Sick axie or just fat?

lovesheraxies

lovesheraxies

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Howie is 6 months old. When I got him as a baby I thought it was funny how stumpy and fat he was, his tail is not overly long. Well now he's continued to grow (he is 5 inches). However he is still stumpy and fat looking. His color is good, his gills are fluffy and colourful, he moves fine, and he eats well, every second day. Just wondering if he looks okay because some of the others from the same batch died and one has short toe syndrome. I really hope he isn't retaining water, his belly is about the same size width of his head.
 

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Hm, never seen one like him before. Where did you get him from? Did you breed the batch yourself or did you buy it? What kind of things do you feed him?

From the looks of it, it seems like it might be the result of in-breeding, but without the specifics I can't be sure.
 
He eats one earth worm chopped every other day. I have 3 others in a separate tank, they are 10 months old, I got them all from the same breeder but my other 3 look nothing like this little guy. My friend actually was given the eggs from the breeder, she hatched and raised them, the ones that survived don't look like Howie either but there is Cappy still chugging along with short toe syndrome.
 
He looks healthy n happy so hopefully he is just sorta Stumpy and has a great unique look.
 
Oh and my other 3 came from the first breeding, Howie came from the second I believe.
 
Well, since it doesn't sound like in-breeding, and he looks very happy and healthy, I don't think you have anything to worry about right now. It may just be some sort of deformity he sustained in the egg. You will probably have some issues with gas build-up and constipation in the future, so keep an eye out for that. Also, be sure not to feed him too much, as it seems his stomach is probably a bit smaller than normal as well. As he grows, he may even out a bit, but only time will tell. Good luck raising him and all of your others!
 
I have no idea but I have to say he is absolutely adorable! It's so cute he's a little bit different :happy:
 
I've seen this before! I can't remember the exact name but they're called compaxolotls haha he's so super cute I love it!!

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If it turns out he doesn't have any future problems due to him being squashed like that it'd be cool to see if it's genetic.

I wouldn't recommend breeding if it turns out that his life will be shortened or his quality of life would suffer, but he's so cute I can't help but want one!
 
There has been a few like this posted recently and it looks very much like that this is a genetic problem . I have a feeling that these may come from one breeder selling eggs.
 
I saw that side-on pic and thought "he's an axolotl version of a Smart car - looks like someone chopped the middle bit out and stuck the 2 ends together!"

As others have said, sounds like a mutation or faulty genes but if he's otherwise happy and healthy he'll be fine - he looks 'healthy plump' to me.
 
On a side-note, he looks kinda like a frog. Froglotl! I'm also pretty curious about this whole thing, if it's genetics or something of the like.
 
Definately does not look like short toe syndrome at all at least. And if it were bloat his limbs would puff up as well. I think it is just a compact axolotl! Hehe so cute! Looks happy and healthy and as long as he doesnt seem stressed due to the compact size of him I wouldnot worry.

But like said above I would definately not breed him. My unique axolotl nike will never be a breeder as well. As much as i think he would make cute babies :p
 
He looks happy and healthy :)
I've seen one like this before too. Don't quite know the cause of cases like these, but it doesn't appear to be bad health. Just faulty genes or the likes. I wouldn't breed with this one. And if you do happen to have eggs at one point, don't hatch them. Just put them in the freezer. Just to keep the gene pool clean :)

Quite unique looking though. I'm curious... is he a good swimmer?
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Yes he is a very good swimmer, he gets around his tank just fine, he is also very social, I just love him! Unique indeed, I love the smart car comparison! Too funny..... Hee hee.....
 

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He comes to me for pictures too!
 

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I'd call that an eggcolotl :artist:
 
D'aww, it's like he knows how awesome he is!
 
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    with axolotls would I basically have to keep buying and buying new axolotls to prevent inbred breeding which costs a lot of money??
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  • Thorninmyside:
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