Illness/Sickness: Really Sick Axolotl

Hi, I need help urgently, my female axie is really sick, she is really skinny and wont eat and hasn't really eaten for a few weeks, now when I get home I find her on her back and to weak to roll over, her gills have also srunk pretty much to nothing in the last two days. I have put her in the fridge in clean aged water.

She has a tank mate and he is fine, and I have tested the water and it to is also fine. Nothing seems to be wrong with her other than being skinny, mind you I have notice her skin is now starting to look shriveled and her tail seems dry?

Please help me, I think she is going to die.

What are your water parameters? Do you use a diffuser/aerosol/insecticide spray/smoke near the axie tank?

Ok, I don't know alot about this but, I checked the pH and it is 6.8 - 7, the temp is 22 degrees celcius, the tank is around 2 ft. I don't spray anything near them or smoke in the house, as I also have two fish tanks and in door cats.

Hi,

the temperature is a little bit too high. You should lower the temp to 18-20 degrees C.

Please tst your water-parameters (nitrite and nitrate). Could you please post a photo?

Greetz, Tina

I recommend you fridge both your axie individually in tubs for the entire summer period. You will need to perform daily water changes with clean dechlorinated water. Continue to provide small portions of live blackworm with occasional bits of finely diced prawns.

Fridging your axie will have the following benefits without additional costs.

1) Not worry about temperature issues
2) Ensure good water parameters (from water changes)
3) Monitor each axie and their eating habits
4) Allow each to feed without vying with each other
5) Destress your axie
6) Treat any subclinical cases of bacterial infection

All fridging procedures should ideally be at least 3 weeks. This is to allow time for the immunity to build up. You should continue monitoring throughout and post your updates.

The next stage will be to test for internal parasites. I will tell you to go about that at a later stage.

On a side note, when testing water parameters, the top two critical ones are ammonia and nitrites. You want to ensure they are 0. Nitrates are less critical and as long as not exceeding 60, should be fine.

I got home this afternoon and I thought she was dead, she was on her back again and would not move at all, so I took her out of the fridge, I had an appointment I had to go to, so left her on the bench and thought I would bury her once I got home, she had been on her back so I had flipped her over, when I got home she was on her back again, so I flipped her over again and she was still alive, so I feed her and she ate, is it normal for them not to move in the fridge?

So I can by a test kit for ammonia and nitrites at the pet shop?

Also where can I get live blackworm & should the prawn be cooked or raw?

When you mentioned you left it on the bench, was it in a tub of water? I hate to think that the axie was out of the water during this time.

It is normal for them to be inactive in the fridge. Its better you check on the axie sparingly and allow it plenty of rest.

You can buy the test kits and live blackworms from aquarium and pet shops.

Prawns can be raw.

Yes she was still in the water.

So if I'm to check on her sparingly, how often do I feed her and will she need to be a little warmer than 5-7 degrees for her to eat? Please keep in mind she is very very thin. I'll try to upload a photo tonight.

Yes you can keep her between 5-7 degrees. I would offer live blackworms. Just put a small clump (1/3 of a teaspoon) in the tub with her overnight. They stay alive so it would not be an issue. Check the next day when you are doing your daily water changes if the worms are consumed. If they are, again offer 1/3 teaspoon of worms. When the axie is fridged, it is best to offer small amounts of food frequently.

ok I'll give this a go and see if she eats them, I got home tonight and she has thrown up what she ate last night, or spat it out, it was beef heart and was still in one piece.

I have called around every where and can only get live blood worms, will they be alright???

narna said:

I have called around every where and can only get live blood worms, will they be alright???

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That's interesting. I didn't think live bloodworms were available in Australia. If they are, that's a great find!

Both live bloodworms and blackworms are readily accepted by axolotls and are good nutritionally.

As the axolotl is feeling poorly, these small soft worms will be more easily consumed than 'chunky' food and the wriggling of the worms will help entice the axolotl to hopefully eat something.

Good luck with your little one, and please keep us posted.

So I got the blood worms and put some in with her over night, it's really hard to tell if she has eaten any or not, however there is a bit of one hanging from her mouth, so I think that is a good sign she may have eaten at least one, mind you they are so tiny. I'll see how she goes today with them and let you know.

I think she has eaten some of the bloodworms as I swear I put more in then what was there when I checked her tonight, also tonight has been the first time I have checked her and not found her on her back, so I think she is doing a little better, and I think she might have some new growth on her gills but might have to wait a little longer to be sure.

hi was she always small and a bit slow ? or just out of the blue , hope you dont mind me asking . im curios as to why she not eating .

i rescued one from a friend she would not eat and all her gills were stubs . she started to eat i was feeding her brineshrimp with garlic with an droper she stared to look for food . unfortunately she died she had a diease blood something .
so maybe try brimeshrimp with the garlic any petshop will have it .
hope she will be ok . :happy:

The best nutrition is to stick to live earthworms, blackworms and pellets. Treats like bloodworm, small pieces of fish or prawns are fine as well. I certainly don't recommend garlic.

A friend at work and I decided to get an axolotl for the office (she works at a pet shop on weekends, so we got a black male, a week or two later we decided to get another, so we got a gold female, we use to have trouble getting the male to eat some times but never the female, you would have to watch her or she would bite, after a few months coming into summer the male started swimming laps of the tank for the whole day, so I did some research and realised it was to hot in the office for them, so it was decided I would take them home.

To get through the summer though I was having to float ice bottles in the tank to cool it. they weren't eating very often due to the heat but they were ok, and come winter they were eating normally again up until a few months ago, the male became a much better eater but the female became harder to feed, she wouldn't take the same size portions, I was having to feed her a little bit at a time, and then she started only taking 1 piece (beef heart) and wouldn't eat any more, she also became a lot messier eater and would spit some back out, then she just would take food at all, so I would feed the male and leave some infront of her in the tank, she would sniff a little but not take it, so I'm not sure if she ate it or if the male came and ate it.

She wasn't very big when we first got her, they were around the same size, and we were told they were babies but pretty much full grown, they male has filled out and gotten bigger but she never really got bigger, and has now lost weight.

I'm still not really sure if she is eating or not, she has live blackworms in the tub with her and I have tried to feed her by hand, but she is not really moving, I think that is due to being in the fridge.