Help! Fungus in mouth - starving to death!!

Hi there,

I have not been on the forum for years now, but I have had my axolotl for 8 years and he has been very healthy and happy up until now.
He has a fungus inside his mouth and it sometimes spills out onto his lips which is the only time that I can really see it. It is stopping him from being able to chew and swallow. He is therefore starving and rapidly losing weight.
I haven't changed the way I have done things with him, his tank is kept cool
When I put him in the fridge the fungus seems to subside but when I take him out it just comes back. My problem is that I obviously can keep him in the fridge for too long and it is urgent that he starts to eat again or I'm going to lose him (his appetite is fine by the way, he is hungry!)
Is a salt bath really going to help considering the fungus is inside his mouth?

Can someone please suggest something as I am so worried that I am going to lose him - I've had him a long time!

Thanks

A salt bath may be the best thing here. (Kapo i hope you don't mind i copied and pasted your salt bath info)

Saltbath treatment is:

2=3 teaspoons of uniodised table salt/sea salt or aquarium/tonic salt per litre of dechlorinated water.

Make sure to dissolve the salt. If using the aquarium/chunky salt, crush it so it dissolves easier.

Then add your axolotl to the bath - s/he may find it a little irritating at first. Cover with lid. Ensure it stays in minimum of 10 minutes, but no longer than 15minutes.

Saltbaths need to be done twice a day during the week (or 3 times per day if able).

Are you able to check your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels, something could be wrong hence you can't get rid of the fungus.

If fridging the axolotl make sure to put the saltbath in the fridge so it's the same temperature as it's fridging container to avoid fluctuating temperatures which can be just as stressful to the axie.

Empty the saltbath after each use and make up a fresh one each time.
Keep us posted and ask any more questions you may have.

getting worse :-(

Thanks very much for the salt bath tip, it was nice and easy to follow!

Unfortunately he seems to be getting worse.

He's now been in the fridge since Saturday and getting salt baths since monday.

The fungus is getting larger. The only bit I can really see is on his lips (but I'm pretty sure it goes right inside his mouth since he is having so much difficulty eating) and it's a strange sort of fungus.

It is hard and brittle, not soft and spongy like a normal fungus. Part of it brushed off when I moved him on saturday which caused his lip to bleed a little (this is fine now though). Unfortunately now it is definitely bigger than is has been yet.

Any other ideas - I'm a bit wary of using any chemical treatment but think now this may be the next course of action?

If anyone has any more suggestions, I'd be really grateful as he now hasn't eaten since a tiny meal 10 days ago and is incredibly thin.

He is getting old (8)- does anyone know anything about care of older axolotl and if maybe this current problem is realting to his age?


Eek! v worried!

All I can suggest if you are considering a chemical treatment is Methylene Blue. Best to treat outside the tank but I believe some add it to their tank water. I'll be interested in others' comments about the nature of the illness - is this a different kind of fungus? If not, what might it be?

I've not heard of this before either. Is it at all possible that your axolotl may have something stuck in its mouth??..maybe a snail or anything like that. I appreciate this is a bit of a long shot. I think if this is not the case then a visit to the vet will be necessary.

Rosie this certainly sounds strange. I'm wondering if it is fungus at all.
What sort of set up do you have?
Any plants....plastic or real.....could a bit of plastic plant come off and become lodged in its mouth?
What about your filter? Anything missing off that?
Do you have children...is there a chance they could have accidently dropped something into the tank and you havent noticed?
I'm just trying to rule out other possibilites.
Any other tank mates?
A picture would be great if you could get one.

It's definitely a type of fungus. Quite a bit of it fell off during the night actually (hooray!) so if it flares back up i'll try get a picture. Maybe the salt baths are starting to help after all. I've actually seen this before on a friends axolotl and she actually ended up dying from it (the axi, not my friend!)
It sort of starts round the lips (kinda looks like a wee beard or something!) and then spreads. Alphonse has so far only had 2 wee patches that I can actually see (but owing to his eating problems am presuming it must be in his mouth too). As i said i accidently knocked the first patch off and last night the second patch has fallen off too. It was lying at the bottom of the tub this morning. It has a sort of 'centre' that is yellowish and then the wee jaggy bits kind of sprout off it - they are brittle. It kind of reminds me of crystals or icicles or something like that. I'm not explaining this very well, I
know!
There is nothing plastic in his tank and as i said I have seen this before but the axi didn't survive. No kids etc - there's definitely nothing in the tank that shouldn't be and I've had him for 7 years now and he has always been very healthy in the same set up.

He ate an earthworm this morning so hopefully he will be able to keep it down. That's the biggest meal he has had in ages. I have taken him out the fridge.

I'll keep you all posted - thanks very much for all your help so far!

well i'm glad he has eaten something, lets hope he is on the way to recovery.
Good luck

I don't know too much about axolotls in particular, but do you think it could be mouth rot? Is his jaw somewhat swollen? Can he close his mouth okay?

I had a mouth rot case several years ago and I found answers within this discussion: http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/7/2017.html?1040243646

and treatment options on here: http://www.klsnet.com/sickamph.html

Without photos I can't tell you but if that happens to be the case, some good solutions exist

Thanks very much for the suggestion. I guess his mouth is a little swollen but nowhere near as bad as the newt in those pictures. I'll definitely look into that idea though, it could very well be something like that I suppose, but there is a white, rigid growth/fungus there on my axi too. It is not a lumpy growth, it is like little spikes and he looks like he has beard!

I couldn't open the link for the treatment ideas though.

I'll see what else I can find out

Thanks again x

Rosie is it just affecting the mouth?
Can you see any other patches on the body or maybe the gills?

update

Hi,

Just a wee update - he is still the same.

It is only on his mouth, the salt bath reduce it but it is back within 24 hours. i have been keeping him out of his tank incase it is something in there that is causing it but it doesn't seem to make any difference.

He is eating much better though which is a relief, but I just can't seem to get rid of this fundus once and for all!! grr!!!

my vets are useless - they didn't even know what he was and just referred me to the vet school who want £150 for just an initial consultation. what does everyone think of trying a chemical treatment? I am really wary....

Have you been continuing the salt baths for a while after the fungus is gone? If not, I'd recommend you keep up the salt baths for a week or so after the fungus is fully gone.

Yea many vets do not specialise in exotic animals so are probably not that helpful with axolotls. You can try to find one that is experienced with amphibians?

Anyway, if you decide to use medicines other than salt baths be wary of using ones designed for fish as they are often harmful for axolotls. There is a list at the bottom of this page you might find helpful: http://axolotl.org/health.htm