Green growth getting bigger - fungus, or...?

Hi. The Doctor's been back in the tank for two weeks now, and all of the fluffy-fungus disappeared; however, I've just noticed that the 'little green thing' behind the left hind leg ain't so little anymore:


Closeup-Green-Thing by Coldnorthtoy, on Flickr

What the hell is this?? How do I fix it?

Perhaps I'm daft... but what type of plants do you have in the tank with him? That looks an awful lot like a shoot. *boggles*

Tanya

Probably not it, but it sure looks like that, doesn't it! Java fern, water wisteria, micro sword - but it initially showed up before I added them.

It does look very plant like. I really think you need a vet to look/ remove it.

That is so bizarre O_O Could it be possible it was something ingested before you got him that was never passed?

I agree with Julia on this one. I know it seems crazy, but that really looks like the emerging blades of an aquatic grass. I'd have it removed - regardless of what it is, it doesn't belong there. If you do decide to have a vet remove it, make them identify it! I'm dying to know what the heck it is!

bellabelloo said:

It does look very plant like. I really think you need a vet to look/ remove it.

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weofui said:

I agree with Julia on this one. I know it seems crazy, but that really looks like the emerging blades of an aquatic grass. I'd have it removed - regardless of what it is, it doesn't belong there. If you do decide to have a vet remove it, make them identify it! I'm dying to know what the heck it is!

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Thing is, there were no plants in the pet store he came from, and all the plants I added were added while he was in the fridge - and this appeared before the fridging - so I think it's impossible to be 'plant-related.' But I'm not a vet.

danchristopher said:

That is so bizarre O_O Could it be possible it was something ingested before you got him that was never passed?

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Well, except for the fact that it's coming out his side, I'd say this is a possibility.

If he was kept with any plastic plants, it's possible he ingested a piece. These can be sharp enough to cut through the intestinal wall and get 'pushed' out of the animal's side. I've actually seen this happen before in a larval tiger. Definitely have a vet try to remove it.

slowfoot said:

If he was kept with any plastic plants, it's possible he ingested a piece. These can be sharp enough to cut through the intestinal wall and get 'pushed' out of the animal's side. I've actually seen this happen before in a larval tiger. Definitely have a vet try to remove it.

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You just made my day ... a bad one. In the photo below, you can see my plastic plants - one of which (the one on the left) matches closely on shape and pretty much matches exactly on color.



Here's a shot from PetSmart - it really does look close. Dammit.

I think he looks pretty good, and if it's already gotten this far out and he's pooping and eating, he might be able to heal. I think it might be tricky to remove because the pointy ends are sticking out, so a vet might have to get in there and clip it apart.

The tiger salamander survived and lived a long life after the piece was removed, so there's hope!

That makes a lot more sense... horrific... but sensible. Hopefully it's been mostly pushed out already and it will be a fairly simple procedure to remove it.

slowfoot said:

I think he looks pretty good, and if it's already gotten this far out and he's pooping and eating, he might be able to heal. I think it might be tricky to remove because the pointy ends are sticking out, so a vet might have to get in there and clip it apart.

The tiger salamander survived and lived a long life after the piece was removed, so there's hope!

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Thanks - I suppose there's little chance this will come out on its own...?

In theory it could but an x-ray or even a biopsy would be much more valuable since it would remove the guess work. Amphibians are able to recover from some amazing things but that shouldn't mean that they can't be helped along.
If you use your hand are those structures soft or hard? That will tell you whether or not it is plastic or not. You really should get them checked out since there is a possibility that they are either viral or cancerous (whether benign or not) since both of those can alter the genetic and potentially produce pigmentation which could account for the color.

If the axololtl is a male, those reddish spheroids could have been a mixture of mucous or gel produced by cloacal glands tinged with blood.

Did you ever palpate the axolotl to see if it was impacted on stones?

Ed

Ed said:

If the axololtl is a male, those reddish spheroids could have been a mixture of mucous or gel produced by cloacal glands tinged with blood.

Did you ever palpate the axolotl to see if it was impacted on stones?

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Thanks, Ed. I don't know the gender yet, as I don't believe it is sexually mature - the dark fingernails went away - but it could be.

Yes, I did palpate the axolotl, and I felt nothing that felt like stones. Since I had no idea what that meant, I've included the Wikipedia link so others can learn a new word too.

More to follow...

I have been crazy-busy, so I haven't had a chance to stop in and comment. Thank you everyone for your input.

After further investigation, I've determined that it was not one of my plants as I initially thought; it is (hopefully a single) four-pronged leaf of Exo-Terra Duckweed:



I never had this in my tank, so this is something that the Doctor gobbled up while still at the pet store - over two months ago.

Judge if you must, but taking the Doctor to a vet is just not an option. I am a poor student approaching the end of year two of a two-year program, and my wife & I are expecting our first child in May. The Doctor was a Christmas present that I wasn't at all expecting or ready for; I wasn't planning on getting an axolotl until this fall when I was working again and could afford to do things right. That said, I've done things right as much as possible anyways - despite its impact to our budget - but a veterinarian visit just can't be done.

As for the 'leaf,' it continues to come out on its own - slowly - and it is almost out, assuming (hoping ) again that it is only a single four-prong leaf and its associated 'stick.' If there's more than one 'leaf' in there, I'm not sure what we will do but if it's alone, then it should be out in the very near future.

I am so truly, deeply astounded by the resilience of these amazing creatures and so very saddened by this unfortunate situation, but I am hopeful that the Doctor will make it through it all so we can begin helping him recover and get big and fat like me.

I will have more photos and more to say later; for now, suffice to say that I believe Exo-Terra Duckweed is not axolotl-safe, and as with pebbles, I now believe that anything smaller than the axolotl's head - and not securely attached to something bigger - will be eaten eventually.

I think it's quite encouraging that the plastic has made it out as far as it has, The Doctor is quite lucky to be in your care.

Looking forward to the next update.

Goodness gracious.... poor "Doctor"...what a crazy thing to have happen !
Do hope he/she is ok! Is the "Dr" pooping it, or what ???

Thinking of him, and wishing him (and you) a successful ending to this!! :happy:
Is he eating ? moving, etc ??

Ok, I awoke to a floating piece of plastic plant (covered in poo - ew ) this morning, so it's completely out. It was two leaves and a twig, but once the first one was out, I think it helped 'pull' the second one out much faster. I am very relieved that it floated to the top, as I was definitely concerned that the Doctor would poop it out, find it, and eat it again.

The Doctor was hiding in his fake log this morning, so I haven't had a chance to check him over, but he has been eating - blackworms and at least one pellet - which I believe helped push it out, and while he's definitely got some damage, I believe he'll be ok.

More to follow.

Good news! We can only hope he heals from his little 'adventure'. Sometimes they just don't learn!

I've been following The Doctor for awhile now and this is great news! I hope to hear that his 'rear' will be healing nicely soon