Illness/Sickness: Injured Axolotl with Severe Fungus Infection

H

Hynesy

New member
Joined
Aug 16, 2013
Messages
35
Reaction score
2
Points
0
Location
Brisbane, Australia
Country
Australia
Hi Everyone,
First time Axolotl owner here looking for some advice for an injured animal. My girlfriend and myself sort of inherited the Axolotl from our mate and as such are completely inexperienced in managing our Axolotl called Sally.

Anyway we keep here in her own 40L tank with the temp always between 18 and 20 degrees however we had to clean her tank last weekend so we had to transfer her to the larger tank until I was done. Unfortunately she was attacked quite severely by the tank "mates" and as a result has started a very bad fungal infection on all four legs and part of her gill wherever there is damage (pictures attached).

We've started her on the fridging treatment as per the guide here and twice a day salt bath for 10 minutes with a solution of 2 teaspoon per litre of water as per instructions here.

Couple questions, is this the right action to take and if so is there anything else I can do to improve her outcome?

Cheers,
Hynesy
 

Attachments

  • Sally.zip
    4.6 MB · Views: 335
You are indeed on the right track. Keep her clean and cool. Offer her food, preferably live earthworms, but she may reject them while she is kept cool. It may be worth adding Indian Almond leaves to her water while in the fridge too as they may well also help.

If you have a nice cool room you should be able to avoid using the fridge :)
 
Last edited:
bellabelloo said:
You are indeed on the right track. Keep her clean and cool. Offer her food, preferably live earthworms, but she may reject them while she is kept cool. It may be worth adding Indian Almond leaves to her water while in the fridge too as they may well also help.

If you have a nice cool room you should be able to avoid using the fridge :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the quick reply Bellabelloo.

I'll get the Indian almond leaves today, unfortunately since I live in Brisbane, Aus. the room even in winter is still warm so the fridge is the only way of getting he in a consistently cool enough environment.

I've seen people talk about removing badly injured legs, is this too drastic? Also, what do you think her chances of survival are? She's quite young and she's been rather resilient through the whole ordeal.

Cheers,
Hynes
 
Also, would a tea bath help if I can't find the Indian almond leaf, and if so how should I do it?
 
What do you mean to warm though? Its still warm here and my tank is nice and cool at 64F
Mid or low 60s is all you need to avoid the fridge. I cannot see the picture but what was said above is your best best. Do not amputate! It is something that can be done, but must be done by a vet and not at home, chances are they would amputate and do some kind of antibiotic treatment as well. Its all around a bad idea to do this at home. And i can only imagine what a vet bill would be to bring in an axolotl :s i brought a rat in for an infected wound and spent 250$ in vet bills to get rid of the infection, would of been 400+ had he not heale better then the vet thought, and required surgery. I guess we were both lucky :p but i will assume that an axolotl would be more money because not only do you buy the antibiotics but they need to administer the antibiotics at the vet office.
Enough said its betterto see how he does with just nice clean cool water and tea baths or almond leaves.

What i do for minor injuries is steep teo cups of black tea and add it to my tank and remove it by water changes daily. However, since we are talking about a lotl in a tub, I would suggest 1cup per gallon of water, 20minute baths, i would do it during every water change(add him to tea bath while you are doing a water change)
 
Alkylhalide said:
What do you mean to warm though? Its still warm here and my tank is nice and cool at 64F
Mid or low 60s is all you need to avoid the fridge. I cannot see the picture but what was said above is your best best. Do not amputate! It is something that can be done, but must be done by a vet and not at home, chances are they would amputate and do some kind of antibiotic treatment as well. Its all around a bad idea to do this at home. And i can only imagine what a vet bill would be to bring in an axolotl :s i brought a rat in for an infected wound and spent 250$ in vet bills to get rid of the infection, would of been 400+ had he not heale better then the vet thought, and required surgery. I guess we were both lucky :p but i will assume that an axolotl would be more money because not only do you buy the antibiotics but they need to administer the antibiotics at the vet office.
Enough said its betterto see how he does with just nice clean cool water and tea baths or almond leaves.

What i do for minor injuries is steep teo cups of black tea and add it to my tank and remove it by water changes daily. However, since we are talking about a lotl in a tub, I would suggest 1cup per gallon of water, 20minute baths, i would do it during every water change(add him to tea bath while you are doing a water change)
Click to expand...

Thanks, the tank temp sits around 19-21 Celsius at the moment so with the severe fungus on her legs I figured it'd still be a bit high to really slow the fungus growth. The pet store suggested a product called Fungus Cure and Melafix, could these be used in conjunction with the salt baths?

Cheers,
Hynesy
 
Salt baths are all you need to treat an axie with fungus - avoid chemicals completely if you can as they are mostly designed for fish and not all are suitable for amphibians.

Axolotls have an amazing capacity for recovery, I'm sure Sally will be fine, but what 'tank mates' did you put her in with? Axies should only live with other axies, even in the short term, and if you have to take them out if the tank a small plastic tub is the best place for them.
 
auntiejude said:
Salt baths are all you need to treat an axie with fungus - avoid chemicals completely if you can as they are mostly designed for fish and not all are suitable for amphibians.

Axolotls have an amazing capacity for recovery, I'm sure Sally will be fine, but what 'tank mates' did you put her in with? Axies should only live with other axies, even in the short term, and if you have to take them out if the tank a small plastic tub is the best place for them.
Click to expand...

Excellent, I will stick with the salt bath and fridge program.

As I started in the OP we're very new with aquariums and we sort of inherited Sally, tough animal to start with. We put her in with a turtle and two oscars, she use to be in this tank with no issues but clearly inexperience on our part has lead to Sally being badly injured. :( Lesson learnt and we'll be marking a fresh (informed) start when she gets better. Seems rather stupid in hind site now.

Cheers,
Hynesy
 
Oh Dear!

Oscars are not so friendly, they tend to eat everything, mine used to bite my fingers just for removing the tank lid, HENCE my switch to axie. My first one I just thought they are like a fish, get tank, add water and axie..... hmm wrong!

Good luck with your axolotl journey, we all make mistakes, lucky they are a more forgiving creature if you treat them right after.
 
SallySalamanda said:
Oh Dear!

Oscars are not so friendly, they tend to eat everything, mine used to bite my fingers just for removing the tank lid, HENCE my switch to axie. My first one I just thought they are like a fish, get tank, add water and axie..... hmm wrong!

Good luck with your axolotl journey, we all make mistakes, lucky they are a more forgiving creature if you treat them right after.
Click to expand...

Thanks Sally, I'll be sure to keep up her treatment however my main concern now is food, she hasn't eaten in 7 days though she has been in the fridge for the last few days.

Also, I'm from Brisy, do you know and axie friendly pet stores in brisy/GC?

Cheers,
Hynesy
 
Hynesy said:
Thanks Sally, I'll be sure to keep up her treatment however my main concern now is food, she hasn't eaten in 7 days though she has been in the fridge for the last few days.

Also, I'm from Brisy, do you know and axie friendly pet stores in brisy/GC?

Cheers,
Hynesy
Click to expand...

Ive just put Sallie back in her tank after being in the fridge for 3 days after she was hugely stressed (she loved the fridge it was weird, much more calm, swimming around in there like it was nothing)

Let your axie warm up, being at low temps, ie the fridge, slows the metabolism (so i would think like a hibernation). I found that letting mine reach room temp and then let sit for a few more hours before feeding, I tried when she was a bit warmer but didnt seem interested...... when she was warmer BAM! took the worm.

After a huge fast like that, dont push her to eat too much, over feeding can cause more stress, I feed Sallie earthworms, loves them, just from my pesticide/fertliser free garden, or you can buy boxes of worms for "worm farms".

I if in your situation, would maybe chop a worm and feed half only, then wait a while or even the rest of day for the other half and slowly increase her intake, so not to cause too much stress. Earthworms have all the nurtion an axie needs, so given her position, this maybe a good option to help recovery. This is only based on what I have read, all information has come from caudata and personal experience

As for the pet shops...... Read my post in GRRRR. PEOPLE. Im sure they are not all bad, but I have just not found one, I think there is better informtion out there, eg caudata.org

Good luck, hope this makes sence, still getting used to the forums. :D
 
SallySalamanda said:
Ive just put Sallie back in her tank after being in the fridge for 3 days after she was hugely stressed (she loved the fridge it was weird, much more calm, swimming around in there like it was nothing)

Let your axie warm up, being at low temps, ie the fridge, slows the metabolism (so i would think like a hibernation). I found that letting mine reach room temp and then let sit for a few more hours before feeding, I tried when she was a bit warmer but didnt seem interested...... when she was warmer BAM! took the worm.

After a huge fast like that, dont push her to eat too much, over feeding can cause more stress, I feed Sallie earthworms, loves them, just from my pesticide/fertliser free garden, or you can buy boxes of worms for "worm farms".

I if in your situation, would maybe chop a worm and feed half only, then wait a while or even the rest of day for the other half and slowly increase her intake, so not to cause too much stress. Earthworms have all the nurtion an axie needs, so given her position, this maybe a good option to help recovery. This is only based on what I have read, all information has come from caudata and personal experience

As for the pet shops...... Read my post in GRRRR. PEOPLE. Im sure they are not all bad, but I have just not found one, I think there is better informtion out there, eg caudata.org

Good luck, hope this makes sence, still getting used to the forums. :D
Click to expand...

Thanks Sally, our Sally has been in the fridge for 3 days now, but the fungus is still bad but getting better but she's also a little bit skinny now. Do you reckon it's worth taking her out of the fridge for half a day to see if she eat, or try force feeding her, or just leave her be? She hasn't eaten in 9 days.

Cheers,
Hynesy
 
Hynesy said:
Thanks Sally, our Sally has been in the fridge for 3 days now, but the fungus is still bad but getting better but she's also a little bit skinny now. Do you reckon it's worth taking her out of the fridge for half a day to see if she eat, or try force feeding her, or just leave her be? She hasn't eaten in 9 days.

Cheers,
Hynesy
Click to expand...
Bump....
 
Hey,

It's best to keep the temperature constant, so either in the fridge or out. Fluctuating temperatures can make them very stressed, especially if it's a large drop in temperature.

I would try cutting a worm and try give her a small bit. Perhaps leave it in the fridge with her for 30 mins or so and see if she eats it in the dark.

How's the fungus looking now? Have you got any pictures?
 
snuggly time said:
Hey,

It's best to keep the temperature constant, so either in the fridge or out. Fluctuating temperatures can make them very stressed, especially if it's a large drop in temperature.

I would try cutting a worm and try give her a small bit. Perhaps leave it in the fridge with her for 30 mins or so and see if she eats it in the dark.

How's the fungus looking now? Have you got any pictures?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Snuggly, I will get some new photos when I get home, the fungus is looking better and seems largely now confined to the dead skin from the original attack.

I will give the little worm bit a go tonight, she also loves lamb liver, can I try giving her a little bit of that too?

Cheers
Hynesy
 
Glad to hear Sally is doing ok, have you been salt or tea bathing? I would be suggesting tea as salt is harsh on the natural slim coat and stings like mad on an open wound, I have seen many good results with the tea baths and wounded axies.

New pictures would help on her progress as maybe someone can idetify if she still has fungus or if it is just part iof the healing skin, if there is no fungus present there is probally no need to keep her in the fridge, but i would say keep her in a tub with 100% daily water changes until she has healed and has gained weight.

Im not a fan of anmial beef or lamb as a food source for axies, you dont see them preying on these animals in the wild. But if she has warmed up it (& its her fav food) it maybe ok to give her some just to get a bit of food into her stomach then try to give her the earthworms. Earthworms are more nutritionally sound for an axie, containing a good balance or fat, protein, vitamins and minerals for their needs.


Good luck to you and sally
 
SallySalamanda said:
Glad to hear Sally is doing ok, have you been salt or tea bathing? I would be suggesting tea as salt is harsh on the natural slim coat and stings like mad on an open wound, I have seen many good results with the tea baths and wounded axies.

New pictures would help on her progress as maybe someone can idetify if she still has fungus or if it is just part iof the healing skin, if there is no fungus present there is probally no need to keep her in the fridge, but i would say keep her in a tub with 100% daily water changes until she has healed and has gained weight.

Im not a fan of anmial beef or lamb as a food source for axies, you dont see them preying on these animals in the wild. But if she has warmed up it (& its her fav food) it maybe ok to give her some just to get a bit of food into her stomach then try to give her the earthworms. Earthworms are more nutritionally sound for an axie, containing a good balance or fat, protein, vitamins and minerals for their needs.


Good luck to you and sally
Click to expand...

Thanks, I've attached a zip of new photos. Looking at them the fungus looks better I think but generally she doesn't look great. Any thoughts about what's next, especially salt vs. tea?

Cheers
Hynesy
 

Attachments

  • Sally.zip
    4.4 MB · Views: 215
Wow she looks alot better than the first pic. you had posted!!

Maybe with this "cold snap" we are having in QLD at the moment, it may be a good chance to leave her in a tub at room temp and get some food into her.

As salt versus tea baths, I would be personally tea bathing / using indian almond leaves. I think with wound healing tea/IALare better and salt baths are more for situations where there is no open wounds, But given the improvment, keep going with what you are doing, but get her out of the fridge and get some food for her.

Unfortuneatly we cant magically fox things over night...... its just a waiting process
 
SallySalamanda said:
Wow she looks alot better than the first pic. you had posted!!

Maybe with this "cold snap" we are having in QLD at the moment, it may be a good chance to leave her in a tub at room temp and get some food into her.

As salt versus tea baths, I would be personally tea bathing / using indian almond leaves. I think with wound healing tea/IALare better and salt baths are more for situations where there is no open wounds, But given the improvment, keep going with what you are doing, but get her out of the fridge and get some food for her.

Unfortuneatly we cant magically fox things over night...... its just a waiting process
Click to expand...

Thanks Sally, ill try what you have said, where do you get IAL from, tried 4 different places with no luck. :(

Cheers
Hynesy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • Shane douglas:
    with axolotls would I basically have to keep buying and buying new axolotls to prevent inbred breeding which costs a lot of money??
     +1
    Unlike
  • Thorninmyside:
    Not necessarily but if you’re wanting to continue to grow your breeding capacity then yes. Breeding axolotls isn’t a cheap hobby nor is it a get rich quick scheme. It costs a lot of money and time and deditcation
     +1
    Unlike
  • stanleyc:
    @Thorninmyside, I Lauren chen
     +1
    Unlike
  • Clareclare:
    Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus Japanese . I'm raising them and have abandoned the terrarium at about 5 months old and switched to the aquatic setups you describe. I'm wondering if I could do this as soon as they morph?
     +1
    Unlike
    Clareclare: Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus... +1
    Back
    Top