Illness/Sickness: Very poorly boy- any advice very welcome!!

My boy really isn't well, I'm so worried that he might not get better so thought I'd try for any tips if people have had similar experiences...

I've had Fred for a year and he has always been very happy, lively and healthy. Around a month or so ago he started to become a bit lethargic and he stopped using his back legs. I didn't worry too much at the time and put it down to the fact that he was maturing and getting a bit lazy. He grew VERY fast and is a big boy, around 12 inches long and quite rounded...

Anyway, over the last couple of weeks he seems to have gone downhill and goes through spells where he 'falls over' and I have to help him back on to his feet. The most worrying thing now though is that it looks like his head is swollen and he has been off his food. I try daily to temp him with earthworms but he shows no interest at all. Having read up online it sounds like swelling could be a sign of bacterial infection, or worse a failure of an organ in which case I know there's not an awful that can be done.

I'm trying a low does of melafix as that seamed to be a common suggestion for treatment of a possible bacterial infection, it's been a few days now but doesn't seem to have made a difference. I'm doing water changes every day/second day and using water conditioner, keeping the water around 16-18 degrees with an ice bottle on warmer days while I'm out at work.

I've attached a couple of pictures, his skin looks healthy and no sign of fungus, I just don't know what to do to try and help him
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

If he is beginning to swell I would suggest taking him to the vet ASAP. It could be bloat which can be extremely serious and often results in death.

It is hard to tell from the picture you have posted just how extensive the swelling is, are you able to post a side and/or top view at all?

The swelling seems to be contained to his head, I've posted another pic but its not too easy to see until you're standing in front of him. The swelling on the side of his neck looks like it has gone down but it now looks like its his 'chin' area that's big.

Finding a vet that can treat him is proving impossible, one said they could take a look but that they had no experience with them. I'm worried about trying to transport him, he's already very stressed and I don't know how much he would cope with. He would need to go in to a very large container to be comfortable and the movement of the water would definitely bother him, so I really don't want to do it unless I'm confident they could help him...

Finding a vet is sometimes so difficult for these guys - my local vet hadn't seen a chinchilla before, let alone an axxie, so I have difficulty in that department too.

I do think this is likely a kind of bacterial infection, an organ failure or a sign of bloat, so I really think a vet is the only real course. I'm sorry there's nothing else I can suggest

Could he have something stuck/lodged in his mouth? Or have eaten something that cut inside his mouth and is infected?

I took my axolotl to the vet a while back, and they looked in his mouth and checked to see if the jaw swelling was symmetrical or not. They said that since it was symmetrical, he probably didn't have an infection.

There are some threads on here about how to look in their mouths....you might want to take a look at those.

Of course, these hypotheses don't explain the loss of balance/coordination/etc......

I just feel so awful for my poor boy he looks so miserable and really isn't himself... His Gil's are really curly and I know he must be so stressed. We have found a vet online that looks promising so will call them on Monday.

I don't think it could be a cut, there's nothing sharp in the tank. Substrate is aquarium sand and removed all the decoration type things when he started having difficulty moving around. Water quality is good so I know it's nothing caused by ammonia or nitrate. My sister has a theory (only a theory) that it could maybe be fish bones... When I got him the pet shop was feeding him frozen white fish (the really small ones) so I kept him on them, he was doing really well but the start of the issues seemed to coincide with a new batch of these fish which were a bit larger, I never gave him the heads as I worried they were too boney but I'm really worried that that may have been the issue we then changed him to earthworms but now he won't even entertain them

Good luck! I hope he makes it.

A vet is really the only solution i think in these situations. Maybe try taking him out of the tank and put him in a bit tuperware container changing 100% of the water daily and just keep it as clean and cool(find the coldest spot in your house) floors are awesome. And just keep a close eye on him till you can bring him to the vet on monday. The fridge may be so stressful on him but the cooler the water the better for him at this time. Aim for low 60's or high 50's

Asfor checking his mouth for something lodged, if you can do it gently maybe try, just to get an idea. It may be that he tried to eat something sharp and it cut the inside and its become infected. Or it may be bloat but really a vet is the only one that can make that diagnosis. I hope its something simple i hate seeing them like that. If its localized in his head you may be lucky, if he makes it to monday the vet should be able to inject antibiotics for him. I had a little guy with bloat and his whole body looked like a sumo wrestler

I'm so scared to make him feel any worse, I am a bit too nervous to try scouting about in his mouth, think I'll need to leave it to expert hands.

Thanks so much for all the advice, I really hope he pulls through cos he's like my baby lol. I hate seeing him like this and just want him back to his usual 'smiley' self! I know it's probably my imagination but I'm sure I can see a sad face when I look at him lol!

I've tried an SOS on Facebook in the hope that someone may know a vet that's fairly local (as I say, I'm worried about transporting him too far in case it pushes him over the edge) there are a few local zoos etc so thinking I may phone them to see if they can suggest somewhere that might be able to see him.

Unless anyone on here knows somewhere in Edinburgh or surrounding areas??!

Again, thank you all for the advice

Getting him in as soon as possible is better then worrying about the stress of getting him there. The sooner the better in my opinion. Once he is there he is in good hands so as soon as you can would be your best bet.

Herp Veterinarians - Scotland

Have you seen this list? There's one for Edinburgh on there.

No I hadn't seen that list, that's a great help though thanks. It's quite reassuring as the one someone had suggested is the royal dick vet so will definitely give them a call and get him booked in. He seems to be stable (thankfully he was a big boy anyway so the not eating doesn't seem to have been the major issue it could have been)

I am worried about the transportation but I know it's really the only chance I have of getting him better so let's just hope that he can over come this last hurdle so that an expert eye can be cast upon him!

Thanks again for the info

Let us know how it goes....fingers crossed.

Laurajane said:

No I hadn't seen that list, that's a great help though thanks. It's quite reassuring as the one someone had suggested is the royal dick vet so will definitely give them a call and get him booked in. He seems to be stable (thankfully he was a big boy anyway so the not eating doesn't seem to have been the major issue it could have been)

I am worried about the transportation but I know it's really the only chance I have of getting him better so let's just hope that he can over come this last hurdle so that an expert eye can be cast upon him!

Thanks again for the info

Click to expand...

I'm sorry but I have to ask, Royal Dick Vet???

Hope all goes well, I will keep my fingers crossed for you

I hope he comes out of this alright.

There are ways to minimise water movement during transportation. Unfortunately, I can't find the specific thread I read that mentions it. Try having a search. I'd definitely advise keeping his tupperware in a larger cardboard box (with towels, and maybe ice packs beneath them) for transportation. The dark will be more calming.

CJ- I know, I must admit that I also had a little giggle when I heard the name! But if they can make my wee guy feel better then ill happily have him handled by a dick vet lol!

He has an appointment tomorrow morning, I've got a fairly compact Tupperware container to transport him in and have ice bottles and towels at the ready. I can't believe it, but after all the stress of finding a vet, this one is only around a 20 minute drive from where we live! So hopefully he can hang on in there

I'll post tomorrow with an update on how he gets on.

Thanks again to everyone for your help and kind words

Thought I should post an update on little Fred for all of those who have been so helpful throughout his little journey. We went to the vet today and unfortunately they weren't able to help him, they put him to sleep while we were in.

They took fluid and determined that it wasn't a bacterial infection, they deduced that it was an organ failure and that there was nothing they could do to make him feel better

Very sad, but at least he won't be suffering any more. He'll be in axi heaven chomping on some juicy worms and kicking back.

Aww sorry you lost him

So sorry for your loss.

aww sorry to hear about your loss :/ i would thoroughly clean the tank before getting anymore axolotls. there's a strong possibility that the axolotls body could have been swelling from a parasitical infection from contaminated food

Sorry to hear of your loss. Poor Fred.