?

Its always hard loosing an axie especially if you had him for a while. I'm very sorry to hear that Norman had passed away.

At least you did all you could.
 
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rebecca

Guest
im so sorry they died
sad.gif


with the fridge thing , i believe that that is the best place when they are sick or stressed.
my local petshop who deals in axies and knows most things about them thought i was crazy when i said i had mine in the fridge
but if you think about it if you were sick you would go to bed calm down and try to recover but axies like being cold so its like taking a relaxing vacation to sort themselves out

it seems to just slow them down and give them time to sort themselves out, plus if its fungus cold means it grows slower

sorry im so ranty i havent slept much..
 
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craig

Guest
Thanks Rebecca and Andrew,

He gave me some sort of powder to put in the water every night for about a week or so, unfortunately they didn't even last that long
errr.gif
.

From what I've been reading both on this forum, and on other websites, I'm sure the fridge is good for them, like I said before they were probably too far gone by the time I got them there.
 
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laura

Guest
I don't know about vets in Australia, but in my experience local vets are not much help unless they have a specialist interest or the pet in question is a dog or cat.
Unfortunately I also know what it's like when vets try to patronise you, thinking they know best rather than admitting they have no experience of treating that type of animal.
 
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