Illness/Sickness: Really fat Axolotl help!

Digby my Axolotl has been getting increasingly fatter over the last couple of months, I've tried a few things like fish dewormer recommended by my local aquatic centre, I've reduced how often I feed him but nothing is helping.
He had a good appetite.
Not sure what it's wrong with him, please help

It would help if you have a photo you can attach so people can assess what might be up better. Try to get photos from above and to the side. Also, if you can provide your water parameters, temperature, and tank set-up, people can see whether it might be something in his environment. It might also help to know how old he is.

Also remember axolotls are not fish and should never be treated like one! There are only a handful of chemicals that have been deemed safe for axolotl use. I would suggest never using the dewormer on him again. I dont know what it is but if its for fish id be very caredul using it

I go all natural. I dont use carbon anymore in my tank and my water is a million times easier to keep clean. I use black tea steeped in the tank when they go all nuts and scratch up their slime coat and/or hurt themselves to help prevent fungus/soothe their skin. And if fungus appears salt baths. The fridge is used as a last resort when they are ill(ive never had fungus nor an ill lotl though) the only other things that i would allow used on my axolotl would be at the discretion of a vet


But pictures would be wonderful like stated above, also the tank parameters and tank size, etc what kind of water you use. Etc. the picture being the most important.

If you were overfeeding your axolotl he/she would regurgitate its food up. What do you feed it?

Thanks for your responses, I did try uploading pictures of him but it said they were the wrong format so couldn't do it.
He's about 6 and has been feed a frozen bloodworm cube every other day since I had him
Will try again to upload pictures, I don't know and details about the water in the tank as I've never had a problem with him before.
he has large pebbles on the bottom of his tank, some fake plants and a pump.

These are pictures I have just taken of him sorry the quality isn't very good had to reduce it to upload it. I have turned the pump but usually it has a thing that disperses the flow

Here is one of what he looked like a few months ago and one from above now

This should be the one from above now

This is what I was afraid of You don't have a fat axolotl. You axolotl is retaining fluid.

Fluid Retention is "Normally" caused by kidney failure. I have one melanoid who is only 2" long suffering from it, I already have euthanized two other of my babies because of it. Though this guy has been like this for almost two months now, I just cant euthanize them until they stop eating, which this guy is still eating.

My babies who developed it it was probably caused by genetics and not any kind of sickness. but since your guy is older/bigger I suspect he is ill somehow.

Caudata Culture Articles - Salt Solutions in Treating Salamanders Here is the article which talks about fluid retention. There really is not much info out about it. It states to ONLY DO IT UNDER DISCRETION OF A VETERINARY AND IN CONJUNCTION OF ANTIBITIOTICS! I tried already without antibiotics and without a vet and he did not make it through the treatment! but it just gives you an idea.

Like I said I don't know how these guys fare, I dont find much information about it but like I said the smaller ones(10-15days old) stopped eating after about 10days so I euthanized, the guy I have right now is 4months old and has showed signs of this for 2months now and is still eating and pooping, though his belly is so big it limits mobility, it really is sad to watch


AHHHH EDIT: I just saw what you have as substrate! You should really remove those stones! axolotls can swallow them and they can become impacted!


Edit edit: I mean there could be other reasons for whatever is going on but like I said I have had no luck in getting much information on fluid retention in axolotls and really any caudates at that. I'm sorry I cant be more of help but just telling you your axolotl is no getting fat. Still feed it and take care of it like you normally would. I would suggest bringing it to a vet if you can but I know its not always plausible. but as far as I have tried, I tried the solution in the article, I tried a normal 10-15minute salt bath, I tried fridging, and it just gets bigger and bigger.

I am pretty sure a vet will puncture it to remove the fluid, start antibiotics to keep infection away and then the salt solution is to help it from coming back. but thats just a guess and not a fact.

Thanks for your response.
I enquired at my vets when I took my rabbit in for his hand and she didn't know what an Axolotl was let alone how to treat him, hence why I have turned here for help.
I'll try the salt bath, he'll be happy about being taken off his diet
Do you really think he can eat the pebbles he's had them for years?
I tried bigger ones and he couldn't lift them if food fell under them but he pushed these around
I'll keep you posted on how he is, he's a pretty tough cookie, has moved house with me 4 times!
Just hope I can help him.

Good luck. I dont really think that there is much that can be done in these situations but to see how to fare.

I have one caudate vet near me thank god if i ever have to bring mine in. Though its not the same exotics vet that i bring my rats in to see.


And an axolotl can swallow a rock bigger then its head! so yes he can swallow them. Bare bottom or sand is best.
Good luck

Ps: if doing salt bath be verrryyy very careful! I wouldnt suggest it since ive tried and it didnt help but maybe made it worst. Its suppose to only help when also seeing a vet. I think its otherwise useless. I only did it because the lotl i had had no other options going for him he wasnt eating anymore
This is my little guy.

Alkylhalide said:

I already have euthanized two other of my babies because of it. Though this guy has been like this for almost two months now, I just cant euthanize them until they stop eating, which this guy is still eating.

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May I ask, although I hope never to have to do it, HOW did you euthanize your axies?

There's a sticky about vets that treat caudates in this forum. Maybe you can check to see if there are any close to you. Alternatively, go on yell.com and get a list of the vets near you and phone round to see if they treat exotics. Even if you can't find any with specific experience of axolotls, you might find some who are willing to do research, or take a sample.

He could certainly have swallowed those clear pebbles, even if you've never seen him do it. Especially if he's been pushing them around to find food. If you can, try to use a feeding jar (also makes bloodworms easier to clean up!)

=( Unfortunately, being a wild-type, and the pebbles being light, you wouldn't have been able to see them inside him unless there were obvious bulges. I imagine a vet could also take an x-ray to see if there is anything blocking him up.

I hope he does get through this, poor thing.

Your axolotl needs treatment from a vet.They will be able to consult other vets for advice if they are not familiar with treatment. This is not something that you can treat your self.

Try contacting this gentleman :- http://www.herpvet.co.uk/PracticeIntro.pdf

Dipsy66 said:

May I ask, although I hope never to have to do it, HOW did you euthanize your axies?

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Sorry i never realised there were new posts here

It really is a terrible feeling to do. But its also a terrible feeling taking care of a baby axolotl that you know is suffering, i always wait till they stop eating before considering, otherwise they will just starve to death which is cruel

There is an article on caudata culture that explains all the humane ways of euthanizing caudates. A few were a little wonky and some require the vet. I got recommended clove oil(you find it where you find tooth ache relief at the drug store)
The article had instructions to euthanize peacefully but ultimately you put a few drops in a bottl, shake it up since its a oil and just floats, and add it to the tub that your axie is in. You need to constantly be moving the water, you do this until they are heavily sedated, an then you repeat by adding more( a lethal dose) apparently if you add it all at once it makes them freak out which is cruel, so you do it slowly. The babies i had to euthanize were tiny and it took about 40minutes..

Furnesss said:

Do you really think he can eat the pebbles he's had them for years?

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Your Axolotl may not have swallowed the stone now if it is the cause of bloating, he could have done it a while ago and it just shifted to a spot where now it is causing problems.

Alkylhalide said:

. The babies i had to euthanize were tiny and it took about 40minutes..

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40 minuets seems like a long time to die, cant you use pentobarbital like they do for dog? it painless makes the animal go to sleep in 10 seconds then within 20 seconds the drug depresses the brain, respirator and circulatory system to the point where it fails but the animal does not feel anything because it is knocked out by this point

I just used whT information i could find and thought it through a lot before doing it.. Out of all the options i found in the article it was the best that i could do myself.. They sedate within seconds, im sure they die soonerthen 40minutes but i just didnt want to risk it.

Its never an easy thing to do and i was just trying to do what was right to the best of my abilities at the time and i could not just flush him or something

Alkylhalide said:

Sorry i never realised there were new posts here

It really is a terrible feeling to do. But its also a terrible feeling taking care of a baby axolotl that you know is suffering, i always wait till they stop eating before considering, otherwise they will just starve to death which is cruel

There is an article on caudata culture that explains all the humane ways of euthanizing caudates. A few were a little wonky and some require the vet. I got recommended clove oil(you find it where you find tooth ache relief at the drug store)
The article had instructions to euthanize peacefully but ultimately you put a few drops in a bottl, shake it up since its a oil and just floats, and add it to the tub that your axie is in. You need to constantly be moving the water, you do this until they are heavily sedated, an then you repeat by adding more( a lethal dose) apparently if you add it all at once it makes them freak out which is cruel, so you do it slowly. The babies i had to euthanize were tiny and it took about 40minutes..

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Thanks - I hope I never have to do that.

Alkylhalide said:

I just used whT information i could find and thought it through a lot before doing it.. Out of all the options i found in the article it was the best that i could do myself.. They sedate within seconds, im sure they die soonerthen 40minutes but i just didnt want to risk it.

Its never an easy thing to do and i was just trying to do what was right to the best of my abilities at the time and i could not just flush him or something

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Im not judging you or saying what your doing is wrong sorry if it cam out that way. I was just wondering if it was possible to do it in general. i still think a death that long for any living thing would be cruel.But that my opinion. hopefully the problem with Furnesss`s Axolotl does not get to this point. Fingers crossed.

No no its okay i didnt take it like that but i just said i did look a lot into it and this was all the info i found. But im sure there are other options but i was not aware of them at the time. Like k said though i dont think it takes that long to die, i just didnt want to risk it because i had very little info on the actual procedure. Just the dosage for the sedation and euthanizing..

They were all 1" or smaller.. I would end up bringing any of my juveniles/adults to the vet if anything happened to them.. But i knew the babies were just going to suffer longer.

There is really limited information on axolotls other then caudata for me to use for reference. I take peoples advice and do as much research as i can but sometimes you need to figure things out fast and have to just try.. Because doing nothing is worst.

I thank you for your suggestion though and if it ever has to happen again(pray to god) i would take it into consideration. Though i have no more babies and dont plan pn breeding for a while so all the ones i currently have are 6+" so i would probably end up taking them to the vet. If they would need to be euthanized i would no be able to ha dle it emotionally ive grown to attached to them.

I don't believe using clove oil to euthanize is inhumane... I recently had to euthanize an African cichlid who had developed hole in the head syndrome. I had him for years and was very much attached. He gradually declined to the point of developing neurological issues, and when he stopped eating, I made the decision to end his suffering. The clove oil method was the only humane way I could find to euthanize him myself since a veterinarian was not an option. He was sedated within seconds and passed away peacefully a few minutes later when I worked up the nerve to apply the lethal dose... I kept his container on my counter for an hour or so just to be sure he was in fact gone and not simply heavily sedated, but I now know this was unnecessary. Overall I'm glad I ended it for him as peacefully as I could, and if I had to do it again, I would.