Abedeer has a swollen mouth

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abedeer

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Poor Abedeer looks like he has had a swollen mouth for the past couple of days. He hasn't been eating as much, but otherwise he's not acting any differently. The pH in his tank was a little high but that's been taken care of, and there isn't anything lodged in his mouth. I bought erythromycin today and used the first round tonight. Any advice or suggestions appreciated. Worried about my little guy :(
 
There is another thread on here you should search for....I think it's called "Urgent:swollen head"....in that case, the swelling was an abscess that was treated several times by a veterinarian.
 
Thank you! He's on day 3 of 4 of erythromicyn and the swelling seems to have gone down a little bit, but he's still not eating very much. I was thinking of putting him in the fridge after day 4 is over because of that. Just a bit nervous to do so, do you think that would be ok to do? I appreciate the advice very much :)
 
abedeer said:
Thank you! He's on day 3 of 4 of erythromicyn and the swelling seems to have gone down a little bit, but he's still not eating very much. I was thinking of putting him in the fridge after day 4 is over because of that. Just a bit nervous to do so, do you think that would be ok to do? I appreciate the advice very much :)
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It's great news that the swelling has gone down :)

If he isn't eating putting him in the fridge will only slow down the metabolism & appetite. What are you trying to feed him? I would stick to very soft food such as earthworms as they are unlikely to irritate his poor little mouth any more.

What was the advice from the vet who prescribed the antibiotics as to whether you should fridge or not?

I would think that keeping his environment cool with fresh healthy water in a quiet place that should help to keep him calm & help him to recuperate.

Please keep us updated - there has been a few swollen headed axolotls in the forums recently :eek: & I hope for another happy outcome for your lotl :)



<3 >o_o< <3
 
The antibiotics are actually some that I picked up at PetSmart! I wish I could take him to the vet but I can't afford to. His mouth is still pretty swollen:( I've been trying to feed him everything(cut up earthworms, brine shrimp, bloodworms, crushed up pellets), he'll eat a little tiny bit but that's all. I think that the water I'm keeping him in is too soft. I'm going to go out and get salts for the water first thing tomorrow morning, and maybe give him a salt bath. I realize now that he was suffering from anemia from time to time. Would this have any impact on his mouth?
He also has "red leg" bacteria :( I'm assuming due to the soft water. Ooh dear...if there's anything else that I can do to help him please let me know :(
 
Hi, I'm the owner of Burrito in the other thread. Your axolotl looks very similar to the way Burrito looked. We think she scratched the inside of her mouth. Definitely don't fridge your axolotl whilst on antibiotics as it will slow the effects of the medicine. Also, to be honest, I doubt they will work. Burrito had to have injections and even then it took quite a while to see the effects, and she had the abscess drained twice. It was expensive- about £80 in total, but I couldn't leave her like that as her body would have become septic and she couldn't eat.
 
I'm afraid I don't have the means to bring him to the vet :( I really wish I could, I feel so terrible that this is happening, I've grown so attached to the little guy. You can see that underneath his mouth on his chin it's a pinkish colour, I'm not sure what this means...
 
How is he doing? Burrito's head lump is back. I am devastated. My bank account hasn't recovered from the last time as it cost me close to £100 including the bus fares. I'm taking her to my local vet who is a 5 minute walk away tomorrow evening. I really don't know how I'm going to afford further treatment- I'll have to just stick it on a card and look away.
 
Aww I'm sorry to hear that. His mouth is a little bit less swollen, he's actually been taking food into his mouth recently and trying to eat it, he spits out a lot of it but gets some down. But since that has been getting better, he has grown lumps on his side. One looks almost watery and red, and the other is a little paler but reddish as well. I'm going to the vets office tomorrow to ask them about prices and everything, so hopefully they can do something for him :(

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I've not seen anything like that before. I took Burrito to a different vet who is treating her with different antibiotics and charging me half as much money. She had her first injection today. I really hope your vet can do something for Aberdeer. Let us know how you get on.
 
I've never seen anything like that either. Maybe, as a result of taking the antibiotics, his skin has become very permeable and water has osmosed into his skin, or perhaps from his gill circulatory system, and is now forming as blisters? It might also be some form of reaction to his previous meds. I would suggest tea baths or salt baths, but I'd ask for advice on these, they may stress the poor guy out more than needs be, and he's already taking meds and getting treatment which will wear him down a little. I'm just thinking if they're sore or caused by bacteria, the tannins in the tea will soothe the soreness, and salt will cause the blisters to burst. But I've never faced this before, these are only ideas. Sorry I can't be of more help :(

I think this is a case of him being a little run down with one illness (the swollen mouth) which made him susceptible to other illnesses. You are doing everything that a responsible owner would. Rest, medication, food, clear, cool, dechlorinated water, a dark, quiet place to stay - these are your best remedies, but you know this already.

Good luck to you and Aberdeer, we're rooting for you!
 
I've been giving him salt baths and it seemed to be helping. I was out of town for a couple of days and wasn't able to give him one, and since then a few new bumps have shown up :(. The vet I was talking to said he had never seen an axolotl before but was willing to have a look. I'm really unsure about it because I don't want Abedeer to basically be a guinea pig for treatments, as good as the intent may be. But I'm also thinking where it seems to be blisters it's a fairly common thing and may just have a simple treatment. There wasn't an available appointment until the 24th so hopefully he can tough it out until then...he's in hard shape, the little guy.
 
I know your pain Abedeer.When I took my chinchilla to the vet, they'd never treated one before and told me outright they'd be looking it up. I wasn't too comfortable having him treated by someone who'd never done it.

I'm sorry to hear Abedeer's spots are multiplying, but I'd keep doing tea or salt baths. It seems to be helping.
Abedeer (the axolotl): Come on little guy. your Dad wants you to get better!

PS AxolotlNewbie, I hope Burrito gets better soon too. I sometimes have to pay quite a lot for my dog's treatments, and I'd do the same for Toothless. I know that sometimes you really can't afford it too, but our love for our pets drives us to do everything we can. Following your little guy makes me want to root for you both. My wishes are with you.
 
Thank you. It's difficult to say how she's doing really. The swelling hadn't gone down yesterday when she had her third injection, but he drew the pus out and there wasn't nearly as much as when she was first ill, so I'm hoping that's a good sign. She's having an extra injection tomorrow to be on the safe side. She's still not happy though and her gills are still curled forward.

However the vet treating her now is my vet of 20 years, who I used to go and help out when I was a student, so he's only charging me for the drugs and not the consultations which is a huge help.


Hope Abedeer is hanging in there. How's he doing?
 
He's a tough little dude, he seems to be doing alright, still acts the same as he usually does. One of the big sores that's on him has broken open. I'm not if this is a good thing or not? I didn't give him a salt bath yet today because I'm afraid it will hurt/stress him out a lot. There's a white fluid coming out of it which I guess is pus? My biggest concern for him right now is him not eating because his mouth is still swollen. Sighh..
Since I've been browsing this forum and seeing pictures of healthy axolotls, I don't think he's been too healthy since I bought him. I bought him from a pet store at the beginning of December, and I live in eastern Canada so he more then likely had a long journey here. He's always had a round belly, one of his legs is much shorter then the others like it was bitten off by a tank mate, and short stumpy gills. The short gills may not really be too big of an issue, but they seem much shorter then any of the ones on here by a lot to me.
 
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Is he still in the fridge? If so has he passed anything?

Also have you tried messaging any of the vets listed on here? They can be really helpful if you send them a link to your thread. Bruce Maclean (herpvet) is really nice and has offered suggestions several times when I've asked him for help. I'm still amazed the vet you found doesn't have an appointment for so long. It sounds like he needs help a lot sooner.
 
I didn't put him in the fridge, but he has been passing little green poops. And I didn't know that there were vets on here so I'm going to do that right now!

He looks really awful today, very pale :( you can see just how bad things have gotten if you look at the first picture and compare it to these...

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I've just found a thread where two axolotls displayed similar symptoms and unfortunately died.
I think you should tell your vet it's an emergency.
Also weirdly the other axolotls were also in Canada.

This is the thread but it's quite hard to look at the pictures. In case you don't to (they are of the axolotl after it died) it shows the axolotl bloated and also with the blisters. It might be useful to talk to the owner.


http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...on-immediately-if-any-these-signs-appear.html
 
I saw that thread too, and I remember thinking of Abedeer, but I didn't want to post it in case I was wrong. I think it's definetely worth looking at though. Thank you AxolotlNewbie.

The vets on here have their names highlighted in blue, like donors have their names highlighted in gold. One of them is called DarkMaverick. I hope you find a good one or can get help from AxolotlNewbie's suggested vet! In the meantime it may be worth looking at tea baths to soothe the blisters (much gentler than salt baths) and to clean away the pus. Pus coming out of them is not a bad thing in itself, but it depends where it is coming from. Keeping the exposed skin clean is going to be important.
Abedeer is definetely a tenacious one, whether he was always a little bit on the poorly side or not, you have one heck of a fighter!

We still have all our fingers and toes crossed for you, me and Toothless both!

PS AxolotlNewbie, is Burrito any better?
 
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