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Mummy's floating :-(

Kerry M

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Hi there,
I was worried about four days ago that my little girl was refusing food and floating at the top of the water. Normally she really loves her food so this was unusual. I put her in the fridge as a precaution, on the first night she pooped, following this time there was absolutely no waste at all. I prepared her to enter her tank again and when she entered I noticed that her back legs were elevated. She continued to refuse food and started floating again. I have put her back in her fridging container in fresh water. She has earthworms chopped in there. She can touch the ground and is able to walk around. I have used tweezers and held the worms above her head. She seems to recognise them and then gets annoyed that I am trying to feed her and backs away. I have the container covered in a dark towel for now, I'm hoping that she eats something as she hasn't eaten for about 4-5 days now. The water is 23 degrees in the container at the moment. I assume that she is blocked up. She did have fine gravel in the past when I had no idea that it was a problem but this has been removed for some time. I suppose there is a chance that it is in her still. I suppose I wouldn't know without an ex ray. She has been on a bare floored tank and also has a driftwood creation in there. I do notice that sometimes when I clean the tank that bits of the wood have fallen off however this is mainly dirt. So.... I assume that she needs to be fridged again but was just thinking that I needed to get her to eat first so that is why she is out of the water. I would love any suggestions. I probably should have taken a picture of her floating but you probably get the idea. Basically, her back legs were elevated at a 30 degree angle initially before she floated to the top once again.
Many many thanks to anybody that can help me help her.
Cheers,
Kerry :confused:
 

Kerry M

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I forgot to say that she didn't eat at all while in the fridge. However she seemed very tranquil and didn't really respond to my efforts of coaxing her with worms.
 

FX1C

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Glad to see you worked out how to post Kerry!

I hope some can help with mummys issues - I wish they could talk & tell us what's wrong :(

I've got another little one from a pet shop today & it's in such a bad way!
I've already thought it was dead when we got home & it's barely there at the moment :mad:



<3 >o_o< <3
 

NeekaLovesYou

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Pictures really would be a great help :happy: I wouldn't be too worried about her eating habits at the moment. 4-5 days really isn't too long a time for them to not eat. If it becomes weeks, we have a problem. When she pooped the first time were there any traces of gravel or foreign objects in it?
 

Kerry M

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The little guy is lucky to be with you, poor little thing. My girl looks healthy, it is so strange. I'll just keep dangling worms in front of her and hope she wants to chomp.
 

Kerry M

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I didn't feel through the poop, and I regret that. How silly of me. I'll take some pictures of her in her container. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1359362593.856050.jpg I've now added some water to show you how she floats. It appears that the left side of her body raises when she disturbed (I just tried to feed her before taking the pic) ImageUploadedByTapatalk1359363044.584120.jpg
 

FX1C

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She sure looks like a healthy well loved axie Kerry - still has good weight on her & her gills are gorgeous.

If she wasn't floating the not eating wouldn't be a real worry - (but as mentioned on PM sometimes your gut will tell you something is wrong or totally not 'the norm') you picked up the not eating very early on & I'm wondering if she's off food because of the horrid heat we've been having - but then that doesn't explain why she's now floating :(
If only they could tell us what's ailing them!

I'm sorry I'm not much help - but I'll keep everything crossed for your little mummy to start picking up soon x x x



<3 >o_o< <3
 

Kerry M

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I agree Nikki. It would be awesome if they could talk. Perhaps it would be good to be an axie mind reader this time. She is certainly telling me something by her behaviour when I feed her.
She is very loved. Her gills are better than they were when I got her but they are short as she was probably poorly housed by the pet shop supplier. However she is able to move them so I'm happy about that.
 

NeekaLovesYou

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It could be the heat you've had (God bless caudatas Australian members for keeping me up to date with the weather forecast! ;)). Increased temperatures obviously cause stress to axolotls. This can lead to gas build up in the gut caused by small bacterial infection with the result = floating. The floating further stresses the axolotl out as it can't stay steady on the ground. It may just be some nasty constipation but it's worth covering everything! She doesn't look underweight or bloated - characteristics I've experienced before with impaction, so hopefully that's some good news! For now, I'd keep her in the fridge in water shallow enough for her to steady herself on the base but deep enough to fully submerge her - hopefully this will relieve her of some stress. If it's temperature related it should hopefully subside being as you know...the fridge is cold! If it's constipation or impaction, the cold temperatures should help. Remember their metabolisms slow right down in colder temperatures so that's probably contributing to the fact she's not eating a lot (if at all). Just keep an eye on her for bloating, fungus, etc :happy:
 

FX1C

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^^ go with what the clever girl says!^^

It makes a lot of sense :) thank goodness for these forums <3 ❤ <3



<3 >o_o< <3
 

CJ1981

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^^ go with what the clever girl says!^^

It makes a lot of sense :) thank goodness for these forums <3 ❤ <3



<3 >o_o< <3

Yep, Dinky's worth her weight in Gold, stupid forum won't let me add to her rep anymore I have added so much since I joined :rolleyes:

When it comes to Axies if she says jump then just ask how high (and offer her a worm while you're up there ;))
 

NeekaLovesYou

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^^ go with what the clever girl says!^^

It makes a lot of sense :) thank goodness for these forums <3 ❤ <3



<3 >o_o< <3

Yep, Dinky's worth her weight in Gold, stupid forum won't let me add to her rep anymore I have added so much since I joined :rolleyes:

When it comes to Axies if she says jump then just ask how high (and offer her a worm while you're up there ;))

Oh girls, you are silly! :p Just doing my bit so everyone can keep happy, healthy lotls!
 

Kerry M

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Thank you soooo much :)
Now that I think about it, I did have her in too much water when I first fridged her so will do it differently with your very helpful guidance. I am most appreciative, cheers :)
 

Kerry M

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There was some dusty waste in mummy's tank so something came out today. No gravel though but I wasn't really expecting any. She seems more active even in the fridge so perhaps she is feeling happier. I'll keep you updated.
 

peatea

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Hi, Kerry

I'm pretty sure we have some of mummy's babies! Here they are - sending their mum best wishes to get better soon!
 

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FX1C

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Hi, Kerry

I'm pretty sure we have some of mummy's babies! Here they are - sending their mum best wishes to get better soon!

That picture should've had a
⚠CUTENESS WARNING⚠
They are just Sooooo adorable!

I'm sure their wishes will spur mummy on to make a fuller faster recovery ❤ :)



<3 >o_o< <3
 

peatea

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That picture should've had a
⚠CUTENESS WARNING⚠
They are just Sooooo adorable!

I'm sure their wishes will spur mummy on to make a fuller faster recovery ❤ :)



<3 >o_o< <3

All thanks to Kerry and mummy! :happy: They are my boys' pets, but secretly now belong to me!!
 

Kerry M

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They do look so beautiful! I'm glad that they are so happy :) Their tank looks great. That makes me smile. I do love these little guys. My son's axie is the mum and now she openly belongs to me. Mummy seems a bit happier now so perhaps your little ones worked some magic here. I've got mum on the kitchen bench and she is actually on the ground, no floating at all. What a relief!
 

peatea

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What are their names?

Oh, that's good news for Mummy! The boys named them Poseidon (on the left in the photo) and Hades (on the right). They both LOVE the worms from our worm farm and are growing, growing, growing
 
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