Rikkoshaye
Member
Hey guys, I have a hurt and/or sick baby axolotl that I've been treating recently and I would like to check to make sure I'm doing everything I can for him!
The axolotl in question is a GFP albino named Char, and I got him about a month ago along with a GFP melanoid. At first he was eating really well and although he was developing slightly slower than his melanoid counterpart, seemed very healthy and robust. (Would eat from my tweezers, very hungry all of the time, etc.) I was feeding them chopped up pieces of baby cockroaches (dubias, from my own colony) and chopped pieces of earthworm at this time.
Anyway, over the course of three days Char went from very hungry to completely disinterested in food. He ate a few pieces of cockroach the first day and then only one the next, and finally stopped eating altogether. I of course was concerned and continued offering food, but he refused to take it and either acted like there was nothing there or swam away completely. On the fourth day when I was offering food he spasmed and then threw up an entire chunk of cockroaches, and afterwards looked very skinny with a strange lump on his right side. Here's a picture I took immediately afterwards:
A little later that night he also attempted to pass some waste, but all that came out was a long, mucus-like string. Here is a picture I took of that:
After seeing all of this I was very concerned so I separated Char from the melanoid and put him into a tupperware container. I decided not to fridge him because I was pretty sure a blockage wasn't the problem, and I didn't want to slow down his metabolism so he wouldn't eat. I covered his container with a black towel to help de-stress him and continued to offer food, but he still wouldn't take it. I started offering frozen bloodworms at this time, but there was no change in appetite.
Thankfully I was able to locate a local fish store about 40 minutes away that carried live blackworms, and so I bought some of those and brought them home to Char. Though he would not accept them from my fingers or tweezers, I left about 10 in overnight and the next morning there were only 3 remaining. Char also made a nice big poop that day and has continued to eat blackworms every night, which I then replenish in the morning (along with 100% water changes!)
Here is how he looks now:
Char still refuses to accept food from me, and as you can see that strange bump is still present. I'm just wondering if there is anything else I could be doing that I am not aware of? Secondly, has anyone else witnessed something similar to this? How long do you think it will be before Char is back to his normal self?
Thank you all for taking the time to read this, I know it's long but I appreciate it and any advice you may have.
The axolotl in question is a GFP albino named Char, and I got him about a month ago along with a GFP melanoid. At first he was eating really well and although he was developing slightly slower than his melanoid counterpart, seemed very healthy and robust. (Would eat from my tweezers, very hungry all of the time, etc.) I was feeding them chopped up pieces of baby cockroaches (dubias, from my own colony) and chopped pieces of earthworm at this time.
Anyway, over the course of three days Char went from very hungry to completely disinterested in food. He ate a few pieces of cockroach the first day and then only one the next, and finally stopped eating altogether. I of course was concerned and continued offering food, but he refused to take it and either acted like there was nothing there or swam away completely. On the fourth day when I was offering food he spasmed and then threw up an entire chunk of cockroaches, and afterwards looked very skinny with a strange lump on his right side. Here's a picture I took immediately afterwards:
A little later that night he also attempted to pass some waste, but all that came out was a long, mucus-like string. Here is a picture I took of that:
After seeing all of this I was very concerned so I separated Char from the melanoid and put him into a tupperware container. I decided not to fridge him because I was pretty sure a blockage wasn't the problem, and I didn't want to slow down his metabolism so he wouldn't eat. I covered his container with a black towel to help de-stress him and continued to offer food, but he still wouldn't take it. I started offering frozen bloodworms at this time, but there was no change in appetite.
Thankfully I was able to locate a local fish store about 40 minutes away that carried live blackworms, and so I bought some of those and brought them home to Char. Though he would not accept them from my fingers or tweezers, I left about 10 in overnight and the next morning there were only 3 remaining. Char also made a nice big poop that day and has continued to eat blackworms every night, which I then replenish in the morning (along with 100% water changes!)
Here is how he looks now:
Char still refuses to accept food from me, and as you can see that strange bump is still present. I'm just wondering if there is anything else I could be doing that I am not aware of? Secondly, has anyone else witnessed something similar to this? How long do you think it will be before Char is back to his normal self?
Thank you all for taking the time to read this, I know it's long but I appreciate it and any advice you may have.