Caudata.org: Newts and Salamanders Portal

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Did you know that registered users see fewer ads? Register today!

Skin discolouration spreading

jnorthov

New member
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Hello everyone! This is my first time posting. At my work, in my part of the building we have 3 axolotls as pets that we all look after together. There are lots of other's in another part of the building that are taken care of by another coworker (our axolotl expert you might call him). We have asked him to consult with us on the condition of one of our axolotls, but he could only venture a guess.

Here goes: our darker (wild type?) male axolotl has always been skinnier than the two girls in the tank, but in the last year he has been getting skinnier and skinnier (you can see his pelvic bones sticking out !).

He seemed healthy in all other ways so we thought (as he is old, not quite sure exactly how old) it might just be his time. BUT recently his skin has started turning white in patches. At first there was a spot on his head, that was small and it grew larger, but then stayed stable for a few weeks and our expert though it didn't look like an infection, just maybe a change in pigmentation (he had heard of darker axolotls going white when they are older, like vitiligo). The patch remained unchanged for weeks and weeks, but almost over night it spread more on his face and now all four limbs have the same thing happening to varying degrees.

He was also recently bitten bad on the leg by on of the girls and seems to be holding his leg quite still so we seperated him to his own tank yesterday (we only had a plastic container, and then today we put him in his own 5 gallon tank with substrate and atube to hid in and a small pump to keep the water from stagnating...he ate normally yesterday, his gills are a bit curled forward, but his tail straighten out after we moved him (he was a bit upsate as you can imagine)...he seems okay in his new home behaviour wise...maybe a bit still/quiet, usually he swims and gulps air a lot more than the girls.

We are keeping him away from the other's until he heals...anyone seen this discolouration before? Is it an infection that needs to be treated by fridging or salt baths? Or should we just let him relax in his retirement home, and keep him seperate forever??
 

Attachments

  • photo2.jpg
    photo2.jpg
    107.1 KB · Views: 836
  • photo3.jpg
    photo3.jpg
    78.5 KB · Views: 822

jnorthov

New member
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
There are pictures uploaded now. I have one more close up. The don't look fuzzy, except in a few places where it actually looks more like skin comijg off, but that is on the arm(s) that were possibly bitten and might be due to the trama...his head and back legs don have any fuzzies...
 

jnorthov

New member
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Here is a close up of the head. The other pictures were on the original post, I editted it after you replied, so maybe try refreshing the thread?
 

Attachments

  • photo4.jpg
    photo4.jpg
    74.2 KB · Views: 577

tigmades

New member
Joined
Feb 27, 2010
Messages
317
Reaction score
8
Location
Winnipeg, MB
Please test the water for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and post results here. I'm no expert by all means, but could it possibly be ammonia burn or chlorine burn? Do you add a dechlorinator to your water for water changes? How often is the tank cleaned/have routine maintenance done?

Also: what is he being fed and how often?
 

jnorthov

New member
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Don't have a test kit, so I cant test the water. The tank gets cleaned and after the axolotls get fed 3 times a week M, W, Th. We don't add dechlorinator to our water, we let it stand for 48-72 hours to let the chlorine out naturally (today I added dechlorinator to the water, because the water hadn't sat long enough and he needed some more for his retirement tank). We have had the same routine and feeding schedule for the 2 years I have been here and even before I started working here (maybe 3-4 years total) and this has never happened until now. Also, the other two axolotls are happy as punch in the same tank he was in and they are not showing these symptoms.If it was something with the water...would it not be affecting them all?

Food = Frozen blood worms, the girls spend days going around and vacuuming the bottom, but he doesn't like doing this, so we make sure he is fed from a tukey basted and that he gets several mouthfuls to himself before we feed the ladires (who are pigs!)
 

jnorthov

New member
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
I will check if the other part of the building has a test kit!
 

Tigermoth

New member
Joined
Apr 10, 2013
Messages
47
Reaction score
0
Location
Newton St Cyres
Apart from the discolouration you need to change the substrate as this could cause compaction issues small gravel in a tank may be being ingested which may explain why he is skinny. When I first had Toothless he passed a lot of gravel before his colour deepened and is the happy chap he is now.

Water changes hopefully, will help with any possible infection if he is trying to eat this is a good sign but may need to be introduced to something that is more nutritious than bloodworm but carefully as not to overfeed.

I hope he gets better and loves his retirement tank good luck and let us know how he gets on if you change his substrate to sand, River stones (bigger than his head) or bare check for any offending passed gravel and remove it.hopefully this will help his appetite, health and ability to regenerate xxx :happy:
 

jnorthov

New member
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Thanks for the reply! I was already going suggest a substrate change to my coworkers after what I have read on the forum about blockages. We tried (a while ago) when he first got skinny to give him some bits of fish so he could fatten up. In true fashion the girls loved it but he didn't. Pellets might be the way to go and we'll have to be vigillent to get them out if he doesn't eat them.
 

tigmades

New member
Joined
Feb 27, 2010
Messages
317
Reaction score
8
Location
Winnipeg, MB
If you don't mind, try nightcrawlers - he may refuse red wrigglers because they can give off a disgusting-tasting slime as a defense mechanism.

I really hope you little one gets better! It sounds like the water parameters isn't the problem, and if they're diligent about grabbing all the frozen bloodworm leftovers then it's not likely a piece is hiding somewhere and rotting. This is another reason to feed nightcrawlers such as european nightcrawlers - they won't make nearly as much mess!

Sometimes frozen bloodworms can introduce parasites or diseases, but I don't know if that's your case, and like you said, the other axies seem fine. And yes, please get your lovelies off gravel :)

For testing your water, try taking a sample to the petstore. Here in Canada at least, they'll test your water for free. If not, I don't know if this would work but try a pool/hot tub store - they often test water parameters for hot tub (though that will be wayy more stuff tested than needed) but I'm not sure they'll test all those things.

I hope your little buddy gets better soon!

What's the temperature of the tank? White patches like that can be a sign of heat stress, and it is possible your other axolotls are more tolerant than he, though I would guess you'd see other signs of stress such as curled tail and gills.
 

snuggly time

New member
Joined
Jan 11, 2013
Messages
1,050
Reaction score
16
Location
West Yorkshire
Testing the water is very important. 5g tank is quite small for one axolotl, it's generally 10g per axolotl. If the water is high in ammonia it could be harming him. Earthworms would hopefully fatten him up if you can try them. But he needs removing from the gravel first. Good luck :happy:
 

gfsward

New member
Joined
Feb 7, 2012
Messages
160
Reaction score
3
Are the white patches raised? He'll need salt baths if those white patches are raised. Mine got similar white patches that looked like bumps and no one on here knew what it was. So I tried the shot-gun method of just trying salt baths and it worked out for them. I hope this is the case with yours.
Also get a test kit, remove the gravel, and switch all the axolotls diets over to earthworms like everyone else said.
Good luck!
 

jnorthov

New member
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Hello everyone! Here is an update!

Our lovely male axolotl is still with us. We were lucky enough to have a local reptile/amphibian specialist come to take a look at him and he said that it appeared to be bacterial infection (something similar has happened to his salamanders before he said and their legs dropped off! AH!) He suggested adding Benadyme to the water of the male's retirement tank and increase the dose if he doesn't improve within a few days, then he suggested the earth worms (same as everyone here) to get his weight up. Yesterday we added the Benadyme to the water and he has improved so much already!

We have cut up earth worms for him for his regular feeding tomorrow and he is in his own seperate tank and will stay that way!. His behaviour is much better today, one of his arms might not fully bounce back (it is still white, red near the base, and he's holding it limp) but the other we have seen him use and move. The white on his back legs is almost gone and he is much more alert following us outside his tank with his body movements and swimming up to the surface like he used to.

We are optimistic about his recovery and as soon as he is in a bit better shape we will be moving him to a larger ten gallon tank all on his own! He is going to think he is in paradise!

Thanks everyone for the information and suggestions, I credit all of you for giving us the advice to keep him with us!
 

Tigermoth

New member
Joined
Apr 10, 2013
Messages
47
Reaction score
0
Location
Newton St Cyres
That's really cool, I'm so pleased he's getting better. Brilliant to know that you know of a herp specialist to call on for advice. I'm sure everyone would love to see his retirement tank too xxx :happy: if you haven't already, all that TLC and you'll need to give the little critter a name xxx :wacko:
 

jnorthov

New member
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
He does have a name, for anonymity purposes I wasn't saying it, which I guess is kinda silly really. He's Jack! After Jack Sparrow :D AND he was even better yesterday, right back to his full activity level and I can safely say he LOVES earthworms. His one leg is probably gonna be lost (too bad it was his only "good" leg that hadn't been chewed before he came to us)...but I am happy he is ALIVE and well again!
 
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    There are no messages in the chat. Be the first one to say Hi!
    Top