In the fridge

hi, i posted an update on my axi thats in the fridge, shes been in there for 12 days and i really need to know how longs its safe to leave her in there for. She still goes upside down and shes not pooed any gravel out. I'm sorry for posting a new thread but no one seemed to answer my question

if you make sure her water just covers her back she shouldnt be able to turn on her back as she will not be floating.as for how long i suggest you try pm mimg kapo or jennewt or john as they seem to be very knowledgeable. sorry cant help you more good luck

hey

hello.. im not sure whats wrong with your axie.. but 12 days seems a long time.. if you sort the tank out.. eg temperature. water conditions.. maybe do a complete restart to make sure diseases or what ever caused the problem is gone.. then you might think about putting them back in to the tank, surely a normal surrounding with space to hide is less stressful than a fridge... and if they want to float upside down then let them.... its not doing them any harm? and by restricting them from what they want to do will cause them more stress... when i first got mine one used to float upside down for a while... it upset me cos i kept thinking he was dead but he soon got over it... it was a problem with the nitrites being too high that made him do it so i dont know if thats similar with you?

hey

ive known people on here to keep there axi's in the fridge for months so dont worry about 12 days.

i would maybe try and find a spealist vet to ring. but my advice is to do what you think is best at this stage. ive never put any of mine in the fridge so didnt answer you in the other thread.

is she still eating?

i found this vets on yell.com you could give them a call
C J HALL VETERINARY SURGERY (4) C J HALL VETERINARY SURGERY's(4)Website
15, Temple Sheen Rd, London, SW14 7PY
Tel: 020 8876 9696 Matches: amphibian
• Avian/Birds/Parrots/Spiders • Reptiles/Tortoise/Snakes • Iguanas/Mammals/Ferrets • Chinchillas/Fish/Koi/Ponds • Salamanda/Insects/ Amphibians • Lizards/Snails/Monkeys/Rodents

I've sorted the tank out, its all ready for her to go back, ammonia, nitrates and nitrites are excellent.
Shes been the right way up for 24 hoursish, even though i lowered the water, she still managed to turn upside down and the water is the same depth now so hopefully the upsideness is over. She'd been eating fine, always has but i think i found regurgitated food in there last night and this morning (don't think it was poo as it was really dark and i heard you can hardly see axi poopies?) I'm not too worried as i think i may have overfed her and i read somewhere else that when they are in cold conditions they don't digest food very fast and it can sometimes spoil before they can digest it so they regurgitate it to prevent poisoning, is this true? thanks x I could give the vets a call but theres no way i could take her all the way to london!

Hi leeloo,

Glad to hear there has been some improvement. I have to agree with shelly, 12 days in the fridge is ok, far from stressing them the cold helps axies destress. It would likely be more stressful to return your axie to a completely new tank setup.

Given that you would have restarted the whole cycling process and as such would be back to water changes and monitoring etc.

Goodluck

so glad to hear shes improving but i would still err on the side of caution and give her a couple of days more before reintroducing her to her tank.
honestly keeping her in the fridge only eases there stress as it is closer to the temperatures they would be in in the wild.
good luck for the future and let us all know how she gets on.
p.s. axie poo varies depending on what they eat.

Hi Leeloo, the reason most people don't see axolotl poo is because it disintegrates pretty fast depending on what they eat. If they eat meat it tends to be a stringy version of whatever meat strip they've been given, worm casings have appeared in our tank and sometimes we find a rugby shaped pink/brownish coloured poo which does disintegrate when you try and pick it up with a turkey baster (can be a bit frustrating sometimes )

12 days isn't long. The constant rolling over upside down means whatever's bothering her hasn't been sorted out.

Putting her back in the tank will not fix the problem.

I've had my axies in the the fridge for up to 3.5 weeks at any one time, some people have had theirs in the fridge for the whole summer due to temperature problems. Two of our axolotls I've kept separated from their tank for up to eight weeks in lowered water, not in the fridge but the temperatures were lower than 15C, until I was completely sure they had no problems (ie sideway swimming, fungus and were eating properly).

I suggest leaving her in the fridge for at least a week more, lowered water rather than high, and see if she can last longer than 12-24 hours upside down, and keep us posted. The longer she can stay upright the better it is for her (and not just 24hours).

Moving her back to the tank which may be in the middle of cycling, while the temperature is warmer, may cause her more stress than good.

Sometimes all you need when things like this happen are time and patience.

Thanks i don't mind her being in the fridge at all, she seems to love it and i get to interact with her more, i was just wanting to make sure there wasn't a time limit. Shes in shallow water at the moment so shes not floating. I'll keep you updated! I don't wanna put her back in her tank too soon anyway because its usually 19 degrees so will be even warmer if i lower the water level (i will be getting a nice aquarium fan soon to keep the temp down anyway!) I think it possibly was poopies in the container, it was dark brown in a little blob (there were smaller bits floating about) i picked it out and squished it to see what it was and it disintegrated (sorry to go into so much detail!!!) i feed her on bloodworms and gave her meal worms and earth worms last week. What does regurgitated food look like? x

when mine have brought up live its always been a pale whitish grey colour and poo is always dark.

im still concerned over her size. its tiny compared to what it should be.

Update - Shes been in for 3 weeks, shes still eating fine and has been upright most of the time (few times she went upside down she righted herself again) i think i'm gonna keep her in for a bit longer anyway as its getting warmer here and i haven't had chance to get the fan yet!

so glad to hear she is doing so well.
i think you are wise to keep her in there a little longer as it will only help not hinder her.
im keeping everything crossed for you good luck.

Hi leeloo good to hear there has been significant improvements.

Best of luck

thanks everyone

hi everyone, just a quick update - shes still in the fridge, eating fine and is still upright its gotten a bit warmer here so i was thinking of just leaving her in the fridge for the time being. How long maximum would you say is ok? i know some people have had theres in for months and months, shes been in there for over a month herself now. thanks

as long as you are both happy and she is eating i would just say carry on as you are.
better safe then sorry is what i say.

glad to hear things are going well.