Huge belly, strange poo and won't eat!!!!!

HELP!!! - Huge belly, strange poo and won't eat!

Hello, guys!
First of all, I'm brazilian...so, I apologize if I spell something wrong, okay? ^^"

I'm the very proud owner of Eva - my huge and BEAUTIFUL pet axolotl! =D
I got her about 1 year ago, and she was 15cm long. And now, she's about 27cm long! That's why she lives alone on a 1m long aquarium...and she LOVES her home, because she has a lot of space to swim and play around...she's a very happy axolotl. I attached some pictures for you to see her.
I feed her about once a week with a salmon piece...I buy frozen salmon, and then I cut it on pieces of 3cm and give one for her every week. She absolutely LOVE it (and it's also very rich in vitamins).

But now I'm here because Eva won't eat for about 3 weeks (but she had been eating more frequently on the past days...like twice a week, and bigger pieces of salmon); but, even being without eat for this long, she isn't skinny...actually, her belly got bigger than it normally is (like if it's swollen); (on the attached picture of her, she was already looking normal)...Probably, her belly is full of poo, because she also ins't pooing as she normally does...I know how does her poo looks like, and now it's looking VERY different...now it's a transparent/sometimes green, much less consistent and long poo (about 4cm)...and it takes longer for her to finish that...it keeps going out of her anus all the time, very slowly. And then, when she finally finishes it, I take it off of the water.
I also noticed that her anus got a bit bigger and oppened, too...like if she's forcing out the poo.

I don't know what's happening to her...might she swallowed some gravel? They do are small enough to go through her huge mouth...but I don't think she could've done that...she has never done that before. But maybe...who knows...

If she DID swallowed some gravel, what is going to happen to her and what could I do for her?
And what are the other possibilities about it? Is there anything else that may be happening to her besides this?

I'm VERY upset with this situation, because I LOVE Eva...she's my favourite pet and I absolutely can't imagine myself without her...I don't think I'd handle that...no way...

The only thing that calms me down is the fact that she's apparently okay, beautiful as always, her gills are still big, fluffy and very red.....the only different thing is her bigger belly....but she's looking healty and is walking around her home like she allways did (not swimming, though...I think it's because of her heavier belly).

So, now I'm going to wait for replies...I'm going to be VERY grateful if you could help me.
Thank you SO much for your support, guys!
Many hugs to all of you and take care of your axies, because you know they're special pets! =D

Luís Henrique

PS: Water parameters and temperature are all OK. As it's summer here in Brazil, the temperature through all the day is around 23ºC; so I'm putting huge pieces of ice (made by me with declorinated water, of course) to keep the water temperature on her aquarium at 17º. I also don't open the windows of my room through the day, so that her aquarium won't get any direct sunlight (actually it never does, as I know axolotls don't like it).

Looking at your gravel ,she could quite easily have swallowed some and is having trouble passing it, it would be better to have the bottom of the tank bare. When you say her anus is bigger is it still the normal colour or is it red ?. Are you sure she is female?. Don't try to feed her for a few days and when you do it will be better to give her a more varied diet, can you get earth worms where you are? or trout pellets. I would say out of all the possibilities she has swallowed some gravel and hopefully she will pass it eventually but you must vary her diet.

Greetings LuisHenrique.

I suspect there are a number of issues that may be causing this. The gravel in the tank may cause compaction, where the pieces are accidently consumed, the small stones can lock together inside the axolotl and block areas of the stomach and intestine. If the salmon is the only choice of food that Eva ( and she is very pretty) has this may cause digestive problems too. I feed my gang mainly live worms ( the babies get sushi worms) , live river shrimp, thin slivers of raw fat free meat, slivers of raw tiger prawn and mussels.
With regards to the gravel/ small stones it would be wise to completely remove it from her tank..while axolotl feed the take huge gulps of water/ food into their mouths and sometimes the gravel too. This week I saw Jeffrey snuffling through some sand and he must have found somethind edible as he took a whole mouthful of the sand plus food into his mouth, he then swooshed it around and I could see the sand puffing out of his mouth and gills, when he swallowed the food sand must have gone down too.
If the water temps are rising it might be appropriate to put her in a lidded or high sided container and place her somewhere cooler, maybe another room? or at a push even in the fridge. This would allow you to see more clearly what may be going in and coming out. She will ideally need to be at a stable temperature so as to help reduce any stress.
Please keep us posted on how things are going, and please do ask questions if you are unsure..there are many people who can help you and the lovely Eva

Hello, Ian! How're you?!

Yes, she has probably done that...and today, as you told me, I'm going to remove all the gravel from the bottom and let it bare.

Her anus is bigger and also more oppened (just like if she's forcing the poo or something - like some gravel, maybe - to go out). The color ir okay...still the usual yellow color.

I tried to feed her 2 times in the past weeks. But when she's hungry, she sees me through the glass and run on my direction...then I know she's hungry. But she didn't do this anymore... :sad: that's what makes me really nervous and upset, because I don't know how long can an adult axolotl survive without feeding...but at least her weight is just like normal.

When Eva was smaller (like 15cm), I used to feed her with food pellets. Then, when she was 20cm, I started to give her live food, like Giant Tenebrio Larvae and, eventually, a live fish for her to catch (as she loved to do this). Now that she growed up so much, I'm giving her only the salmon pieces that I mentioned. I didn't feed her the larvae anymore, as I always thought that they move too agressivelly, and as she swallows them still alive, it could injury her stomach. And I also didn't give her live fish anymore, as it may contain some disease.

I do can get the earth worms (online) here where I'm. But I'm not sure about the troute pellets...I'm going to do a research and, if I find, I'll buy it for her when she starts to eat again.

When you said "hopefully she will pass it eventually", don't you know how much time (about) it would take? Because it makes me very upset every time I look at her... :sad: can't I do anything else besides removing the gravel and keeping her at a constant (and cold) temperature?

Thank you so much for your helping, Ian!
If I have some new about Eva, I'll make sure to let you know about it, okay?

Luís Henrique

rigsby said:

Looking at your gravel ,she could quite easily have swallowed some and is having trouble passing it, it would be better to have the bottom of the tank bare. When you say her anus is bigger is it still the normal colour or is it red ?. Are you sure she is female?. Don't try to feed her for a few days and when you do it will be better to give her a more varied diet, can you get earth worms where you are? or trout pellets. I would say out of all the possibilities she has swallowed some gravel and hopefully she will pass it eventually but you must vary her diet.

Click to expand...

When I first got my two axolotl they where kept by the previous owner on bare floor, I chose sand and for a good three months after I would find bright blue gravel. 6 months on , every now and then I will find the odd piece. I have heard of others that still find gravel being passed much longer.
Try not to upset your self about this, I think the first step of taking the gravel out of the tank is one step further forward in Eva's recovery..and thats good.

Hello, 'Bellabelloo'! How're you?!

About the gravel, as you and Ian told me, today I'm going to completely remove it from her tank.

As I said to Ian, when Eva was smaller (like 15cm), I used to feed her with food pellets. Then, when she was 20cm, I started to give her live food, like Giant Tenebrio Larvae and, eventually, a live fish for her to catch (as she loved to do this). Now that she growed up so much, I'm giving her only the salmon pieces that I mentioned. I didn't feed her the larvae anymore, as I always thought that they move too agressivelly, and as she swallows them still alive, it could injury her stomach. And I also didn't give her live fish anymore, as it may contain some disease.
But I'm going to buy some earth worms for her, and also the troute pellets (if I can find it here), and give it to her when she starts eating again.

I also can get live shrimp. But the problem is that they're the ghost shrimps, and so they're veeery tiny. I forgot to tell you and Ian that I also used to feed Eva with some pieces of frozen shrimp...she used to like it, but not as much as she likes the salmon.

About the water temperature, at this time it is okay...I'm making sure to keep it constant (and cold).
When it tries to go up, I just put some pieces of frozen declorinated water.

I just want to know if she'll be fine and how much time she's going to stay without any interest on feeding? She used to be so hungry all the time. can't I do anything else besides removing the gravel and keeping her at a constant (and cold) temperature?


I'll make sure to post any new or question about Eva, so that you can know how she's doing.
Thank you SO much for your helping!
If it wasn't for you, I couldn't find ANYONE here in Brazil which could help me...on the petshop I got Eva, all they say is to give her salt baths (and I did it twice...but now I stopped, as I know her problem isn't fungus at all).

Luís Henrique

bellabelloo said:

Greetings LuisHenrique.

I suspect there are a number of issues that may be causing this. The gravel in the tank may cause compaction, where the pieces are accidently consumed, the small stones can lock together inside the axolotl and block areas of the stomach and intestine. If the salmon is the only choice of food that Eva ( and she is very pretty) has this may cause digestive problems too. I feed my gang mainly live worms ( the babies get sushi worms) , live river shrimp, thin slivers of raw fat free meat, slivers of raw tiger prawn and mussels.
With regards to the gravel/ small stones it would be wise to completely remove it from her tank..while axolotl feed the take huge gulps of water/ food into their mouths and sometimes the gravel too. This week I saw Jeffrey snuffling through some sand and he must have found somethind edible as he took a whole mouthful of the sand plus food into his mouth, he then swooshed it around and I could see the sand puffing out of his mouth and gills, when he swallowed the food sand must have gone down too.
If the water temps are rising it might be appropriate to put her in a lidded or high sided container and place her somewhere cooler, maybe another room? or at a push even in the fridge. This would allow you to see more clearly what may be going in and coming out. She will ideally need to be at a stable temperature so as to help reduce any stress.
Please keep us posted on how things are going, and please do ask questions if you are unsure..there are many people who can help you and the lovely Eva

Click to expand...

Yes...I'll do that right now, after I have lunch...and I'll try not to upset myself...Eva is a very resistant axolotl, and she has a family (and not only me) who loves her. I'm sure she's going to pass this situation soon...right?!

Thank you again for your support...
Luís Henrique

bellabelloo said:

When I first got my two axolotl they where kept by the previous owner on bare floor, I chose sand and for a good three months after I would find bright blue gravel. 6 months on , every now and then I will find the odd piece. I have heard of others that still find gravel being passed much longer.
Try not to upset your self about this, I think the first step of taking the gravel out of the tank is one step further forward in Eva's recovery..and thats good.

Click to expand...

don't worry about not feeding her for a while as they can go weeks without feeding, the only reason i said hopefully and asked about the colour of the anus is that straining too hard could cause a prolaps which would show up as a red ball around the back passage and is hard to cure. She may also develop a bend in her body shape where her head and tail lift upwards and she takes on the shape of a banana, this is common when trying to pass the obstruction and she will go back to normal when she passes the gravel..

Hi,

You could try fridging your axie as it sounds very much like a gravel impaction. Fridging will slow her metabolism and help her to pass whatever is blocking her up. The cooler temperature will also help her destress.

She is a very beautiful axie.

Good Luck

Hi again, Ian!!

About the "no feeding", I'll try to don't worry...as long as she doens't look skinny, of course.
Hopefully, Eva's anus isn't showing any red colour...just the usual yellow.

Yes...I was going to tell you about the strange shape that her tail developed, but I was trying to figure out how to explain it to you...but it's exactly as you said...her tail developed the shape of a banana...it shrinked a bit and is curved straight up her anus (that's why her annus seem to "show off" more). Now I'm very happy to know that this is common when trying to pass the obstruction...thank you so much...I didn't know that.

The temperature started to increase here where I live...so I just added some big pieces of ice into her tank...now the temperature is okay, because if I didn't do this, it could increase too much. I'm taking good care about her water temperature, as it's so important for her to recover soon.

I also removed all the gravel from the bottom of her tank, just like you told me. Now she won't swallow it any more.

I forgot to answer one of your first questions...you asked me if I'm sure that she's a female:
No, I'm not sure. The petshop seller told me that she thought it's a female. But as almost every petshop seller are never sure about qhat they say (even more here where I live), I'm not sure about it. Does the sex makes any difference on this situation?

Thank you!
Luís Henrique

rigsby said:

don't worry about not feeding her for a while as they can go weeks without feeding, the only reason i said hopefully and asked about the colour of the anus is that straining too hard could cause a prolaps which would show up as a red ball around the back passage and is hard to cure. She may also develop a bend in her body shape where her head and tail lift upwards and she takes on the shape of a banana, this is common when trying to pass the obstruction and she will go back to normal when she passes the gravel..

Click to expand...

Hi, 'click'!!! How're you?!

A lot of people tell me to put her on the fridge...some people let them there for 2 weeks or more...but I've never done that before...I just put on some big ice blocks inside her tank to make it cool.
But...I think I'll try to put her on the fridge for a while.

How much time do you think she should/could stay in there and which temperature is still safe for her? Istn't it dangerous if the temperature becomes too slow inside the fridge?...like 7ºC???
And also, how am I able to keep the water well oxygenated while inside the fridge? Won't she die without the oxygen? And the last question: while inside the fridge, sould I replace the water everyday? Because, of course, she'll have to stay on a smaller tank than hers.

Thank you for saying she's beautiful. She really does.
And also thank you for your support! We all hope that soon Eva will pass this situation.

Luís Henrique

ianclick said:

Hi,

You could try fridging your axie as it sounds very much like a gravel impaction. Fridging will slow her metabolism and help her to pass whatever is blocking her up. The cooler temperature will also help her destress.

She is a very beautiful axie.

Good Luck

Click to expand...

no lous the sex wont make any difference it was just possible she may have been filling up with eggs but now i'm fairly sure its the gravel.

Good evening Luís

With regards to placing her in the fridge, she'll need to be in a container with a lid and dechlorinated water, keep a bottle of dechlorinated water in the fridge with her ready for her daily water change. I believe the fridge should be over 5 degrees, so 7 degrees is fine. The water in the container will need to cover her completely. It is also recommended that you cover her container with a towel or cloth, so that when the door is opened the light does not startle her. With regards to her being able to breath she should be fine, cooler water contains more oxygen. I would do a daily water change .
I recently placed one of my babies in the fridge that had completely lost its tail ( bitten by dad when it escaped from its side of the tank!) . I had it in a clear sided container and I would check every now and then to see if it had passed anything. This little one despite loosing half its length has just rejoined its siblings after a week in the fridge, and in this case the tail is noticably growing.

Hmmmm...I got it.
It wouldn't be possible for her to be filled up with eggs, since she lives alone at her tank and has never been "in contact with a guy". :tongue:
Yes...it's probably due to the gravel.

rigsby said:

no lous the sex wont make any difference it was just possible she may have been filling up with eggs but now i'm fairly sure its the gravel.

Click to expand...

Hi...Good evening, 'Ballabelloo'!

Thank you SO much for all of your instructions!
I'm going to do that right now...Eva is going to spend the night at the fridge and then, tomorrow, I'll start the daily water changes.

For how long do you think I should left her in there? About 1-2 weeks? Maybe even more, if needed, would be okay for her?

I'm going to take a look at her every now and then, just like you told me, and if I notice something, I'll immediately let you know about it, okay?

Luís Henrique

bellabelloo said:

Good evening Luís

With regards to placing her in the fridge, she'll need to be in a container with a lid and dechlorinated water, keep a bottle of dechlorinated water in the fridge with her ready for her daily water change. I believe the fridge should be over 5 degrees, so 7 degrees is fine. The water in the container will need to cover her completely. It is also recommended that you cover her container with a towel or cloth, so that when the door is opened the light does not startle her. With regards to her being able to breath she should be fine, cooler water contains more oxygen. I would do a daily water change .
I recently placed one of my babies in the fridge that had completely lost its tail ( bitten by dad when it escaped from its side of the tank!) . I had it in a clear sided container and I would check every now and then to see if it had passed anything. This little one despite loosing half its length has just rejoined its siblings after a week in the fridge, and in this case the tail is noticably growing.

Click to expand...

Hi again, everyone!
I just made a good check at Eva, and I have good news for you: her belly seems to have just started to go back to normal, as it looks quite smaller than it was yesterday night (24h before). Now she's even touching the bottom of her tank with her foot again. And she's also pooing for the 3rd time since yesterday night! I'm so happy for her...I'm sure she's going to be fine!

Maybe she's doing well because today, as it was quite hot in here, I added a BIG block of declorinated-water ice that was being prepared on th fridge 2 days ago.
Seems like she really enjoyed the effect that the huge ice block made over the usually water temperature: 17º...and with the ice it decreased to about 10º (wich stayed constant since now); so I think she's going to love to spend some days on the fridge (I'm going to put her in there now).

Any new and I'll post it here, okay?
Good night to all of you, everyone!

Luís Henrique

Great news sory I didnt get back to you but, what Bella said

Great to hear Lu..

After 1 week on the fridge...

Hello, Everyone! How're you!?

Today Eva is back to her tank...now with a bare floor.
After spending about 1 week on the fridge, her belly is still huge and her annus is still oppened up more than it normally is...but the difference is that now her annus is also looking reddish...like if it is hurted. I really don't know what to do, everyone...please give me some suggestions.

The good is that, as always, Eva still looks healthy and happy, and her gills are perfectly red and volumous...very beautiful...but looking at her reddish annus makes me very upset, as I think she feels a bit of pain...and I don't want that for her.
Also...I found no gravel on the container that she stayed during the time she spent on the fridge.

Hugs for everyone!
Luís Henrique

Another axie with the same problem!!!

Here's somome's axie with the same problem as Eva...the only difference is that his one is looking skinny, and Eva is looking huge (her belly):
http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?p=130010#post130010

I hope we can help each other now that we met...
and I also hope that BOTH of our axies will be okay soon!

Luís Henrique

LuisHenrique said:

Hello, Everyone! How're you!?

Today Eva is back to her tank...now with a bare floor.
After spending about 1 week on the fridge, her belly is still huge and her annus is still oppened up more than it normally is...but the difference is that now her annus is also looking reddish...like if it is hurted. I really don't know what to do, everyone...please give me some suggestions.

The good is that, as always, Eva still looks healthy and happy, and her gills are perfectly red and volumous...very beautiful...but looking at her reddish annus makes me very upset, as I think she feels a bit of pain...and I don't want that for her.
Also...I found no gravel on the container that she stayed during the time she spent on the fridge.

Hugs for everyone!
Luís Henrique

Click to expand...