Question: Is this normal?

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Axymoron

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Hey,

I'm new to this forum and to keeping axolotls.. I've just bought 2 :D and they're all set up in a nice tank with 18 degree water, a slow running filter and correct water parameters. One of them has only got 2 feet :eek: as the other one bit them off I believe, I think she's female as her bump under the tail is non-existant (the other one has a massive bump so I believe this means male?) Apparently they grow back but I was wondering how long this takes and whether theres anything I can do to help her back into a fully functioning beastie? :eek:

Also, the male (white/pinky colour) has gills that stick out a lot whereas the girl's are laid back more - is this normal? :uhoh: I have no idea! He also swims around a lot more than the girl but I think this could just be because she has feet to respawn!

Any help would be great! I'm totally new to keeping these so I'm willing to take advice of experienced keepers!

Thanks,

Ellie :happy:
 
How big is the tank, and how big are they? Can you load pictures of the gill postures?
 
the tank is 90Litres and they are approx 5 inches long from nose to tail. However I have just been out and come back and the white one has attacked the black one again - not a feeding accident as they havent been fed today - and I'm concerned shes not going to be OK. What should I do? I paid £40 for the pair on Thursday afternoon and already one is dying :( I'm really upset :(
 
Hello, Welcome.
If they're only 5 inches they may still be quite young, nipping is something that one might grow out of.
You could ask the pet shop if they would take that one back.
Do you have some way of seperating them ie another tank or tub?
I have a gold who was a nipper right up until recently and he's about 23cm now.
I kept seperating him from the other two and he seems to be fine now.
Do you have plenty of hiding places for them?

Mel
 
Also what do you mean by not ok?
What injuries does she have?
 
I have attached a photo of the males gills position :happy:
 

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she's nearly lost another foot - I've seperated her into a make-shift tank in a massive tuppaware box for now to give her a chance to recover. I'm hoping she'll be OK once she's got all her feet back as at the moment its only her back right leg she can use. Her front right just hangs there at the moment. How long do they take to grow back?

Its relieving to know they grow out of it - I know they were together in the shop for 3 months and everything was fine. I've grown attached to them already even though I've only had them for 3 days so I don't really want to take one back.

I just wanted to know if there was anything I can do to help her to speed up her healing like medicines or special foods?

Thanks for the help its really appreciated!
 
I highly reccomend that you 'fridge' the injured axie mate, it'll help her regenerate quicker and you to keep a good eye on her.

Have a quick search to find out if you're not sure what fridging is ;)

... And your males gills look fine :)
 
Phew - I'm glad the male is OK

The girl is in a tuppaware box that fits in the fridge, I can turn it to 5 degrees and then continue as normal. Regarding the water changes how much and how often? Would it be a 100% or standard 20% daily change for quarantine tanks?

Also how long should this go on for? Until she's healed completely? Sorry I've searched for these answers but couldnt find!
 
A 100% change should be done daily with pre cooled pre dechlorinated tap water (or spring water) As this prevents a huge shock of change in temp from fridge temp water to room temp water :)

Unless you're using a very large tupperware box? Litres?

Feeding can still go on in the fridge, but her appetite will be down due to the slowing of the metabolism ;)

By the way where did you get them from? As i see you're from Bedfordshire, about 20mins drive from me :)
 
OK well shes in a huuuge tuppaware box (so big I took out one shelf, I'd guess at approx 10 litres at an absolute minimum though I haven't been counting. I've got bottles of treated water in the fridge as I read that somewhere. The thermometer in her box is around 7 degrees.

Her two feet that were bitten off look like they have little seethrough bits on the end of her stumps (shes now called stumpy :p) so I think they're growing back. Her damaged foot that was bitten since having her is not looking great, I can see a small pink patch on her foot and the fingers (toes?) look really white - is this the bone sticking through??! The skin looks a little flakey too.. She doesn't appear too down though and ate happily yesterday so I don't think she's too bad just not using her front right foot - its just hanging there limp.

I got them from a garden centre in Willington - they were in a tiny tank that was pretty green from algae so I felt inclined to rescue them (hence the 2 footed-ness in the first place)
 
I've never had experience of my axolotl losing a limb so i can't exactly comment on if it's the bone etc, but it sounds like it's healing normally, just keep feeding her nutritious meals (earthworms are by far the best) to encourage it :happy:

As for the size, i think you can get away with not a 100% everyday, maybe 20 or so? Also adding some plants would help with the breakdown of waste though you should be removing it as and when you see it.
 
She had a bit of earth worm yesterday although not as much as when I first got her - I'm assuming because of being refrigerated (which my work colleagues still can't believe!!) Theres also a plant in there and a few rocks to hide between.

Her hand is showing no sign of improvement and she's still not using it. It almost looks like the skin is peeling off her hand although its also not getting worse so this could have been part of the initial injury. I will keep an eye on her and I will try to get a photo incase its something serious. It looks painful to me!!!
 
The main thing to look out for with injuries is fungus. If you see any white fuzz on the wounds you'll need to do salt baths. But only if you see the fungus. You're doin everything right though. It may take a while for it to start looking better. She's eating which is a great sign. Mel
 
I cannot see any sign of fungus but what is a salt bath incase it happens? The fingers look white now (pure bone?) It seems to be of little bother to her and shes started using the arm more now and even pushed herself along with it this morning. Theres still a pink abraison on the top of the foot but this is not getting worse so I think this is OK.

I noticed last night and again this morning a lump about the size of a kidney bean on the sand that was black. Its not a stone as I picked the first one up yesterday and it squashed in my fingers and it almost like a black sandy rabbit poo!! Any ideas to what this is? I did not take a picture of them unfortunately.

I'll post the photos this evening incase I've missed any major signs that something is wrong. In the few days they've been apart the male in the main tank has grown loads and shes stayed the same size. Why would this be?

Also, how long should I keep her in the fridge for? I was thinking as she is feeding and moving it more I could reintroduce her to the main tank and keep an eye on them both?
 
Salt baths are used to treat fungal infections. This looks a bit like cotton wool. If the wounds are looking clean, keep their water clean and cool and keep a close eye on any changes. Feed well with live eartworms.
The mystery lump sounds like axolotl poo :eek:
 
Sorry no pictures have been posted my camera is sulking and refuses to link to my computer. They are both back in the main tank for 2 days and there is no signs of nipping or bullying which is fantastic!! Both are eating properly and are still doing killer huge poos (I had no idea they'd be that big!!)

The girls hand is looking better - she now only has 2 fingers as the others fell off and the pink mark has gone. She is using it to walk about on now in her lopsided way so it doesn't look as broken and bent as before!!! They really are amazing at how fast their limbs grow back too, her other two legs have tiny hand type bits on the ends now.. If I get the camera working I'll show you all!

Thanks to everybody for all the help :) Super glad I found the forum!!
 
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