Illness/Sickness: Urgent!

harliquinnraver · Jun 8, 2010

I have 2 axolotls in a 29 gallon tank. ive never had a health issue with either aside from one having occasional fungus, which is always treated with salt water baths until it clears up.

recently i was given an adult GFP axolotl and told that shes skinny because she has problems eating large pieces of food. as it turns out, thats not the case. she wont even eat small pellets or blood worms. shes weak and seems to lack the "gasp" to suck up food like my other axies do. a friend with salamanders suggested force feeding with an eye dropper. i managed to get some bloodworms into her with that method and she didnt spit them out but she also didnt gobble them down. she may just be sitting there with a mouthful of worms, i dont know. i couldnt get her to open her mouth for more though so i think i need to let her rest and try again tomorrow. this is still more than shes eaten in the last several days, im sure.

im so worried about this girl.

what else can i do? i have her quarantined away from my other axolotls. ive called around and no vets in my areas will see an axolotl. i wish i knew what else to do.

lea · Jun 8, 2010

hi
what are the water parameters and is she on gravel???......she might like a earthworm better but you might have to cut it up for her........you might have to put her in the fridge but please wait until someone with more experience jumps in with advice
i hope she is ok

harliquinnraver · Jun 8, 2010

lea said:
hi
what are the water parameters and is she on gravel???......she might like a earthworm better but you might have to cut it up for her........you might have to put her in the fridge but please wait until someone with more experience jumps in with advice
i hope she is ok

she is in a bucket with an airstone/airpump to keep the water oxygenated. she gets a 100% water change daily. water parameters are perfect and im using a dechlorinator. no gravel. she is being kept in the bedroom at a constant temp of about 67 F. i take it that any bait shop will carry earth worms?

lea · Jun 8, 2010

from what i have read (it is different here in aussie land) i think so......you can also dig them up from your garden in you know for sure that chemicals havent been used.......the fridge will slow her body down...that is all i was thinking.....

harliquinnraver · Jun 8, 2010

lea said:
from what i have read (it is different here in aussie land) i think so......you can also dig them up from your garden in you know for sure that chemicals havent been used.......the fridge will slow her body down...that is all i was thinking.....

alas, we cant really dig up this yard.

lea · Jun 8, 2010

ok no worries...try the bait shops.......hang in there....

dragonlady · Jun 8, 2010

Yes, you can find nightcrawlers at bait shops and even at Wal-Mart.

An adult axolotl not being able to swallow large pieces of food doesn't sound right. What were they trying to feed her? A pic might help to determine if something internal is going on. For example, if she was on gravel, she may be impacted and fridging would be her best bet without having a vet's advice.

Do you know what she was on before you got her? You can even try her on some wax worms, just to see if you can entice the poor thing to eat. Earthworms/nightcrawlers will be the best for her as a staple though. Lea's suggestion of chopping the earthworm may help you.

How underweight is she? Fridging her will slow her metabolism and help de-stress her, but she will not eat at all in there most likely. I don't advise to force feed her as you could damage her mouth and/or throat.

harliquinnraver · Jun 8, 2010

dragonlady said:
Yes, you can find nightcrawlers at bait shops and even at Wal-Mart.

An adult axolotl not being able to swallow large pieces of food doesn't sound right. What were they trying to feed her? A pic might help to determine if something internal is going on. For example, if she was on gravel, she may be impacted and fridging would be her best bet without having a vet's advice.

Do you know what she was on before you got her? You can even try her on some wax worms, just to see if you can entice the poor thing to eat. Earthworms/nightcrawlers will be the best for her as a staple though. Lea's suggestion of chopping the earthworm may help you.

How underweight is she? Fridging her will slow her metabolism and help de-stress her, but she will not eat at all in there most likely. I don't advise to force feed her as you could damage her mouth and/or throat.

he was trying to feed her half of a raw shrimp but she wouldnt take it. he claims she was eating blackworms from tweezers and demonstrated it to me but she didnt actually eat any. the guy had 3 other axies that were in decent condition but this one was by herself in a small shallow plastic bin. none of them were on gravel so i think an impaction is unlikely. i force fed her very gently. got the end of the eyedropper in her mouth (no real force required) and emptied the bloodworms into her mouth, not down her throat.

ill have the hubby pick up some earthworms on his way home. we generally keep the bedroom between 60-67 degrees and thats where she is now. heres a pic.

shoegal · Jun 8, 2010

She's really cute!

I would seriously consider fridging your axie. Lower temperatures (5-15 °C) seem to be a general panacea for axolotls.

Here are detailed instructions on how to fridge an axie properly:

Axolotl Sanctuary

harliquinnraver · Jun 8, 2010

shoegal said:
She's really cute!

I would highly consider fridging your axie. Lower temperatures (5-15 °C) seem to be a general panacea for axolotls.

Here are detailed instructions on how to fridge an axie properly:

Axolotl Sanctuary

thank you! ill get her in the fridge tonight. her gills are super pale today. the pic was taken yesterday. do their gills go pale as a sign of stress?

shoegal · Jun 8, 2010

Their gills go pale when they are inactive- it is not necessarily a reflection of her health. Even healthy axies get more pale when they have not been active for a certain period of time. I have an albino juvenile that looks like a ghost when she has been chilling for a while.

harliquinnraver · Jun 8, 2010

shoegal said:
Their gills go pale when they are inactive- it is not necessarily a reflection of her health. Even healthy axies get more pale when they have not been active for a certain period of time. I have an albino juvenile that looks like a ghost when she has been chilling for a while.

that makes sense. theyre a bit pinker now. i bought some worms (my other axies enjoyed a few) so ill try to get her to eat a worm in the next couple days. ill be popping her in the fridge shortly, im just prepping everything now.

lea · Jun 8, 2010

good luck.....please keep us up to date......she will enjoy her cool holiday

harliquinnraver · Jun 8, 2010

lea said:
good luck.....please keep us up to date......she will enjoy her cool holiday

i checked the fridge temp first and its 43F so i think thats just about right.
shes boxed up and chilling as we speak. i hope she will be okay.

should i try and feed her again tomorrow or should i abandon the food idea for a couple/few days?

theres a Dragon in my fridge!

lea · Jun 9, 2010

you could put a worm in there with her over night she might like to eat in private BUT make sure you take it out in the morning when you do a water change.........
have a good night....keep us posted

harliquinnraver · Jun 9, 2010

i emailed Dragons previous owner to ask how long her food issues have been going on and to ask if shes even been in a tank with gravel.

he replied back with this,

"Do you think the problem may be caused by swallowed gravel? Maybe you are right. Before January all my axolotls were living for one year in 55G tank with fine gravel. First time I spotted her problem in November/ December. That's my fault.She was eating by 2-4 little pieces almost every day during 3 1/2 month(I was preparing all 4 for a breeding). Then since early April they were living outside and fed mostly by black worm 1 time in 10-14 days.Last month she spent indoor in separate container . She ate small piece of shrimp 5 - 6 days before you took her. How she's eating now?"

so yes, it does indeed seem that she may be impacted. if this has been going on since November or December, do you think Dragon will recover? is keeping her in the fridge until the blockage passes the best course of action?

lea · Jun 9, 2010

keeping her in the fridge is the best place...it will help her pass any gravel if she has swallowed it........keep up the good work......make sure you you do 100% water changes daily with water that is the same temp

Tiffanymac · Jun 9, 2010

She's really adorable!

I love it that she is next to the pickles!

On a more serious note, I hope her fridging vacation helps her get everything out of her system and on the road to recovery!

harliquinnraver · Jun 10, 2010

lea said:
keeping her in the fridge is the best place...it will help her pass any gravel if she has swallowed it........keep up the good work......make sure you you do 100% water changes daily with water that is the same temp

yep, i have another container of fresh water sitting in the fridge. for water changes, im just swapping her into the fresh water, dumping the old water, washing the container, refilling and dechlorinating it before putting it back into the fridge for the next day.

any idea when i should see an improvement or a bowel movement from her?

lea · Jun 10, 2010

im sure it will........i had a hard time keeping the kids out of the fridge when larry( he has since passed

) went on a fridge holiday.....they wanted to look at him all the time......it could happen over night or it could take a few days.....

Illness/Sickness: Urgent!

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