Bloated and not eating!

I have 2 axolotls in a 100 litre tank, and one of my axolotls is very bloated and has only eaten about 2 or 3 times in the past month! The water temperature is around 19-20 degrees and I do regular (weekly) water changes. What else can I do?! I don't want her to die! My other axolotl is perfectly fine,

Hi lilipad,

Firstly, i would recommend you isolate and quarantine your sick axolotl first. You don't want contagious diseases to spread.

You can do so by actually fridging your axolotl. Fridging your axolotl can help destress it, boost its immune system and render pathogens less viable/proliferative.

- Set your fridge to about 4-5 degree celsius.
- Put your axie in a container large enough to allow it to stretch its limbs and tail comfortably.
- Fill with fresh dechlorinated water enough to submerge it but not allowing it to float.
- Cover with a lid. You can use a perforated lid or netting to prevent it jumping out.
- Use a tea towel to cover it to keep the environment dark.
- Perform 100% water changes daily with clean dechlorinated water.
- You can pre prepare bottles of water in the fridge.
- Continue to offer a variety of nutritious food daily. Try live wriggly food like blackworms, bloodworms, earthworms. You can also try the usual pellet, offer treats of shrimp and fish etc. Otherwise you can also blend everything in a food processor and then roll the resultant mash into a pea sized ball to try offer your axie. Remove uneaten food within 20 min.

Meanwhile continue to ensure that your main tank has optimal conditions - check water parameters, regular 20% water changes, cool water temp, no excessive currents etc. Stress can cause your other axie to succumb to illness so you want to avoid that.

Bloat can be cause by renal dysfunction and scepticaemia. Take a look at these links to see if your axie resembles one with bloat. Try posting a photo here for comparison.

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/bloatEDK.shtml

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/illness3.shtml

Please also consider taking your axie to your vet for a diagnostic workup and appropriate treatment.

Cheers

Hi Lillipad,

If I may, could you advise of what the axolotl's main diet consists of? Nutritional deficiency can lead to kidney failure which causes bloat.

How long have you had the axolotl and how long has the tank been established?

Would you be able to post a picture of the axolotl?

i've had the axolotl for about 6 months, and i'd set up my tank a few weeks before that. i got her from a lady who'd had her for about a year. i'll get a photo and post it soon. if i put her in the fridge, do i use tank water or dechlorinated tap water? thanks for the help, i'm pretty worried! oh, and i feed her a pea and prawn mix, which is was she's always eaten. since she stopped eating i've also tried bloodworm but she won't eat that either!

Hi lilipad,

What you can do is prepare those bottles of clean dechlorinated water first. Put them in the fridge. You can use your tank water for now for your axie in the fridge. Perform your 100% water change with the bottled water from tomorrow onwards.

A pea and prawn mix is nutritionally very unbalanced. Furthermore, the axolotl's intestinal tract is designed for a carnivourous diet. The pea does absolutely nothing in terms of nutrition. Suitable staple food include earthworms, bloodworms, blackworms, axolotl pellets. You can give prawn and fish, beefheart etc occasionally as treats.

Malnutrition can definitely cause a myriad of problems including renal dysfunction. Please switch to more appropriate food types for your other axie as well.

Regards.

ok, i will try that. i just tried to give her some bloodworm again and it didn't work here's some photos

Hi Lillipad,

It certainly looks like bloat to me. Anyone else?

Has she been swollen like this for the past month?

This is an extract from 'the Axolotl Site' Health section:

Fluid Disorders, Genetic and Nutritional Problems

"Physical problems, such as fluid build-up (edema and ascites), and abnormal cell growth (tumours), are sometimes encountered by the hobbyist. Some of these physical problems are the result of genetic abnormalities and there is usually little that can be done aside from letting nature take its course. Some books recommend draining the fluid with a hypodermic needle but this should only be done by a vet. Fluid build-up can be caused by heart damage, kidney problems, nutritional deficiencies, and even old age. There's not a lot that can be done in such cases, and drained fluid usually builds up again.

Some physical problems are related to nutrition. Caudates (a term used to describe newts and salamanders) tend to have difficulty dealing with large quantities of fats and oils in their diet. White worms and tubifex are the most commonly quoted high fat foods. Dog food can also contain a high proportion of oils and fats. When fed exclusively on these foods, occurrences of sclerosis of the liver increase. Other foods, such as mealworms, are quite low in calcium, which can lead to a number of problems. They also have a lot of chitin (a structural protein in insects and some crustaceans) which axolotls can't digest, and this passes through their guts intact. Again, these shouldn't be fed as the sole food but rather as an occasional treat to avoid health problems. Mealworms present an additional danger: they have poweful jaws that can damage an axolotl internally. If you must feed mealworms, it is advisable to crush the jaws of the mealworms prior to feeding. This can be accomplished using a strong forceps or tweezers.

If your axolotl develops a nutritional problem, change its diet immediately and try to feed it a variety of foods. Nutritional deficiencies often lead to increased likelihood of the Axolotl succumbing to bacterial or fungal disease."

- Would recommend taking the axolotl to a vet to have the fluid drained.

- I would change the axies staple diet to earthworm as this is the most nutritionally complete food for axolotls - very helpful for this axie's circumstances as I think it will help ward off future fluid build ups.

- Ensure the water quality is good, water quality with issues can exasserbate this axolotl's condition and make it worse.

Hi lilipad,

Glad you took those photos. Generally bloat will present as generalised oedema/swelling over the entire body. I tend to look directly under the neck region (submanibular) and base of tail as well to assess if the swelling is generalised.

I am very certain there is a certain level of ascitis (fluid in peritoneal cavity). It might be the intial onset phase that can quickly deteriorate to bloat if left untreated. I would still recommend you fridge your axie until you can take it to a vet.

The vet should perform a diagnostic workup - blood sample for haematology, biochemistry, maybe even culture. Treatments include fluid therapy (amphibian ringers solution), correction of any electrolyte deficits, supplementary vitamins and a broad spectrum emphirical antibiotic therapy, until specific diagnosis is made.

Regards

wow, thanks ray!
i've set up my wine fridge for 7 degrees and will put my axie in as soon as it's cool enough. do you know if there's many vets around that deal in axolotls?

Hi Lilipad,

Which part of aust are you in? I can private message you a list of some vets familiar with axies.

CHeers.

i'm in brisbane

hey guys. just letting you know i took my axie to the vet today. the vet said it is fluid build-up, most likely caused by kidney problems and there's nothing they can really do :-( they did drain a bit of the fluid to make her more comfortable. anyway, i'm changing the diet of my other axie to bloodworm and earthworm, so hopefully this won't happen again

Thanks for keeping us updated lilipad. Wishing your axie a speedy recovery.

Cheers.

hey, i just found her on her side on the bottom of the tank and she was dead :-(

Oh dear, im so sorry lilipad. You did what you could. Don't be too upset.

Hugs

I'm so sorry to hear that.