Illness/Sickness: Amonia Poisoning/ Burn, How to cure/aid?

Hello all,
Been on the forum for a few months now since my girl V had her babies back in August, Recently she got a tank mate, a female axi, who has since died, not long after Rogues arrival I noticed V acting weird, since then I've put it down to amonia burn, though I think rogue had a fungus, which i treated, and all tank materials aswell.... what I'm wandering, is aside from cycling the water and regular water changes is there anything I can do to help her right away, or help in treat againt amonia burn that I may not be doing? she's gone off her food and getting really skinny.... I'm very worried about her,
Cheers,
Violent and little V.

You protect an axolotl from ammonia burns by not exposing them to ammonia, if she is burnt keep her in clean cool water till she is better, daily water changes
If she is just skinny she may be impacted , in which case fridge her. Weight loss may also be the result of illness, in which case seek advise from a suitable vet if you can find one, if not post further information about her diet, care and any other symptoms.

Tea baths may be useful in treating ammonia burn, but it does depend on the severity. What's the ammonia level?

Hello all,
thanks for getting back to me, sorry about my lack of reply i've been stuck at work. I've done another check on her amonia levels, its sitting between 0 and 0.25, However that's not to say she may have already suffered a burn before the last change, She is white but was very pink toward the end, red veins visible, now however she is white again. She has 3 little bumps on her right hand side, one before her back leg, one above her back leg, and one down on the tail, her gills where once fluffy are scraggly and a very deep red.. Her tank mate recently deceased, had a fungus for which i treated both with a fungus wash, and salt baths, it seems V still has a couple of spots in her gills also, which rubbing wont seems to shake lose in the baths. She is still not eating her food, doesn't even seem to be remotely interested when it hits the water, in August she had babies, and was doing wonderfully until about a month ago. I don't know any vets who will take a look at her. She is fed a regular diet of blood worms and the occasional treat of live black worms, I've just bought pellets today to see if maybe she has tired of her regular diet, but she hasnt wanted those either. No successful photos as of yet my camera isnt that good, so tomorrow when i do a waste removal, i'll put her in a container and see if i can get better ones that actually show her.
Cheers. Rhiannon aka Violent.

Hi Rhiannon, photos may help in this situation, try some earthworms most axies won't refuse these. Is she in the fridge? 0-.25 ppm isn't that high so if it is ammonia burns i would say they occurred before the water change.

I forgot to mention she has river rocks in her tank, no gravel.

If river rocks is the substrate then its most likely there was a worm/waste stuck between them spiking your ammonia uncontrollably

Thanks Olivia.
She isn't in the fridge as of yet, I thought since her amonia levels were ok, id give her another 24 hours in her tank and see if she comes good now its very clean, if tomorrow she still hasnt eaten I will put her in the fridge. Thanks for your tips and advice, I've scattered the rocks a bit loser so its easier to get all of the waste, hopefuly this helps her. How likely is it that fridging wont help impaction? and is there a way aside from a vet to narrow down diseases? Photos to come tomorrow.
R and V.

I would fridge her now as apart from just impaction etc, the gold will help soothe and repair the skin. If she is impacted with food (not rocks, plants, snails, sand etc) then fridging will help her pass these. While in the fridge you may find she wont eat at all especially if she's not now. What i recommend doing is fridging for 2-3 days to see if anything passes, if she passes waste within this time frame then slowly (and i mean slowly) bring back up to room temperature, this can be done by removing from the fridge and adding small amounts for fresh dechlorinated room temp water. Then try offering food. Keeping in a dark drawer should keep the stress right down.

Ok, thanks, I'll get on to preparing her water now for the fridge, ideal temp in there would be what, so I can set it first, and I'm presuming I put her in water the same temp as her tank and then fridge her with a towel? I've never done this before...

Most fridges are about right try not to let it drop below 4. Put her in tank water in a container wrapped in a towel the water will slowly cool and she will acclimatize. There's a really great link at the top of this forum to fridging properly. Hopefully I've helped, please post photos and keep us updated

We could really do with a photo of your axolotl here, it really would give us a far better idea as to what is going on. I am worried that you are being offered incorrect advice and the treatments may be potentially making to an existing problem worse.

Listen to bellabelloo... I may have it terribly wrong

Hello everyone,
I tried to take photos again after lifting her out, yet my camera really doesnt show anything up, so I've got a friend coming by tomorrow to lend me theirs. I'm pleased to say atleast, now her ammonia levels are staying steady between 0-0.25 and I'm down to cycling the water every 3 days. Her skin has returned to her normal white, and today she ate her bloodworms! If they are impacted are they likely to try and eat? This is the first ive actually seen her eat in weeks and today she was alot more active, swimming like usual and actually sniffing out her food. Her gills are still very dark on the fleshy part, and her feathers still scraggly, but she appears to be doing better... However this will all depend on whether or not impaction will still have them eat..I will upload the photos as soon as I can get some clear ones.that actually show what I'm trying to describe, tomorrow.

They're great signs! Keep us updated