I think my axolotl is trying to pass a rock! Help! :errr:

My axolotl has recently thrown up 6 small rocks I noticed after I changed to sand last week. He was feeling a bit better for a few days and now he is flapping his gills multiple times a second and he has a swelling behind his back legs and I'm worried he might have another rock coming out the other end! What should I do? I'm concerned he might not be able to get it out and that he might be in pain! Please help! :errr:

Fridge him. There's a sticky at the top of this forum about how to go about it.

An important thing: keep your aged, dechlorinated water for daily water changes in the fridge with him, so there isn't a temperature shock when it comes to changing the water.

The cool temperatures will slow his metabolism and relax him, making it easier to pass.

Is he eating? If he's eating, and you're feeding him earthworms, this'll help to keep things moving. If you fridge him, he won't be inclined to eat, but if you had a cooler area of the house where you could keep him in a smaller tub, under a towel so it's nice and dark and calming, you could try feeding him to help him pass it before resorting to putting him in the fridge.

Ultimately, if he can't pass it, you're going to need to take him to a vet to sort out the impaction. : (

Hopefully someone with more and actual experience will be around soon to post and help you out; I can only parrot the advice I've already read here, and advise you to look at the fridge guide. I do hope he gets better soon, poor little chap!

Pondweed's advice above is perfect.

Depending on the size of the stones/gravel & the size of your axolotl.
(Please post pics of your axolotl showing the side profile & swelling / also could you post a pic of the size of the gravel that's been regurgitated already)

How long is your axolotl?
What do you normally feed it & how often?

Placing it in clean dechlorinated water in the coolest dark quiet place in the house would be good as stage 1 of your treatment - feed lots of earthworms as it will help to fill the gut & hopefully coat any gravel inside the lotl & help it to pass out. Keep a close eye on your lotl & the poop if there is any. Hopefully you won't need to use the fridge treatment - but get some tuppaware & a jug (to hold the next days water change water) ready just in case - its also a good time to leave a glass of water in the fridge with an accurate thermometer to calibrate the fridge temp & work out the most stable temp zone of your fridge

Good luck and please keep us updated - post the pics it will help a lot to see how likely it is this lotl can pass the stone / gravel



<3 >o_o< <3

Attached is a picture of him, he's about 18cm long. The red stuff is blood worms.

Also a picture of the rocks that I found in his tank which are next to a $2 coin which is 2cm in diameter as a scale to how big they are. These are probably the smallest of any of the rocks that used to be in his tank, so the rock in him now could possibly be bigger (hopefully not!).

And the third picture is of his tank that he's been in since the change to sand last week. He has eaten since he threw up the other rocks, but not very much. I tried to feed him again just before but he wouldn't take it.

He eats blood worms, a small section every evening. But over the past 7 days he hasn't eaten very much at all.

I have put him in the fridge for the night in the hopes it will calm him down, he seemed irritated flapping his gills around.

Try offering some live earthworms. The wiggling may encourage him to eat. They're also much more nutritious than bloodworms.

Okay, I will look into getting some today. He has been in the fridge for over 12 hours now and nothing has come out. How long should I give him to pass it on his own before I should start worrying and think about taking him to a vet?

If there is no prolapse, a couple of days in the fridge (100% water changes daily with refrigerated dechlorinated water) won't hurt.

So I woke up this morning and found that all the swelling has completely gone down and he looks completely fine, only nothing has come out of him yet... no rock, no poop. He still hasn't eaten anything since he went into the fridge just over 1.5 days ago with on and off eating the week earlier... I have taken him out of the fridge and am allowing him to warm naturally in his container in the dark and will see if he has an appetite then.. Do you think it would be safe to return him to his tank once he's warmed up to the right temperature?

If the swelling in his tummy has gone down, and he isn't behaving oddly or has any obvious swelling elsewhere (like the cloaca), he is probably ready to go back to his tank. Try feeding him and if he takes food he is likely calm enough and well enough to go back. Obviously observe him for a while to make sure all is okay, but it sounds like an excess of wind and some small rocks were the cause. It's up to you ultimately. You could keep him in his hospital tank/tub for another night to allow him to adjust if you were a little worried about him moving a lot in one day, or you can move him once he is up to temperature. You know your axolotl best and if he's acting normally for him I can't see why putting him back in his old tank would hurt him.

I hope he stays well

Thanks for the advice
Well, I put him back into his tank last night and woke this morning to find that he had done two poos and has some sort of clear/white mucusy looking stuff hanging out of his bottom, the same looking stuff that he pooed a little of out yesterday. I am slightly concerned though because it does look like he might be a little bit swollen again in the cloaca region, but not sure if that's just because he's finally gotten his poo out? Should I just keep an eye on it over the next 24hrs or so?

He ate a small amount last night before returning to his tank, but only one mouthful.. Hopefully he will start eating more now that he seems to be feeling a bit better.

The mucus may be the remains of food that were coating the stones when he passed them. This is why some owners recommend feeding them while they are struggling to pass stones or food as it 'coats' the stones or food and makes passing them easier. Keep an eye on his poops but if they get gradually more normal for him, try not to worry too much. He has been a little poorly and that's bound to show for a few days at least. Some humans also have mucus in their leavings if their insides have been irritated. Although I know we have very different physiological setups but it would make sense if his insides were a little irritated. Keep feeding soft, easily digestible foods such as earthworms, bloodworms and soft sinking pellets, as he still needs to eat.

As for the cloaca, sometimes this distends a little when axxies are constipated. He may have had to really push to get the stones out, resulting in the swelling. Observe this too and see if it goes down within a few days (it should). If it doesn't go down at all within the week I would suggest thinking about a vet. I think to be honest it's a result of him being constipated. Hope he gets better! A bit of food, good water conditions and calm will help him recover.

I've merged a few of your posts together Melanie14.
Here is a link :-

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...-sick-axolotl/91485-not-sure-whats-wrong.html

Oh haha, I was wondering how it got like that hahah. Thank you