Question: Will he survive?

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mkpage0715

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I woke up this morning to find one of my axolotl's in the mouth of another....OMG ....I was mortified....when I put in the next to try and grab her, she opened her mouth and the other axolotl swam away...I couldn't believe he was still alive...I pulled him out of the tank and put him in a seperate container, but he is flailing....will he survive? Is there something I can do to help him?
 
he's most likely flailing due to stress (id flair around a bit too if my roommate tried to eat me). How damaged does he look? does he have all his limbs, etc?? if he's hurt, just keep him cool, clean, and well fed and he should recover.
 
Really? OMG that makes my day. His head was in her mouth but his body was not...all limbs in place...a nip at the tail it looks like...he has a little light coloring around where her mouth was but other than that he looks fine.
 
just to clarify, I'm no expert, but he should be fine. Keep an eye on him and keep him cool, clean and fed. he probably just freaked because she tried to eat him. Remember, anything that's smaller than your lotl and looks like it could be food, it will try to eat, so make sure lotls are of a same general size before placing them together.
 
thanks...lesson learned, believe me....my original axie is the largest in the tank, and then I bought 2 others over the last couple weeks....the last one is smaller but I didn't think it was so small to be concern....but was apparently wrong... I will keep a close eye on him and will hope for the best. Thanks again for the advise.
 
no problem. you can add him back in when he's too big to be food. for now let him get a little bit bigger.
 
I don't blame you for being startled, I'd be terrified! As previously said the flailing is most likely down to stress - it can't be comfortable having your head devoured! Keep her in the tub and let her chill out for a while. I wouldn't put her in the fridge as this will slow her metabolism down and we want to make sure she's eating well :eek: Change her water daily to keep it nice and fresh for her and likewise, keep offering her food as normal. She should calm down and be perfectly fine but to save yourself any more incidents, remember big axies will always try and eat smaller axies! Good luck!
 
I know, right? the only thing I am grateful for is my dog woke me up so early - but what a way to wake up! So far, my axie's doing well.....still holding his own...I have him in a seperate tank and isn't flailing anymore, but seems to be recouping so I will follow everyone's advise and hopefully it'll work out....I thought axie's weren't carnivore's once they were 6" but apparently that wasn't entirely true....
 
mkpage0715 said:
I know, right? the only thing I am grateful for is my dog woke me up so early - but what a way to wake up! So far, my axie's doing well.....still holding his own...I have him in a seperate tank and isn't flailing anymore, but seems to be recouping so I will follow everyone's advise and hopefully it'll work out....I thought axie's weren't carnivore's once they were 6" but apparently that wasn't entirely true....
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they're less apt to cannibalism at that size, but they're always carnivorous. also, it might be a good idea to make sure they're of different sexes before placing them together, unless you want the eggs, in which case, I say go for it.:D
 
The main reason they can be cannibalistic is they trace food more so with their eyes. Being as their eyesight isn't fantastic anything and everything moving will be a target - including little axolotls! Glad to hear your baby's doing better though!
 
thank you all for the information....I really enjoy looking thru the site for information on these amazing creatures...so day two, and he is still hanging in there...he actually ate this morning and doesn't seem to be as off kilter as he was yesterday....I am SO happy...they are so special and I will make sure he stays in his seperate space until he gets larger...:smile:
 
Don't mention it, it's what everybody's here for :eek: Keep us updated, I've never heard of an axolotl being lunch first hand so I'd love to know how he's doing - Hopefully on the mend!
 
Will do! I'm so happy that he seems to be improving...so will keep this updated on his progress...
 
so it's been almost a full week and my little guy is doing MUCH better...unbelievable....his neck is almost fully healed where the other axie had it in her mouth...and he is back to eating like a champ...I will keep him in this seperate tank until he is a inch or two bigger so that he doesn't have to be worried about being eaten again....just thought I'd let you know that he appears to be fine and looks like yes, he will survive!:p
 
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