To fridge or not to fridge?

Looking for a little bit of advice from other axi owners who might have encountered the same thing. I got back from holiday earlier today to discover one of my axolotls is stressed (curled tail end) and has some whitish stuff trailing from his cloaca. He didn't eat anything the day before I left (a week ago) but this didn't give me any cause for alarm as it's usual for him to have a day or two of not being hungry every so often, but it has now been a week since he last ate anything.

Now something similar happened just over a year ago when I first got him, he had whitish/see-through stuff trailing from his cloaca and he was rushed to the vet as I believed it to be a prolapse. It turned out to be nothing more sinister than unusual poop which I put down to the pet shop giving him a rubbish diet and it hasn't occurred again until now. However last time this happened he managed to pass it in 3-4 days and there were no other signs of stress.

His tank mate seems to be fine, no signs of stress, eating lots and being very active. The water temperature is at 18 degrees C and during the week has been in a range of about 18-20 degrees C. The levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are safe as is the pH. They are kept on large river stones so there can be no blockage caused by gravel and I have separated them to reduce the stress on my sick axi.

Should I put my sick axi in the fridge? On the one hand I know that dropping the temperature normally aids with recovery. On the other hand last time this happened my vet advised a temperature of 18 degrees to speed up his metabolism and help with passing his poop.

Strangely his cloaca is not swollen as you would expect to see with constipation and his back legs are not raised. His cloaca looks a little wrinkled/crushed, kind of like what a coke can looks like when you squeeze it. I've looked through my books and searched the internet for a few hours but can't find anything describing this. It doesn't look like a prolapse, the whitish stuff is kind of "feathery" and in several strings out of his cloaca.

I'm afraid I don't have a camera at the moment so can't upload a picture.
Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Update: Mustard has been in the fridge for 4 days now and so far I don't see any improvement in his condition. He is still showing signs of stress and his toes are red and his veins are showing in his toes and tail. I think he may have an internal parasite and possibly blood poisoning.

What is the best treatment for internal parasites? I have already spoken to my vet and their "advice" was to increase his temperature to 20-22 degrees Celsius to combat the stress. They are able to give him an antibiotic but I don't know if it is safe to do so if it isn't blood poisoning but just stress?

Is it safe to give him an antibiotic just in case?

Update

An update for the benefit of anyone who may be experiencing the same thing with their axolotl-

I managed to find a vet on the island who has had experience treating axolotls and got him round immediately. Turns out Mustard has septeceamia He has had two injections of antibiotics from the vet and tomorrow starts a course of home administered antibiotics by mouth. The white stuff coming from his cloaca was taken to the lab and it's come back clean, no presence of flagellates or other nasty things. It's now just fingers crossed and hoping he's strong enough to pull through.

Wow, you found a vet, well done. I hope your axi fully recovers :happy: