Fungus? Or Healing Wound?

I noticed this back leg being held at a strange angle (toes pointing towards the tip of the tail, with sole of the foot facing upwards) a few days ago, when I did a big tank clean up, but there was now difference in the colouring.
Today though, there is either a fungal growth or new tissue + I need some advise as to which it is - apart from toes when my 3 axies were babies, I haven't experienced any limb / digit damage with them before.
I don't have a test kit for water, but can tell you that I have 3 axies ( about 16cm in length) in a 3ft tank, with Fluval U3 filter (with output turned down as low as I can get it, to avoid disturbing water too much) + an airstone. They also have 2 large hollow rock hides + 4 Supa natural ferns.
They did have a sand layer at the base, but I actually found that difficult to maintain, so they have been on a bare tank for a few months + then at the last clean-up, I have put in a fake grass mat instead.

Any ideas (+ tips) welcome

I'm not sure about the wound. I personally would keep a very close eye on it for any further changes. If it gets anything that looks like a cotton wool looking covering, then you may need to do salt baths. Keep the water as cool and clean as possible in the mean time.
With regards to your tank, you really need a water testing kit. This is possibly one of the most important items. With regular testing you'll be able to monitor your water conditions. An ammonia spike will be dangerous for your axolotl. The grass mat that you have put in may look nice, but it will trap all sorts of waste from your axolotl, this in turn will foul your water.
What do you feed your axolotl?

I switched from sand because I found that the turkey baster was sucking up more sand than waste + the waste was actually quite difficult to see somethmes.
Don't know what else to try though - I feel it's a bit mean to have a bare floor to the tank
My axies get a variety of food - usually live earthworms + not quite as often I give them frozen bloodworm, but 2-4 times a month they get some catfish pellets instead. I've bought some frozen Artemia + Red (blood)/ White / Black worm blister packs, though I haven't used any of those yet. N.B. I have read this part "Bloodworms and blackworms can be fed as a staple, provided that there is a little variety occasionally to offset any imbalance, while whiteworms and grindal worms should be used as a treat or a temporary rearing food." from the axolotl site, so won't be feeding the white regularly

Oh, I forgot to say that I have young corn snakes too (all under 1 year) so if there are any detached limbs when I get their pinkies (baby mice) out to defrost, I tend to give those limbs to the axolotls aswell, but that's only 1 or 2 arms / legs every few months I should think

If your axolotl is big enough, go ahead and give it a whole pinkie. They're nutritious and full of calcium. Just don't feed too often; pinkies can be very fattening.

Kaysie said:

If your axolotl is big enough, go ahead and give it a whole pinkie. They're nutritious and full of calcium. Just don't feed too often; pinkies can be very fattening.

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Wow, thanks. I still have some from when my corn snakes were young.
I guess my axies would like a snack like that once in their lives

Ta :happy:

Update - I'm now thinking it must be a wound healing, as it did kind of look like our skin goes if we get a big cut + then sit in the bath for too long Leg is being used properly again now + looks fine apart from a little pale patch.

I need to go + check breeding details again now though, as my 2 leucs are definately sexually mature (black toes) + while I thought they were all girls, my wild-types "under start of tail bulge" is looking a bit more pronounced
Hopefully, I'll find the answer somewhere, but do axies have a specific breeding season? And if so, how is it affected by captivity?

Cheers

Okay, found the breeding season answer.
Checked on cloacas (how did I describe it? "under start of tail bulge"?) but it doesn't look enough like either to be sure. More of a bump than my 2 leucs, but not looking swollen at all. Hope they are all the same, so I don't need to get a spare tank prepared, since they're under the recommended breeding age (+ I tried raising from eggs before I got these guys, but didn't do well with them + unfortunately, even though all but 1 hatched, none of the 15 survived past the "tadpole" stage )

Can you post pictures of him from the side? Are his toes light at the tips? You can always use a tank divider if you don't want to set up a whole new tank, but you don't want them breeding too early or if they're siblings.

My camera really isn't too good for close up photos, but I will try to get a couple of pics tomorrow (I don't have any artificial lighting near the tank + it's midnight here at the moment) Same applies for checking for lightening of toes - I haven't noticed it, but then again, I wasn't looking

Okay, I think the 1st photo is the best photo I can get, but I've included a couple more in case they help at all. Can't remember how old my axies are, but around 7-8 months would be my guess, as I got my 1st corn snake for my birthday in June last year + although I got my axies after that, it did take rather a lot of planning (+ therefore delays) as I had to fetch them on a mutually agreeable date, when I had train + bus fares and when my daughter had a baby sitter, e.t.c.

Since they're still young, it could change, but right now I'd say more female looking than male. I have one around the same age and he is clearly a male(they tend to mature earlier) and his cloaca is very pronounced. Her body shape also looks more rotund, which is a sign of a female as well.

Oh goody!
I know it's not definate, especially with poor quality photos, but a) it's a lot easier if they are all the same gender + b) that would mean that I successfully sexed them myself
I tend to get male pets, but it was a bit pot-luck with the axies (not that I mind in the slightest!)

Thank you :happy:

Oh, and back to the original subject, the leg is still looking fluff-free