Illness/Sickness: Not sure what's wrong?

I have recently changed my axolotls tank from having stone flooring to sand, and a few days ago I found 6 old stones in his tank which could have only gotten there if they had been in his stomach. He had been vomiting and not eating properly for a few days before hand and I believed it was because he was trying to vomit the stones out. No more have appeared since and he began eating again a couple of days ago, but tonight when I tried feeding him he just kept turning his head away and I noticed that his gills seem to be poking out more prominently than usual and he is flapping them excessively (multiple times a second). What could be wrong with him? Please help, I'm so worried!

My first guess would be low oxygen, try a small airstone with a valve, keep it low as not to disrupt, but enough to oxygenate the water, parameter check, and keep a close eye on him he's probably stressed from passing the stones, you may want to consider refridgeration for a few days to give him time to re-cooperate! Keep us posted! There is a fridging guide posted in the forum!

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Thank you :happy: I had a small air stone and I've put it in. He is still flapping his gills excessively but I'll give it a few hours to get the oxygen around the tank and see if he stops doing it so much. Also, he seems to get a lot of sand on him since I changed to sand. Do you think this could be irritating him?

That's a good possability, but I would assume that he's probably still stressed from passing the stones, keep us posted on how he's doing!!

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I agree, he's probably just a little stressed. Keep the airstone down low, and keep him dark and cool, with plenty of time to chill overnight. Try feeding him in the morning when he's had a bit of time to calm down, and he'll probably eat - these guys can be really sensitive. Mine freak out for about 10 minutes even if I just remove the filters to change the filter sponges!

Axolotl has pooped out giant veiny sack?!?!?

So here is the link to a post about what has been going on with my axolotl the past week or so.

Today I woke to find that he had pooed some more which made me happy, until I noticed this big sack next to him that looks like it's still attached to him and I have absolutely no idea what it could be or whether it's even supposed to be outside of him or not! I'm super, super worried about him! This is the worst possible time for something like this to happen because I'm going away for 3 weeks in 2 days and my mum is going to be taking care of him and he's been sick and only seems to be getting worse!

I've attached some pictures of the "sack". They're not very good quality, I'm sorry, but he is inside his castle and I didn't want to scare him and have him move in case he's in pain and this thing is still attached to something important in him!

The "sack" is basically see through, with little vein looking things on it.. it doesn't look like anything is inside except maybe some sort of fluid or air..

Please help!!!

Can you gently remove the axolotl to a large tuppaware tub - that way you can get some better pics of the attached sack.

It doesn't sound good & I would be looking at finding a vet that can deal with axolotls urgently in case you need to get him there in a hurry.

I think keeping the axolotl in the tuppaware is also the best option to avoid further injuries from objects in the tank until you can work out what this is.

Good luck - please keep us updated.



<3 >o_o< <3

Re: Axolotl has pooped out giant veiny sack?!?!?

See "Prolapse of the Cloaca"

Caudata Culture Articles - Illness Part 1

Re: Axolotl has pooped out giant veiny sack?!?!?

Thank you for the advice!
I did some more searching on the internet after I started this thread and found pictures of the prolapsed cloaca and strongly believed that was what it was, so I began phoning vets immediately around my area looking for someone who took axolotls and after about 40 minutes of searching found someone half an hour away and got a booking and left immediately. The vet used a cotton bud to gently poke it back inside, which took a while because it kept sticking to the cotton bud and pulling back out. He said that it could come back out and if it does I could just do the same procedure that he did myself, which is very scary Currently he is in a dark container in the fridge recovering and I'm hoping that it doesn't come back out

Re: Axolotl has pooped out giant veiny sack?!?!?

The poor thing must have been in a lot of discomfort! Well done you for doing your research and rushing to get an appointment with the vet. I'm glad to hear he's recovering in the fridge. That boy needs some serious TLC.

Was the vet able to tell you if it was a result of the gravel in his system/his efforts to pass the gravel? (Although if I were you, I probably would have been so concerned I'd forget to ask.)

Thank you :happy:

The vet didn't really say much about what could have been the cause, and yes, I was too preoccupied with worry to think about asking much, which now seems a bit stupid. But I feel confident in being able to fix the problem if (fingers crossed it won't) it does happen to come back out.

Thank you all for your help!

The benefit of hindsight, eh?

I wonder whether it might not be a bad idea to keep him in the fridge for a week, just in case he does have any other gravel in there. Although it would also be beneficial to get him eating, a week of slow-down and chance to pass anything else might help him heal up... Does anyone who actually HAS axolotls and experience with these sorts of things think it's a good idea?

( I'm still quite cautious about giving advice, Melanie. I haven't got my 'Lotls yet, and have been hanging around hear learning about them. So what I write is generally parroting more experienced users. It's good to be backed up by someone who knows what they're talking about. It depends whether food for gut-coating or cold for relaxation would help him recover faster! )

Keep him in the fridge @ the very least a week! Keep an eye on him as much as you can, beeing ur going away, (you know your axie best) so when you notice that he appears to be doing better, remove him! Hope this helps!!

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So this morning when I checked on him in the fridge he had a little bit of tissue hanging out of him, so I attempted to put it back inside as suggested by the vet with no luck. It just kept sticking to the cotton tip and pulling back out. Being the stress head that I am, I called the vet and asked some advice, and he said that as long as it doesn't get bigger I shouldn't worry yet as it might go back in on it's own, but I should continue to try and put it back in a couple of times a day.

I'm taking your advice and will be leaving him in the fridge for at least a week to recover. I cleaned out all the sand from his tank this morning to prevent any irritation or sticking to his cloaca and the tissue in case it does come back out after being put back into his tank, just for the first few weeks he's back in there.

Only problem is that in less than 12 hours from now I'll be at the airport and nearly on my way to another state for 3 weeks, so I've had to relay all the information to my mum to make sure she knows what to do if it comes back out. And again, since I'm such a stress head, I'll be calling every day!

But so far it's been about 31 hours since the vet visit, still no poo, so I'm really worried about it coming back out when he poos.. But I'm hoping for the best!

Thank you all for all your help! I appreciate it so, so much

I can understand your stress at having to leave for three weeks. especially with an axolotl that's a bit fragile.

The best advice for your mum while he's in the fridge is to make sure the water is changed with water the same temperature.

How skinny is he? Could he cope with 3 weeks in the fridge? It certainly would be easier in a way if he was hibernating while you weren't there to watch over him closely (& knowing what to look out for) not sure what others thoughts are on this suggestion so please wait for an expert to give better advice or confirm that it could be ok.

Thoughts are with you & your mum - it's not easy taking responsibility for someone else's pets especially exotic pets like axolotls so she's a good mum for being there for you

Please keep us updated - I'll keep everything crossed that he's ok while you're away & of course long into the future



<3 >o_o< <3

So this morning when I checked on him before leaving for the airport I was so relieved to see that the tissue has gone back inside by itself and he's looking less swollen than yesterday! But there is still the risk of it coming back out when he poos, but hopefully it doesn't.

I've got a jug of water in the fridge for my mum to use when she makes water changes so the temperture of his water stays the same. Yeah, she's super lovely for taking care of him for me

He's not overly skinny. I've advised her to leave feeding him until Monday ( it is now Saturday) as I don't want to give him reason to poo too soon before he's healed properly, but he could still poo between now and then.

Thank you very much I'll keep you updated with his condition as I hear :happy:

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, didn't really get the time while in Melbourne. He spent a week in the fridge, and came out and was fine, he ate once about two weeks ago and hasn't since then.. He has been doing weird clear mucusy looking poops the past week since I've been back, and while I was cleaning them out earlier today I found a tiny piece of rock in his tank.. I'm beginning to think that he might still have a rock inside him now.. I was holding him about two days ago and thought he felt a bit hard in the front part of his abdomen closest to his head, and I'm not sure if that's normal? But if there is a rock in there and this tiny piece I found is part of it, do you think it's possible it could be breaking up inside him and slowly come out piece by piece?