Help! Squishy is sick!

Went to feed Squishy today and she was hiding in the corner and when i fed her she tried to move but seemed to only curl into a ball like she couldnt move right or something! i decided to clean her tank because it is dirty and i did get sand to put in the bottom when i tried to take her out of her tank to put her my bathtub which i have full of water for her to swim in while i was cleaning the tank she i tried to use a bowl and nudge her in and when she got in she freaked out and started thrashing around! when i got her to the bathtub and sloshed her in she had cut her tail in three idfferent places! i decided she would be ok and started to clean the tank i just check and she has thrown up her food everywhere someone help me! i am freaking out (sorry for the terrible grammar, spelling etc)

I'm not sure what the problem is. Do you think she's sick because she threw up? It was probably from the stress of being moved. Why did you put her in the bath tub? Was the bath tub water treated? Was it the same temperature of the tank? Could there have been any residues of soap/shampoo/ANYTHING in the bathtub? This is probably a bad idea. You can usually just put them in a big bowl or a small bucket with tank water or something instead of moving them.

I cleaned the bathtub really well put the water in, treated it, and let it sit before i put her in there..but from now I will put her in a bowl. I am worried because she was moving like something was wrong when she was in her tank she kept curling up like she couldn't move and instead of swimming she was just floating like she would try to swim up the to the top of the tank but it was a real struggle and halfway to the top she would just stop trying and would sink to the bottom again, and you think the throw up is from stress? i want to cry I am so worried

Poor dear! First, take a deeeeep breath and calm down. Squishy is going to be fine, I am sure.

I cut the tails of two of my larvae (the larvae are about 5 inches long). It is just a cut, and it will heal. If the water is clean and healthy, there shouldn't be a problem. Just keep your eye on the cuts to make sure they don't get infected. Also, it is not unusual for an axolotl to freak out when being moved. Furthermore, it is normal and very common for them to hide behind plants.

You also don't need to take Squishy out of the tank to clean it. Just be slow and gentle while cleaning and she will wait and watch you.

I wonder more about what you mean about Squishy curling up. I don't know if this is unusual - my adults as well as the juveniles like to curl their tails around sometimes. The juveniles do some pretty strange acrobatics, too, including something almost like staring at their own tails, or swimming up the tank and floating slowly downwards. How exactly is she curled up, how long has she been that way?

It could just be that Squishy is new and shy, maybe a little scared. Of the six junveniles I have had in the aquarium for two weeks now, two of them still hide behind plants and I rarely see them at all. Being moved out of the aquarium is only going to add to Squishy's worry.

The best way to tell if something is wrong with your axolotl is to check your water paramters. They are the usual culprits. If the water is good, Squishy is probably fine, too. Maybe you let her be alone in her tank for awhile. If you are trying to hand feed her, it might be better just to drop the food near her without putting your hand in the water, and then go away from the tank again to let her eat in privacy. You know how it is with shy folks. You go have a nice cup of tea or cocoa and relax a bit, too.

-Eva

How is young Squishy today?

Ok, I cleaned out Squishy's tank and took out the marbles and put in some purple sand the guy at the pet store recommended, I treated it and let it sit and then put Squish back in, since then she seems to have calmed down and is just relaxing in the back of the tank (of course this is after she swam directly to the bottom of the tank and buried her head in the sand). So I think she will be fine she just needs time to chill out and realize that me cleaning the tank isn't the worst thing in the world. Thank you everyone for your advice, the replies were so quick and helpful I really appreciate it. Now for the new problem. This morning when I woke up I got up and went to check on Squish to see how she was faring after her long stressful day. The water is purple! The sand has turned all of the water purple! Its not completely purple I can still see through it and find Squishy who doesn't seem to be upset about the color change at all. I went and found the sand packaging and it says safe non-toxic and everything so I don't know what happened.

I guess I will just have to keep changing the water and eventually the water will clear up, I figure the filter keeps the water moving which is why it took so long for the water to actually become colored. I am sure it will work out because Squish seems fine, any ideas on how to make the water being clear and now purple?

Yup you got it, keep doing small water changes and eventually the purple colour will dissapear. You can also try to rinse out your filter sponges in a container of tank water. That will help to remove any fine sand particles trapped in the sponge and your filter should be more efficient at cleaning the coloured water.

Thanks for all the help, you guys are great. I wish you could have seen my face when I got up this morning and my tank is purple! I was like great! This is just what I need! But Squish really doesn't seem to mind it so I guess it will just take time to get the purple out. Thanks again!

Was it this colour ------> Or this colour --------> or maybe this------->:sad: Your face that is lol

Lol I am going to have to say it was the angry face only green because I felt sick about it haha.