Advice needed for Bubba

Advice needed for Bubba (PHOTOS ATTACHED)

Hi All,

I have two axolotl's a leucistic and a black. Bubba, my leucistic that I have had for about 8 months, has not been feeling well for several weeks. She looks extremely fat and has not eaten in 2 weeks. Her gills are very pale.

When we first got them, they were on gravel for a week and I think she may have swallowed some. We moved them to sand months ago, but I wonder if she has some blockage. She pooped out several large pebbles a few weeks ago.

Not sure what to do. My black, Forrest, is thriving, the water is at 20 degrees and good quality. I am very afraid to use the fridge for fear that it will make Bubba worse.

HELP!!! PHOTOS BELOW

Thanks from Deb in Portland, OR

I'd be tempted to place Bubba somewhere cooler and darker so you can keep a really close eye on her , she may not need to go in the fridge ...just somewhere cooler. Some find placing the axolotl in lower temps seems to stimulate them to 'pooh' .... then you may be able to see if there are more stones there. While she is there ( give her a few days at least) offer her food.
Is there any chance she is larger due to eggs?

Hi---At first we thought, HOPED that it was due to eggs but she has looked like this for quite awhile now!

I don't really have any other cool place to put her (other than the fridge). I could keep the light off in their tank---it's usually on a few hours per day.

Photos of BIG BUBBA

Here are some photos of Bubba (female). She has gotten huge over the last month. The last photo is what she used to look like.

How long can they go without eating?

She really is this pale, it's not just the camera. Gone are the pretty pink and healthy, lush gills.

How long can they survive without eating?

Any chance that it COULD be eggs?

If it's an impaction, is there anything I can do?!

Thanks for looking!!

Honestly, the best advice would be to keep her cool. That may involve fridging, if you can't get the temperature lower than it is. Temperature needs to be 5C minimum. The fridge will slow her metabolism down, may alleviate any stress that she might be going through and hopefully give her chance to heal. You just need to make sure that you keep a bottle of dechlorinated water in the fridge for daily 100% waterchanges. Wrap her container with a dishcloth as well (to stop any light fluctuations from normal fridge usage) and try and avoid pulling her container in and out of the fridge too much within 24 hour period (some people tend to do this as they're worried about the cold and want to warm their axies up - invariably adding to stress).

Have you checked if there any vets in your area that specialises in exotic pets/amphibians or treats them.

The substrate you have doesn't look like it would cause impaction. From the shape of the abdomen in the last photo, I'm inclined to think it might be bloat. see:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/bloatEDK.shtml

Hi, yes, I previously read the article on bloat, but since it's for newts, I wasn't sure if it applied. It's very sad to see poor Bubba like this. When I first got her, she was on gravel for a week and I know she ingested some of it. I got the sand, to little, to late.

I may go for the fridge, but last time I did it, I lost the axo. Probably would have anyway since it came to me quite sick from the online company--but I am nervous about doing it.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Don't be scared of putting the Axolotl in the fridge, they like low temperatures. The warmest part of the fridge is often the front of the top shelf. Try putting a bowl of water here and measuring its temperature. If it is about 7 degrees Centigrade that is probably the best place for Bubba with the water changes and covers as Kapo recommends.

Thanks for the advice everybody. I went ahead and put Bubba in the fridge and am hoping for the best. She is still extremely pale and she has two small reddish marks (sores?) on her front legs. Not sure if it's from her immune system being so poor....she hasn't eaten in weeks, so I will just hope for the best.

Wish me luck.

Deb