Constipation?

Just a quick question, if Axolotls are constipated can they die from it? My albino axie has some of the symptoms ( enlarged cloaca, enlarged stomach) but isnt floating, has his mouth constantly open and his jaw looks sort of swollen and has turned from white to a sort of white-reddish tinge. I have read about fridging axies but am hesitant because it isn't just my fridge. He also hasn't eaten for about a week but I could expect this if he was constipated couldn't I?

I have also noticed that he keeps swimming up to the top fast and then coming back down.

Hi.
I do think initially that the axolotl needs to be placed somewhere cooler in clean dechlorinated water..needless to say the fridge would be perfect. Is there any where else in house or even outside that is cooler?
Do you check your ammonia/ nitrite/ nitrate readings? If you haven't I would suggest taking a sample to the pet / aquarium shop to be checked. There could be a problem with the water quality . What do you have as the substrate?

Do you have gravel in your tank ?

=( He died this morning... I had no substrate, the nitrite and nitrate levels were perfect and I had cleaned his tank 2 days ago so it wasn't water quality.

Hi Beanie and Dino,

Sorry to hear about your loss

Hi BeanieandDino,

I am so sorry to hear about this. At the very least, we can all learn something and reinforce the importance of some basic axie husbandry.

From your description, there is a possibility that the axie had a bacterial infection. Open mouth with reddish tinge somewhat suggests stomatitis, an infection and inflammation of the oral mucosa. Bacterial infection can rapidly be disseminated throughout the bloodstream (bacteriaemia, scepticaemia) and cause inflammation of distant organ sites such as stomach and cloaca.

Some food types can cause constipation and impaction, notably those that are undigestible, such as the chitinous exoskeleton of mealworms.

Even if we don't keep our axies on gravel, sometimes they are reared up on gravel substrate tanks, or housed in one at the pet shop. My quarantine tank is actually my vegetable compartment of my fridge. I find that it serves several useful purposes - quarantine, easy monitoring and care, destressing and facilitating the passage of any prior impaction/constiption.

Cheers.