Swelling/red leg?

Greetings all,

My white axie has developed what looks like some sort of hemorrhage on her elbow. It's a small area, maybe 1 cm diameter covering the joint, under the skin, and deep red. I wondered if this might be the dreaded "red leg" infection, but I can't find any pictures of that disease anywhere, and most of the descriptions I've read indicate larger patches on the underside of the body or limbs. Not sure that's what I've got here.

Also, not sure if this is related, but she seems swollen. She just laid her first clutch of eggs about two weeks ago, and it was very small, less than 10 eggs. Is it possible that the swelling may be due to complications of first-time motherhood? Should I worry?

Her albino tankmate seems to be doing fine through all this. How can I be sure if what I'm dealing with is an infection or an injury or what? Anybody know where to find pictures to help identify axie/caudata diseases?

Thanks very much.

Molly,

Would you be able to post any pictures? This i think would help out alot in trying to find out what is wrong with your axie.

I have not had any eggs laid as of yet, but hope to one day.. Maybe Mik should answer the egg question.

She may have just banged her leg somewhere and its just healing under the skin.. But with out a picture it quite hard to help.

Good Luck!

Hi,
My axolotl stopped eating about five days ago,3 days ago he formed a fungas on his gills i seperated him from the other axolotls.with regular salt baths he is getting better,but his right leg is very swollen and i noticed his feaces appeared white,could he have an internal bacterial infection ? how would i treat it if he has ?.

hi,
its Jess again i know you have not responded yet,but i just want to inform you on what stage Ikie my Axolotl is at now.His fungas has comlpetly gone due to regular salt baths wich im very happy about,although he still refuses to eat i think he may have an internal bacterial infection he still refuses to eat,has a swollen leg,his faeces is still white and i know this may sound really off putting but his genitals are very swollen.i spoke to a vet about giving him a shot of antibiotics,but what should i give him?.im very worried. Thanks.

I'm not sure about axolotls, but with fish, white faeces are often a sign of internal parasites. Are you able to take a sample to your vet for his/her opinion?

Again, I haven't yet tried it with axolotls (long time fish keeper, still fairly new to axies) but when I've had fish go on hunger strikes, soaking their food in garlic oil before feeding has really improved their appetites- garlic is thought to stimulate appetite, though what it is in garlic that has that effect I couldn't say. Maybe somebody else knows?

Have you tried earthworms? They love to snap at worms, sometimes they'll accept worms when they refuse all other foods.

Good work getting rid of the fungus! It's possible he's still feeling ill from that and will need some more time to recover his appetite. What are you water parametres- pH/temperature/ammonia/nitrite/nitrate? Keeping his water cool and in pristine condition will also help him recover more quickly. Hope that helps a bit!

It doies sound like Jess's axie has some form of infection...the swollen cloaca, leg and white faeces. I would guess, and it a guess that the infection in that whole general area either spreading from leg to cloaca or vice versa.

I think I would suggest taking both axie and a sample to a herp vet. I can't recall ever seeing white feaces with any of my animals. Feaces are generally are very friable and break up quickly if disturbed.

As usual, Leah gives great advice on water parameters follow it... On off diet if he's unwell I wouldn't expect him to eat at all. Axies do love worms, as a rule, so try a few smallish ones dangled in front of his knows using chopstix or tweezers. If there's no interest try again another day.

On the egg thing I'm kind of sceptical sometimes they seem to have a bit of a clear out and expel a few eggs. If you kept them they probably won't develop...at least that's my experience.