My new axies leg!

I brought two young Axolotls yesturday and the one is very active, swimming around accepting food well etc but the other was very very shy. Its not until a few hours after i realised he cant use his left front leg. Hes eating well and he looks healthy but im worried about him, hes swimming alright and apart from being a bit more lazy than the other he seems to be fine. The leg looks normal and fine, but he cant use it. Think this could cause him any trouble?

Thanks guys!

Hi Banksky,

If it is not bothering it and looks healthy then no worries. My oldest has a left front limb that dislocates periodically no signs of distress for the axie and aprt from a slightly wobbly swim no issues

Cheers mate, sadly it took a downwards turn today, started to look very sick and stressed. I called the place i got him from and they told me to take it in to them. I was horrified by how they treated him. After seeing how ill he was, the man turned to his co worker and said "what you want to do with him?" and he replied "oh chuck him back with the rest". They directed me to where they keep them and when he opened the tank there was a half eaten one floating at the top. He chose me a new one, one of the bigger ones that looked healthy and luckily hes settled in really well, eating and getting along with the one i got yesturday! But im stilll concerned about how there being treated there, it was horrible! Im very sad about the one i took in, i wish i could do more for them, if i ring the RSPCA will they do anything about it?

Hi Banksy,

Yes the RSPCA will definately do something about it. There are many reputable breeders and suppliers in the U.K. if I was you I would be trying to hiik up with them and staying away from pet suppliers who demonstrate their ignorance in the way you describe. Unfortunately there are alot of them globally.

Good Luck

Hi Bansky,

That is such a horror story. I am extremely disgusted by people who abuse animals. A half eaten floating axie in a tank full of other axies is abuse.

In view of the 'overcrowding' and poor conditions the axies are kept, i would advise you to quarantine each animal before you add it to your main tank. A miminum of 30 days is required. You can also choose to quarantine them by fridging them during the period. Diseases and parasites are easily transmitted in overcrowded tanks with bad conditions.

Cheers

Cheers mate, the one they gave me was hiding behind there filter when they got him out, and hes still a little stressed out (caught him floating at the top earlier, wasnt for long but he was like it for a minute or so, im presuming thats a sign of stress?). Taking your advice and im going to quarantine them for now! Its awful, the place i got them from has been a retail seller of all kinds of wildlife for years and years and i thought i could trust them, its made me sad and angry that theyd treat beautiful creatures like this so badly.

Quick update, ive only just noticed the new one has had a fungal infection thats been there since purchase and hes still stressed out, so im putting them both in the fridge the weekend and see how they go. Hope hell be okay, wish there was more i could do for them.

That is very sad, I don't know why it appears that a lot of sellers do a poor job giving axies water quality when they really don't need all that much. I remember people were telling me that when I first got my axie, that there was a clear sign that his previous water conditions were poor because of the size of his gills and the lack of fillaments. Wonder if many are dying that way too because of careless sellers.

Well atleast there now in safe hands and ill do all i can to make sure they get back to 100% health With a little help of the forums!

Hi Banksy,

Would you be able to provide some photos to confirm if your axie has a fungal infection?

You can still go ahead with fridging your axie but we would like to confirm that it has a fungal infection before we go to the next step of salt baths.

Here are some information regarding fridging.

I would recommend you fridge your axie.Fridging your axie will destress it, boost its immune system and render harmful pathogens (both bacterial and fungal) less viable.

- Set your fridge to about 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.

I would try fridging your axolotl for 2 weeks and continually monitor for improvement. Please update on the progress every couple of days.

http://www.caudata.org/axolotl-sanctuary/Fridging.shtml

Cheers.

Best picture i could get with my crappy camera (lucky because the second one i got just as he was about to move!) As you can see he has a growth on the top gill. Any ideas?

Hi Banksy,

Thanks for the photos. The photos are a bit blurry so i can't definitively say what it is, but it does resemble a fungal infection. The growth appears rather cottony.

Firstly, do continue with the fridging. Fridging will help substantially.

Fungal infections will also warrant salt baths. You basically

- Dissolve 2-3 flat teaspoonfuls of non iodised salt such as freshwater aquarium salt, kosher salt or sea salt to a litre of clean dechlorinated water in a tub.
- Do not use table salt, chicken salt etc.
- Place your axie in the tub for 10-15 min but not any longer.
- Prolonged soaking in the salt baths can damage the axie's gills and skin.
- You can do this once daily and monitor for progress.
- You may also gently tease out the fungal mass with a cotton Q-tip while in the salt baths.
- It is normal for the axie to 'struggle' a bit in the baths due to the stinging sensation on the infection site.

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

Cheers

Well, the salt bath has worked already. 90% of the infection has come off, but it has taken a little bit of his gills with him. Will he grow this back? Hes seems a lot happier and not as stressed anymore which is a good sign. All seems to be getting better now and im really happy. Both Axies are looking much better now and there settling in great!

Hi Banksy,

Thank you for updating us. Its always so rewarding to hear good news. The gills will regenerate once the infection is cleared and you continue to maintain the tank condition and nutrition in tip top form.

Cheers

Hi Banksy

Just wondering if you've been in touch with the RSPCA yet? And if so, have they done anything? x

Sigh, sorry for the late reply. Yeah i did, they investigated, but ive yet to go back and check. Ive spent the last week or so nursing the ill one back to health, i refused to name them because i was worried about them dying but today things looked perfect so i decided to call them kurplunk and uno. Well, i went out and today i came back and uno (the one that has been ill since ive had him) had passed away. Ive tried my hardest to get him back to health and i just feel like ive completely failed. Im so upset and angry at the place i brought him from, i know i did all i could but its such a horrible thing to happen to him.

Can someone tell me if im over reacting? Ever since Uno died, Kerplunks been acting very strange. Hes VERY active, and im convinced his tail has gone very pink (hes always been pink but im sure this is brighter than usual) He isnt scratching but hes swimming an awful lot, and while hes swimming hes going up for air every 10 or so minutes, which he isnt doing if hes not swimming about. I have noticed that the temperature has rose in his tank to 19c from 16c but i dont know if that is the problem. Ive chilled some dechlorinated bottles of water in the fridge because im considering fridging him. Hes still eating as much as always (which is a lot!) but im just worried about him falling ill. Ive tried to take some pictures on my rubbish mobile hope they help. I could just be over reacting and he could be just very happy! And is it normal to have an ingrowing gill? One of his has been longer with a wonky bit at the end since i brought him from the shop, it doesnt look like a fungal infection, its the same colour as the rest of his gills and it hasnt got bigger or anything. Maybe im just over reacting but i want my Axies to be healthy and happy



http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i35/banksy800/DSC00094.jpg

Hi Banksy,

Your axolotl appears healthy. It could be the camera angle or the position of the axie but the gills appear slightly forward which could indicate stress. How are the water currents in the tank?

Cheers.

Hi Banksy it must be hard to be calm after losing one. Sorry for your Loss. I agree with Ray, this one looks healthy.

As hard as it is to walk away, sometimes we need to. Unfortunately yours is not the only petshop horror story. When kindhearted people take axolotls from these places with the absolute best of intentions, it serves to encourage the petshops not to change the way they house and keep axolotls.

I am glad you contacted the RSPCA and I hope they prosecute.

Bets of luck your spirit is to be saluted.