To fridge or not to fridge?

Hi, I had written about a month ago about my cute axie, Scotti who stopped eating and seemed quite sick. I thought it was due to the new bird we had bought and moved it to another room. He picked up and all was well for past 3 wks. Yesterday he started getting a bit listless again. Isn't interested in food again ( last time didn't eat for 10 days). I don't know if he's just getting old. He's 8 yrs old but I read they live to about 15 in captivity, right? I left 1/2 of the 3x2 foot tank bare bottom and the other half with river stones at least 4cm so he can't swallow them. I'm just experimenting which side he likes better!
Water: pH 7.4, no nitrite or ammonia. Nitrate 5. Usually eats blood worms and sometimes frozen turtle food. He looks skinnier. Doesn't look at all like he swallowed anything and isn't bloated anywhere and nothing is small enough to swallow.
I've never fridged him before and I'm a bit scared to do it. Is it just to get the poop out if he swallowed something or does it do other miraculous cures too??
Thanks!

Hi there sorry to hear your axie is sick I cant help with that but as a newbie myself and also having to recently fridge my axie I can assure you it is easier than you think and the axie does infact like it so please dont stress. I was very scared at fridging mine and had a lot of fears but he is fine & thanks to some lovely caudata members who have helped me he is infact due to go back in his tank today :happy:

Good luck and read this on fridging really helps. Zoe

Axolotl Sanctuary

Hey! I see Zoe has given you the link on fridging axolotls just in case. =]

How often does Scotti usually eat? Have you tried him on anything different like some juicy worms? Can you remember anything that got him eating last time? With it just being a day so far I wouldn't panic too much. Give him a couple of days maybe and try get his interest with something different.

As for fridging as far as I know it not only does that but will also help relieve any stress your axolotl may have. Have you noticed any signs of this? Forward gills or curved tip of tail? However fridging also slows down an axolotls metabolism so I wouldn't expect him to eat too soon after coming out either!

Sometimes axies can get sick of the same diet, or they are full. How often do you usually feed him?
I wouldn't stress too much and fridging is more of an option if he is showing signs of stress or illness, otherwise you won't be able to get him to eat if he is in there.

Try some earthworms and see how that goes.

Thanks everyone. He eats every 2 to 3 days but usually I see if he comes up to the top of the water and snaps and then I feed him more often if he does that.

I was going to feed him worms from my garden yesterday but then got scared b/c what if they aren't the right kind for him. Plus they're big and fat. Should I just pluck one out and cut a bit of it and put it in the tank or do you put a big ole worm in there?

Also, if I fridge him, should I use the same water from the tank since it's already treated for chlorine or should I take tap water and treat it and leave it in the fridge as suggested for a day to get it to the right temp?

Joy said:

Thanks everyone. He eats every 2 to 3 days but usually I see if he comes up to the top of the water and snaps and then I feed him more often if he does that.

I was going to feed him worms from my garden yesterday but then got scared b/c what if they aren't the right kind for him. Plus they're big and fat. Should I just pluck one out and cut a bit of it and put it in the tank or do you put a big ole worm in there?

Also, if I fridge him, should I use the same water from the tank since it's already treated for chlorine or should I take tap water and treat it and leave it in the fridge as suggested for a day to get it to the right temp?

Click to expand...

Hi Joy,

Worms from your garden are fine that is what I use and my axies just love them!! I dont have to cut mine (thankfully ) as I seem to have the right size worms in my garden which is convenient :happy:

As for the fridging I put my axie in a big container which I filled with water from his tank and then put him in the fridge overnight, every morning and evening I put a worm in there for him aswell, first few days he ate the worms but last 2 days he didn't as there metabolism slows right down so was not worried. Also make sure you have a spare container and yes I kept a 2 litre bottle of water in the fridge which had been treated with Aqua Plus or whatever you use to make your water safe is fine and keep it on the same shelf as your axie so temp is just right. Every evening an hour or so after putting the worm in I then put the clean water in the new container and transferred my axie into that. As I said I was also scared when I had to fridge Finley but he was fine :happy:

Speak to a more experienced member than me though about whether you should fridge your guy though as I cant help with that one sorry & good luck. Zoe

Thanks Zoe. So do you put a cover over it so he doesn't crawl out? I read somewhere about putting holes in a cover. Or can I just rest a lid on the top w/ a big crack for air? Ok, another dumb question....will the worm die in the water after a while or do they keep squirming around? As everyone says, it can't hurt them so I guess it makes sense to try.
Thanks again:happy:

Joy said:

Thanks Zoe. So do you put a cover over it so he doesn't crawl out? I read somewhere about putting holes in a cover. Or can I just rest a lid on the top w/ a big crack for air? Ok, another dumb question....will the worm die in the water after a while or do they keep squirming around? As everyone says, it can't hurt them so I guess it makes sense to try.
Thanks again:happy:

Click to expand...

Hi Joy,

No Worries :happy: Your Axie needs to be in a sealed container so no food smells etc can leak into the axies water and vice versa with the axie water smells etc leaking into your food Took me a while to get my head round having my axie in the fridge amoungst my food etc lol! As you will be doing a 100% water change a day there is plenty of oxygen in the water so you dont need to worry about holes, I was also putting a worm in twice a day so more oxygen was getting in when I took the lid of. The worm will die eventually yes but saying that on the days he didn't eat the worm, the worm was alive hours and hours later, or at least until I fished it out and stuck it in with Mojo & Jabba and lets say they dont mess around with there food (poor worm).

good luck xx

Hi Joy, How is Scotti?

As Zoe said don't be afraid to use worms, if it's too big the chances are Scotti will just spit it out. Also, I'm not sure if it was mentioned, but make sure there is no treatment (pesticide etc) being used in the garden. =]

Hi all again, Scotti is doing really well. Thanks so much for everyone's concern. He picked up and is eating fine. I wound up not fridging him b/c he was eating but now I'm so curious about it. Next time around I'll give it a try. He seems to go back and forth between eating almost daily and then a bit of weakness and can't be bothered eating for 4 days. It makes me a bit worried but I can't seem to find anything wrong with him. But for now all good....! THanks again

Hi Joy,

Thats great news glad he is feeling better. How old is he as from what I have read and been told the older axies (anything over a year) only need feeding every 3/4 days so maybe thats why?? Zoe

He's 8yrs old. I think you're right about them not eating so often when when they're older but....OK, so now I'm going back and forth but I was just thinking about your post on how to fridge and I put a big bowl of his water in the fridge bc it's been 4 days now that he hasn't eaten and today he was doing the funny little swimmy thing he does where he kind of turns over so his belly is a bit upward and it seems like he only does it when he's not feeling great. I feel like a nutty mom to write this but I've had blood worms on his lips twice a day for the past couple of days and not interested. So maybe I'll try the fridging. So would it be a major faux pas to put blood worms in his fridging Tupperware instead of worms? Or does he even have to eat at all if I'm only going to fridge for a few days? And how do you know when it's time to take him out of the fridge? I'm really nervous about this as you can see!

Joy said:

He's 8yrs old. I think you're right about them not eating so often when when they're older but....OK, so now I'm going back and forth but I was just thinking about your post on how to fridge and I put a big bowl of his water in the fridge bc it's been 4 days now that he hasn't eaten and today he was doing the funny little swimmy thing he does where he kind of turns over so his belly is a bit upward and it seems like he only does it when he's not feeling great. I feel like a nutty mom to write this but I've had blood worms on his lips twice a day for the past couple of days and not interested. So maybe I'll try the fridging. So would it be a major faux pas to put blood worms in his fridging Tupperware instead of worms? Or does he even have to eat at all if I'm only going to fridge for a few days? And how do you know when it's time to take him out of the fridge? I'm really nervous about this as you can see!

Click to expand...

Hi Joy,

Bless him. In regards to how he is acting I dont have any experience with axie illness so afraid I am not the right person to respond to that sorry In regards to when and if you fridge him I would stick to earthworms as they are easier to pull out if not eaten as bloodworms as we all know are messy! Just remember from my earlier posts to change 100% of the water every day &you will aslo find their metabolism slows so they wont eat as much. Finley was eating 2 worms a day for the 1st few days when he was fridged but then after that he slowed right down. I am sorry this response is maybe not as helpful as my last few but I was happy to help with the fridging side knowing how you felt as I was anxious when I had to fridge for the 1st time but please wait for someone more experienced to help. Also in regards to taking out I was lucky as one of the moderators helped me with finleys problems and she advised me when to take him back out. good luck xxxxx

No, that's all really helpful. Thanks. Can I ask though what the person advised your regarding Finley as to when to take him out? I still haven't fridged him yet. I have the water all ready but he ate on day 6 without eating (yesterday 2x) and again just now so I don't know what to think. I'm really happy though he's eating. Maybe he's bored of his diet? Thanks again!

Hi Joy,

It was Julia / Bellabeloo who has responded to your new thread so your lucky x

Great. Sounds like I'm in very good hands! Thanks again.