Possibly morphing?

Now I know many people from this lovely site has suggest visiting vets, webcamming vets, emailing vets etc. and trying to help with advice, but unfortunately no vets would like to co operate and I've been doing my best to keep her comfortable.

I have noticed lately when she floats she sticks her nostrils and eyes out if the water, or tries to form a floating "bed" out of plants to lay on or latches on to my floating log with her nostrils out. I have since decided to put her in a separate tub with a sandbar as I have figured out how to keep it cool now.

I put her in and she went straight up the bank with her head out. Is this a sign she's morphing?

Water parameters are all good, this is a picture of her on her sand bed.

It is not my water quality as this her other tank mate and they have been living together since I got it(?) 14 weeks ago. This is the second time they've been separated, once for a week to keep a better eye on my leucistics eating habits. They eat the same food at the same time and this one is nice and plump, great gills, and generally all round healthy.

Don't know whether you would have noticed but has the fin part of her tail started becoming less, the tail more rounded at all?
Also what is the temperature of the tank you used to keep her in?
My axolotls used to do the plant thing sometimes, not sure exactly what it means..

Also, do you have a photo before the deteriation of the gills?

I've definitely seen her tail fin shrink it's so small now, but not rounded. Also her eyes buldge out more than the wildtype. The tank is usually 18-20 degrees but the other day it crept up to 21 due to the heat. This is her gills before

This is her tail, it looks so sore and thin.

Is the axolotl morphing ? You asked this question in another thread and the answer is the same .... No, the axolotl looks like it is dying, sorry cant advise you any more than I have already done about this axolotl. It looks in a **** state and I would personally euthanize it at this point on animal welfare grounds as it is not getting any better and no viable treatment has been recommended that you have not tried.

I actually didn't ask if it was morphing in another thread, that was about her jaw, other people suggested it may be morphing. Oceanblue said to perhaps treat it as if it were, and is not 100% sure what it is. I never got a "no it's not morphing". Forgive me for not euthanizing my beloved pet, but I'm trying my best to keep her comfortable and giving her a chance. I have called vets, rspca, aquariums that house axolotls safely,. She's still eating and is not showing all signs of being stressed which gives me hope (no tail curl, no pacing, no thrashing, no gill curl even thought she doesn't have much..)

Yes she is thin, yes she is occasionally flared up, yes she has deteriorating gills and tails BUT I am no expert, and I'm exploring and asking all possibilities and don't feel comfortable with putting her down before asking all necessary (imo, at least) questions.

hayleykahnita said:

I actually didn't ask if it was morphing in another thread, that was about her jaw, other people suggested it may be morphing. Oceanblue said to perhaps treat it as if it were, and is not 100% sure what it is. I never got a "no it's not morphing". Forgive me for not euthanizing my beloved pet, but I'm trying my best to keep her comfortable and giving her a chance. I have called vets, rspca, aquariums that house axolotls safely,. She's still eating and is not showing all signs of being stressed which gives me hope (no tail curl, no pacing, no thrashing, no gill curl even thought she doesn't have much..)

Yes she is thin, yes she is occasionally flared up, yes she has deteriorating gills and tails BUT I am no expert, and I'm exploring and asking all possibilities and don't feel comfortable with putting her down before asking all necessary (imo, at least) questions.

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I suggest you read the thread again, Bernard said that the axolotl looks sick rather than morphing in his second post and I have to agree. The symptoms of stress that you quoted are not indicative of a suffering axolotl, tail curling is generally seen in small larvae rather than adults, thrashing is generally a sign of poor water quality which is not an issue here, gill curl is a load of bs , healthy axolotls do it all the time. Its hard to tell if an animal is in pain, they tend to hide it very well. If you think your pet is not suffering and you may beable to find a cure your doing the right thing by seeking a treatment but you are running out of options fast. Unless you can get help from a vet I think your probably wating your time and prolonging the inevitable. Please dont think I am unsympathetic to your situation I have had to euthanize a couple of adults over the years who have not responded to any treatment I could provide, you have to make a decision at some point if you cant affect a cure.

I just don't know if I can go through with putting her down I don't know what I've done wrong...

In your opinion, what does a suffering adult look like when it does decide to show it? If she's eating she's not that bad, or will they still eat on the road to death? Also what would climbing into an embankment mean?

hayleykahnita said:

I just don't know if I can go through with putting her down I don't know what I've done wrong...

In your opinion, what does a suffering adult look like when it does decide to show it? If she's eating she's not that bad, or will they still eat on the road to death? Also what would climbing into an embankment mean?

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Dont beat your self up, you can do everything right and still get sick animals. I have lost two chinese fire belly newts this year from no reason I can find, an african dwarf clawed frog from a fungal infection that was highly aggressive and I got drunk and missed cleaning a tank with 500 baby axolotls in who all died over two days (that was actually my fault tbh). I can also point to a couple of experienced people in this forum who have lost whole collections of animals for random reasons , sometimes things happen and we are not always to blame.
You cant tell if an axolotl is actually suffering, who knows what they actually feel ? They cant tell us. What you can do is look at the body condition and decide if it is in pain, they have a nervous system and try to avoid harm so they are capable of suffering . If you had got the axolotl as a rehome and it had been abused it could probably make a full recovery. What you have is an axolotl who has been treated ok who is on a downward spiral, something is wrong but you dont know what. This forum is great for minor probs like fungus or an actual injury but some conditions are beyond hobbiest advice, you need a vet experienced with amphibians to help you. Unfortunately they are few and far between. Like I said, I would personally euthanize it at this point having exhausted all other options but its your pet and you have to decide what course of action you need to take.
Sorry, dont know what you are reffering to with "Also what would climbing into an embankment mean?"

So sad I've had her for so long

Like I put her in a tub with a sand bank so she can climb up and rest since she was floating with her head out of her water in her tank which looked uncomfortable. When she was put in she walked up the sand embankment straight away. And throughout the day goes up for a little bit onto the sand, back into the water, back on the sand etc.. What does that mean?

hayleykahnita said:

So sad I've had her for so long

Like I put her in a tub with a sand bank so she can climb up and rest since she was floating with her head out of her water in her tank which looked uncomfortable. When she was put in she walked up the sand embankment straight away. And throughout the day goes up for a little bit onto the sand, back into the water, back on the sand etc.. What does that mean?

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I have never seen that behavor before. I would say it is a sign of trying to escape the water, which could be a sign of morphing but it doesnt look like it is doing that. How old is the axolotl and did you have it as a baby ?

That's what I thought, hence the title of this thread I thought I was kinda odd.

I've had her since April/may 2011, and purchased her from a bad pet shop. She looked kind of like how she does now when I purchased her. No gills, severely skinny but not red, she was yellow/blueish.

I don't know how old she was but this was her first photo , could you shed some llight on how old she looks in this photo?

hayleykahnita said:

That's what I thought, hence the title of this thread I thought I was kinda odd.

I've had her since April/may 2011, and purchased her from a bad pet shop. She looked kind of like how she does now when I purchased her. No gills, severely skinny but not red, she was yellow/blueish.

I don't know how old she was but this was her first photo , could you shed some llight on how old she looks in this photo?

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I cant tell how old from the pic. You actually managed to get her back to a decent condition

I know, she was so beautiful once treated with care, and I feel terrible she's back to that condition.

I'm sorry to hear things are not going well, sometimes however hard you try things go wrong.

Like humans axolotls do not always enjoy perfect health even if conditions seem well. The head shape isn't that of morphing. I've no great suggestions as to what you should do, it is possible you were sold old ex-breeding stock or there is just some recurring problem such as ingested gravel causing intermittent gut obstruction but sometimes animals just do not thrive and there is no obvious cause or remedy. While axolotls may live for mid-teens of years in cool conditions if kept towards the warmer end of their temperature range they can be old at 6.

oceanblue said:

I'm sorry to hear things are not going well, sometimes however hard you try things go wrong.

Like humans axolotls do not always enjoy perfect health even if conditions seem well. The head shape isn't that of morphing. I've no great suggestions as to what you should do, it is possible you were sold old ex-breeding stock or there is just some recurring problem such as ingested gravel causing intermittent gut obstruction but sometimes animals just do not thrive and there is no obvious cause or remedy. While axolotls may live for mid-teens of years in cool conditions if kept towards the warmer end of their temperature range they can be old at 6.

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Ex breeding stock? I got her when she was little like she grew in length a lot and the pet shop regularly brings in "babies" so I always thought she was quite young ... and I never found gravel poop (quickly changed to sand after reading horror stories here). It has been quite hot for spring but this started in winter. I am so gutted about her.

Do you have any idea what the climbing into sand and back in the water means, if it's not down to water quality? And if she is still eating is it a hopeful sign?

Can I pitch in here? I really feel for you Hayley, it looks like you've done everything for your poorly axie, and nothing has worked. You taken advice from novices and experts, you can't get professional help, and your axie is still going downhill.

Eating is instinctive with axies, just because she is eating doesn't mean she will improve. I would suspect she has a congenital problem or she suffered a catastrophic problem before you got her that she's been struggling with for all this time. It's not your fault.

But I have to agree with Ian and say I think it's time to let her go. I know it's harsh, but some animals just don't make it. Take comfort in the fact that she has had 2 good, happy years with you.

And I do know exactly how you feel, I've had to have pets put down before. It is heartbreaking, but it's better than letting them suffer.

Of course - the more advice the better .

Thank you for your kind words.

If I were to euthanize her, what is the quickest most pain free way? I've heard of clove oil but I heard that can take a very long time so I'm even more reluctant to do it, or is it the only humane way?

Clove oil does take a bit longer, but it is the most humane. The oil doesn't hurt them, as it's what most vets use to anesthetize an animal before going into surgery. The only difference is that you're more or less "over-dosing" with it. The oil will make the animal fall asleep first, and it will die peacefully afterward.