Illness/Sickness: Something cuts my axolotls!

Something horrible is happening inside my tank Since Sunday evening, my axolotls keep showing up with cuts. But very clean ones, on their bodies and back fins. My aquarium has no lid but I'd expect cat scratches to be messier, while these are clean, single cuts.
Now I've just returned from the vet with Douchie, my smallest, my beloved little leucistic who was near-impossible to get and who is my favorite with his cute little face. I found him with his bowels out, floating lifelessly. The vet pushed them back in and put a topical antibiotic. Now Douchie, along with an albino, are fridged. I'm so worried. The albino will be fine, but Douchie is so weak, can't stay on his belly if the water is too deep, just tips over and curls his gills forward Is there anything more I can do for him?

I'm off to the DIY now to get materials to build a cover for the tank just in case it's my cats after all. Inside there are bogwood and rocks, but nothing that sharp I think And if my cats are scratching them, they should be able to catch them, but the only damage are near-surgical cuts...

You need to take everything out of you tank and go over all the rock and wood very carefully looking for sharp edges. Yes, a lid will keep cats out too. But there is obviously something causing this damage, so you need to find out what it is. Assuming it is just an injury and there is no genetic issue causing the skin to split.

You have to remember that axie's skin is quite delicate, and may cut/tear more easily than other animals. Mine always seem to have a little nick in their tails - it heals and they injure themselves again - and I dremelled every edge of their hides and ornaments until they were smooth, and checked all the plastic plants.

That said you have done the right thing in seeking professional help and putting them in the fridge, you know that axies have an amazing capacity for healing, and if your little one makes it through the next week he should be fine.

I hope he recovers and you find out what caused it.

Thanks so much for your advice. Do you think I should feed him? He's rather thin, but I believe I once read that even feeding an axolotl this weak can do more harm than good. Get really tiny maggots or strips of fish?

I wouldn't feed the one with the serious injury until he shows signs of healing - he'll survive a few days, but if you feed him and his stomach expands he could split his side again. Try him with a very small amount in a few days - yes small maggots would be ok.

The other one you can offer food and see if he wants it.

Oh dear! I'm inclined to think it's not your cat, as I think the cat would flip them out of the water if it was going to bother with them at all. I'd guess there's SOMETHING in the tank that's a little bit sharp. I hope your axies make it and I hope you find whatever's causing this!

So I finally found a vet yesterday who then pushed his innards back in, but he didn't dare to suture as he was very weak and suturing him would have required 10 to 15 minutes out of the water, plus, such slimy thin skin might just be ripped more by suturing.

I got a tupperware box with 2 compartments, one smaller than the other, and put each of the injured axolotls in the one that best fits his size. That way he can't move around too much and the water level is too low for him to tip over which happened a lot before. Now he's doing a lot better already, he sits correctly and when I nudge him, he moves confidently while slowly. The other one is probably going to be fine whatever happens, just didn't want him to be in the tank with a wound that big, but nothing was coming out.

Made a lid for the tank and haven't seen new cuts yet.

Let us know when you've found the culprit!

I might have actually. I have two main suspects.
1 is one of my 6 cats who was most active around the tank and also drank from it a lot.
The other one is thread. I had tied moss to a root using normal sewing thread but some of it came loose, forming an open loop floating in the water. If the axolotls wriggled through that as fast as they often do, they might have cut themselves on the thread. I put the root into my tropical fish tank instead.

This thread says I posted it 1 week ago, can't be. Can anyone see the real date? Because their wounds still aren't closed, or even improving visibly! They're just getting thinner in the fridge, while the ones in the tank are growing, so soon I will not be able to keep them together.

You could try a tea bath. The only issue with that, though, is that it tends to tighten their skin. It's just an idea, so don't try it unless someone more experienced agrees with me!