Illness/Sickness: No gills!!

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kira

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Pepper has almost no gills where as before he had big pink ones. Now there is practically nothing on one side of his head and on the other side there are only stumps. All of the hair things are gone and the gills are almost see-though! This started happenning a little while ago when he injuried his leg. What is going on? What should I do? I am really really worried. Pepper is off his food too.

All of the levels in the tank are good, except for the nitrite is slightly high because the tank is cycling. I change 20% of the water everyday (because its cycling). The temp is around 20C - 21C. I am having some problems keeping the temp down because its starting to get VERY hot where I am. I have been using frozen drink bottles and that, but its not working really well. If I don't put anything in the tank, the temp gets to 28C, way too high! Any ideas? Whats wrong with Pep?
 
kira said:
Pepper has almost no gills where as before he had big pink ones. Now there is practically nothing on one side of his head and on the other side there are only stumps. All of the hair things are gone and the gills are almost see-though! This started happenning a little while ago when he injuried his leg. What is going on? What should I do? I am really really worried. Pepper is off his food too.

All of the levels in the tank are good, except for the nitrite is slightly high because the tank is cycling. I change 20% of the water everyday (because its cycling). The temp is around 20C - 21C. I am having some problems keeping the temp down because its starting to get VERY hot where I am. I have been using frozen drink bottles and that, but its not working really well. If I don't put anything in the tank, the temp gets to 28C, way too high! Any ideas? Whats wrong with Pep?
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Hi Kira,

It doesn't take much to stress an axolotl 'out of their beanie'. When an axie is stressed he is highly susceptible to illness; he or she will tend to lose their gills and appetite.

Pepper sounds as if he is having to deal with too much (a cycling tank/temp fluctuations/injury) and he's having trouble coping.

I would recommend you pop him in the fridge for a holiday to help him relax and to allow him time to build his immunity systems back up.
 
Is 4C is the fridge ok? I can't have the temp any higher because like I said, it is very hot where I am.
 
kira said:
Is 4C is the fridge ok? I can't have the temp any higher because like I said, it is very hot where I am.
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Yes, that should be fine. Axolotls love the cold.

While in the fridge, Pepper will need to have his water changed daily with fresh dechlorinated water.

Ensure you keep bottles of dechlorinated water in the fridge, these wil be used for the water changes to keep the temperature consistant for Pepper so he doesn't suffer temperature shock.
 
Oh No! Pepper has blood on he's gills! Now what should I do? I am really scared, I love Pep soooo much and I have had him for sooo long.

I am going to try and get a photo.
 
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He is very skinny, like I said Pepper isn't eating much. What should I do?

Sorry about the poor quality of the photos, I didn't want to use a flash or anything!
 
If you are having trouble keeping the tank cool and there is nowhere cool in the house to keep Pepper then he is best off in the fridge. While in the fridge Pepper will not want to eat as his metabolism is slowed right down, but the weight loss is also slowed right down.

An axolotl's gills will change hue depending on the axolotl's level of activity. The gills on an Albino will tend to darken if the axolotl is active and go pale when inactive.
 
Pepper looks like Colin did, before he passed away :( Good luck, I hope things get better for you. Sorry, I have no advice.
 
I did put Pepper in the fridge, this morning when I was advised too. I still don't understand the blood though. I was more worried in the drastic change in the size of the gills, then in the colour. Like I said, Pepper use to have VERY long and fluffy gills. But I am also worried about the loss of weight because he used to be quite chubby! LOL This has all happened in about a week. He is no longer active and hardly ever moves.

Yes it is hard to keep the temp down in the tank and like I said, if I don't do anything it gets up to 28C. However, I have been filling up large snap-lock bags with water and freezing them. Doing this I can get the temp down to a more acceptable level.

My other axie Honey, is in the same tank and he is totally fine. Nice and chubby, big fluffy gills and always hungry. LOL

Hopefully Pepper will be ok. I would hate for anything to happen to him! I will let you know how it goes.

Sorry to keep posting, but I have no one else who would understand how I feel about my axies, so thanks
 
Kira, good luck with your axie!
As about keeping the temp in the tank, I can advice you Peltier based cooling system. My father has made it for our axolotl. It decreases temperature for 5 degrees, so if you have 28C now then with that cooling system you'll get 23C. It consists of 2 Peltier-elements, 2 computer radiators and 2 computer fans with radiators. If you're interested in it I can post scheme how to make it.
 
kira said:
Sorry to keep posting, but I have no one else who would understand how I feel about my axies, so thanks
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We've all been there and please do keep us posted on Pepper. There is nearly always someone around willing and able to help. :happy:

I'm not sure if you have seen this article it has very helpful ideas for keeping an aquarium cool: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cooling.shtml
 
Vivern said:
As about keeping the temp in the tank, I can advice you Peltier based cooling system. My father has made it for our axolotl. It decreases temperature for 5 degrees, so if you have 28C now then with that cooling system you'll get 23C. It consists of 2 Peltier-elements, 2 computer radiators and 2 computer fans with radiators. If you're interested in it I can post scheme how to make it.
Click to expand...


That would be fantastic thankyou!!!!:D
 
OK, I'm at work now, so when I get home, I post it. 'Cause I can't recall all the characteristic of my Peltier-elements and schema now :(, I should have a look on some parameters to give you the correct info.
 
I got up this morning and Pepper isn't looking too good. For some reason he seems to want to keep his head above the water. All of his heade, not just part of it. And Pep only put his head under the water when I gently push it down again, but he only stays like that for a minute or so. Whats going on with that?????????

There is plenty of water in the container his is in. Pepper has to take he front legs off the bottom of the container to put his head above the water.

Also he has very red eyes this morning, not just the normal pink, very red!! Maybe from having his head out of the water??

I think he is getting a small amount of fungus on whats left of his gills. There are some white cotton looking bits on his gills. His gills have shrank more over night too.

What do I do???? Please Help!!:confused::(
 
Please help, any advice would be great!

Pepper is STILL not putting his head into the water!

I have changed his water today and tried to feed him, he just spat out the food. No surprise there!:(
 
Ok I am going to post because you seem very worried and no one else is answering you. I wouldn't worry overmuch about the red gills unless it is actual pooling blood, albino axies have reddened gills for a number of reasons, and not always bad ones. Are you changing the water he is in every day? is is dechlorinated water? Is he still in the fridge? Is the container clear or not? If it is, it is better to have one that isn't so it reduces fright. I am not sure about the head out of the water? His eyes again could be red because of blood flow? Also axies have a tendency not to eat when in the fridge, so don't worry so much about that. Perhaps try some different food.

Also, make sure you monitor the parameters of the tank that the other axie is housed in, and monitor that axie for any changes in behaviour, appearance, etc.
 
Ok I also just thought he might be sticking his head out of the water because he is floating due to gas, rather than him deliberately floating in order to stick the head out. Try lowering the water until it just covers his body so his feet touch the bottom of the container and see if this fixes the problem.
 
Amiracle said:
Are you changing the water he is in every day? is is dechlorinated water? Is he still in the fridge? Is the container clear or not? If it is, it is better to have one that isn't so it reduces fright.
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Yes to all of the above. However, the container that Pepper is in is covered by a towel so that the light doesn't scare him.

I has started salt baths today as Pepper has a bad case of fungus on his gills (his gills are covered!) Also, I found tonight that Honey (Pepper's tank mate), has fungus on his gills too! I have checked the water in the tank and everything is fine except the nitrite is slightly up because the tank in cycling. Because the fungus is progressing very quickly, I am also putting Honey in the fridge.

Unfortunately, Honey has never been very well. I bought him from a pet shop a little under 2 months ago and he wasn't being taken care of and was sick when I bought him home. I got him because I felt sorry for him.

I hope things get better soon! I don't know what else to do!
 
UPDATE....

So both Pepper and Honey are still in the fridge. Pepper doesn't move anymore but he is still alive. Neither one of them are eating anything, which is no surprise! The fungus is getting much worse on Pepper although Honey is SLOWLY improving I think. Where Pepper use to have gills, are just little stumps now on the side of his head

I change their water everyday with cold water I keep in the fridge for them. They have also been having salt baths 3 times a day, and I have been very gently trying to remove bits of the fungus with tweezers.

I don't know what else I can do! I am sooo worried, I can't sleep at night. I have had Pepper for so long now, I love him like one of my children. It's weird how you can get attached to little animals like that, hey?
 
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