Question: Mucus build-up on skin and gills.

Quick question all, my little guys been in the fridge for over a week now w/ daily water changes and no loss in appetite. today when i was moving him from one bucket to another i noticed a very sticky white mucus on him and his gills (it made my hand very sticky) so i moved him to a clear Tupperware to examine. it has inhibited his gill movement quite a bit by "gluing" them down to his sides. otherwise seems fine, is this like amphibian shedding?

G'day,

I like to think of mucus as the first line of defense for an axolotl. For instance, with fish, the mucus that is secreted through the numerous glands scattered along their epidermis contains antibodies and anti-bacterial lysozymes. If there is an excess of mucus, this usually indicates that there maybe a surface pathogen, namely bacteria. This is also true of axolotls. However, a healthy axolotl should have some mucus, irrespective of the presence of a pathogen.

The bacteria may have come from your hand or perhaps from the tupperware, which might not have been cleaned properly. If either of these are the cause, I would suggest that you wash the tupperware thoroughly (with baking soda/sodium bicarbonate), and also use a large net to transfer your axolotl from one location to the other.

Also, could you please post a photo as you may be mistaking the mucus build-up for a fungal infection?

Jay.