Illness/Sickness: My axolotl is acting strange

Hi,
i bought my black axolotl about a fortnight ago and he was doing fine for a while but he the got a bacterial infection, that was cured easy but a few days later he went off his food again now he only eats every second day, or, if he tries to eat two days in a row he will just nibble, his back half also floats a little. I have gravel in my tank which i know now is a big no no, i am considering putting him in a tank with a clear bottom, so dont hassle me a bout that, im worried he may be constapated from inhaling a stone, is their any cure for constapation and if so what is it???:sad:

If you don't immediately remove the gravel, this is only going to get worse and increasingly likely to be fatal. :/

Depending on the size of the gravel and size of the axolotl, time, fridging, or vet may be necessary. If the gravel is too big to pass, it can be fatal. Sometimes the vet can remove a stone. If it's small enough to come out on its own, you should already have a clear bottom to the tank or an appropriate substrate like sad so that you can confirm it was passed and remove it.

You say don't "hassle" you about it, but ... this is a change you need to make RIGHT NOW. Or whenever you first realised this was a health hazard. :/

I agree on the 'don't hassle me' response. This would be like someone saying not to hassle them about the fact their dog's collar is choking them. It's a pretty big deal to us. You should immediately correct a problem that is a threat to your animal's health and safety.

Whether or not his behavior is a symptom of an obstruction, or perhaps a case of Bloat, medical attention is needed for the little one. These animals need veterinary care just like a cat or dog.

Hi Sonya,

It definitely depends on how large the stone that he ingested was. If it was a small pebble like stone, there is almost a 100% chance he will not be able to pass it and will require some kind of surgery to have the stone removed. Smaller gravel has been known to be able to be passed, but it also depends on the size of your axolotl - is it an adult?

Fridging your axolotl will slow down it's metabolism so it doesn't need to eat and this can buy you time while you remove the stones from your aquarium and figure out what to do next.
You can refer to this article for the fridging procedure: Axolotl Sanctuary

Hi. I had the same problem with my axie a cople weeks after I got her.. I made the mistake of treating them to a mealworm and it made her quite constipated. She was off her food so fridged for a couple days and has been perfectly fine since. Im still new to this but hope that helps and hope they get better soon

sorry to sound silly, but when you say 'fridged' do you literally mean putting your axi in the fridge? as you can tell im all new to this also

Schambers87 said:

Hi. I had the same problem with my axie a cople weeks after I got her.. I made the mistake of treating them to a mealworm and it made her quite constipated. She was off her food so fridged for a couple days and has been perfectly fine since. Im still new to this but hope that helps and hope they get better soon

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The mealworm is very unlikely to have been the cause of the constipation. Technically mealworms are considered to be a good source of fiber which helps promote movement of the gut track and passage of waste. For mealworms to have been the cause of the constipation you would have had to have fed a lot of them to the axolotl.

Ed

pinkypotts said:

sorry to sound silly, but when you say 'fridged' do you literally mean putting your axi in the fridge? as you can tell im all new to this also

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Yes that is what they are suggesting. Check out the link provided by Dan above on the axolotl sanctuary. Part of the reason they are suggesting it is because when you pull out all of the gravel in the tank you can disrupt the biological filtration that converts ammonia to relatively non-toxic nitrate. If the axolotl is in the tank and a disruption occurs, the levels of ammonia and nitrite can reach levels that can harm or kill the axolotl. If you have removed the axolotl while you take care of the gravel, then it will be safe from that effect (just make sure to follow the suggestons in the sanctuary link). You are going to want to monitor the water quality in the tank after you remove the gravel for at least a few days (use good test kit like the API master test kit and not the dip strips).
If the axolotl will feed while in the refrigerator, give it small meals to help keep the movement going in the digestive tract as this will help the axolotl pass small gravel. Larger gravel will probably have to be removed surgically if it can't pass through and isn't regurgitated.

Hope this helps,

Ed

Ed

That. Was the only feed they had at the time and that's what I wa sad used by other users.
Everyone has a different opinion I guess and no problems since food change but I appreciate your point
Thanks

Srah

Not hassling you, get a bucket or bag and get the gravel out, he/she could be ingesting more every time which will be more hassle for you in the end. So spere 2 minutes of your time to clear it and get it out, theres no excuse for it to be in there as it takes 2 mins to get it out not even that, I had gravel in mine to start off with, and it caused my axolotl a lot of problems but got it out as soon as i found out i couldnt have it.

If you clear it out now, an added bonus to you is that you can see if the axolotl poops out any stones, or if you choose to use the fridging method which i personally dont use then you can also see it come out.

Also from my experience bare bottomed tanks are so much easier to clean, just try and get that done and the problems should lessen for you and the axolotl.

I know everyone jumps on anyone with gravel in their tanks, people make these mistakes but we get upset if it isnt removed as were trying to help and dont wanna see your guy get hurt, every thing should get better after you remove it.

Best of luck to you

Sheena22

Schambers87 said:

Ed

That. Was the only feed they had at the time and that's what I wa sad used by other users.
Everyone has a different opinion I guess and no problems since food change but I appreciate your point
Thanks

Srah

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With respect to nutrition, there are a lot of myths that have been floating around that aren't supported (and the mealworm one has been around for more than 30 years (I remember being told it when I was a kid)) and get repeated over and over again on the net. I've been questioning a lot of the old information for a long time now and digging into the literature for the real answer. It actually turns out mealworms are a better source of food than crickets....

Ed