Found axie on his back

Hi, I'm worried about my axolotl Marquez! I noticed a couple of days ago that he was spending a lot of time on his side up against the side of the tank but didn't think too much of it. Yesterday I looked over and saw him on his back on the floor of the tank, I thought he was dead but he then righted himself. I kept a close eye on him for the rest of the night, he has a swollen throat and went up for air regularly but I think he was struggling to gulp in the air as he didn't float at all, it seemed like he got tired and eventually landed back down on his back.

I took him out and put him in a container with just enough water to cover him and has been in a cold, dark room since to help him and so not to infect my other axie (if it's an infection).

He seems fine at the moment with no other symptoms of stress but still has the swollen throat. He doesn't seem swollen anywhere else and was not floating in the tank. He sank down to the bottom and laid on his back.

Does anyone have any ideas on what the problem could be?
Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Substrate - sand
Tank - fully cycled, no ammonia, nitrite, nitrate.
Temp - 21 degrees C
Diet - live river shrimp, frozen bloodworm, pellets

Thanks, James.

Hi James,

Have you got any photos of your axie so we can see the swollen throat?

I cannot rule out anything without a bit more info and some pictures of the swelling.

I first want to say you did the right thing putting him in a tub. Just remember to do 100% water changes daily with it. Maybe twice if its a big axie and little water.

I have a few questions for you if you do not mind.
Could you tell us how old the axie is? And roughly how big he/she is?

What kind of pellets does he eat?

Is there anything that he could of swallowed/tried to swallow that could of cut the inside of his mouth or got lodged in there?

Now I dont want you to do this if you cant find the proper directions, i will look for it as well, but there is a thread I think(and if anyone else cares to put the link here go ahead) on properly opening their mouth to check for any swelling or objects. In my opinion I would not want to try to do it myself i would rather a vet do it, but if you can find the thread and feel comfortable trying it may help. Now mind you if this is a juvenile please dont try i would absolutely leave it to a vet.

Now with the limited info this is why I would like more information. This can be cause by many things.

Any other tankmates?
fish?
Where do you get your water?
Where do you get the food?

Sorry for so many questions. Answers and some photos would really help out.

In the meantime keep doing what you are doing. If your lotl takes a turn for the worst and you fear that he is dying, please fridge him. There is a fridging guide but really just put him in a tub wraped in a towel in the fridge(you want the temp above 6C) and do 100%water changes daily with water that is in the fridge as well. And make an appointment with a vet!! If it is bacterial or viral(and I really cant even tell you right now with the limited info if it is, i just want to make sure I inform you about everything, so please dont panic we dont even know if its harmless! ) it is very important to fridge him. It gives you more time but the fridge should only be used of its life death scenerio! It os stressful.

Also one last note, the temperature is a bit high. Where are you from?

Thanks for the responses. I will try to get a some pictures up tomorrow. I have been doing 100% water changes. I use tap water treated with AquaSafe to de-chlorinate and then left out over night for water changes (I have a bucket of this water in the same room as Marquez is being kept ready for the next couple of changes).

I've had them about 2.5 / 3 years, I bought them as juveniles, they are now about 12".

Their only tank mate is an apple snail which is way too big to go in their mouths. It's about the size of a tennis ball. There are no pebbles or anything like that so I'm hoping he has just eaten too much or ingested some sand and it just needs to pass through but it was very worrying to see him on his back and have read that it could be much worse than that. I've never had any health problems with either of them before.

The pellets I use are just called axolotl pellets, I get them from an exotic pets website, I guess they are hard enough to cut somewhere as they sometimes eat them before they even hit the ground, but they are small so can't imagine they would get stuck, the river shrimp are much bigger. The shrimp and bloodworm are from my LFS.

I had a go at looking in his mouth earlier with a teaspoon but he didn't look comfortable with it so I didn't force it. He hasn't eaten or pood yet but there was clear looking pieces in the new container that looked like remains of shrimp, so maybe he has vomited some up?!? Anyway he looks comfortable enough in the cold room (there's no heating in there). I realise the temp is a bit high normally, I have a fan to help cool the water on hot days.

Sorry for writing so much, just trying to be thorough. I'll get some photos up soon!!!

River shrimp are notorious for giving axies issues. One of mine is a very accomplished hunter and gets 80% of any shrimp I put in. Then she gets constipated, sometimes barfs, sometimes thrashes with discomfort. I only give them river shrimp once a month for a treat because they all enjoy the chase. Worms are the best choice for food, I've given up on bloodowrms for my adults because they jut seem to ignore tham as too small.
The swollen throat may well be a minor injury from shrimp carapace.

If your axie is generally alert and hungry it's probably nothing to worry about. He may have fallen asleep then drifted onto his back - one of mine fell asleep and slipped between 2 ornaments head down, giving me a fright.

If he's not happy or hungry a few days isolated will do him good, either until the swelling resolves or he poops or he just gets better - you've done the right thing in putting him in a tub.

Failing that - find a vet for professional help.

Hi, I've hopefully attached some pictures to this showing the swollen throat and also his swollen cloaca but that could be the time of year as it is winter here in England. Also a picture of some green stuff I found in his container - could be sick, could be a bit of plant, I dont know.

Thanks auntiejude but unfortunately I dont think he was sleeping as I saw him later land back down on his back after taking some air.

He still looks comfortable where he is, still not pooped. I offered him a little bit of turkey which he had a sniff of but didnt try to eat.

Hopefully the photos will help find out whats wrong

It looks like bloat to me or some fluid retention since his limbs look fat to me too. I would be trying to find a herp vet if I were you

I've read that if it was bloat then he would have trouble getting to the floor. That definitely was not an issue so I'm thinking it probably isn't bloat but I agree he does look a little bloated generally.

To me it looks like something is lodged/cut his mouth. I would highly suggest looking for a herp vet as soon as possible. This is notgoing to go away on its own

I agree, I'd get him to a vet asap.

Once you make an appintment with a herp vet. If it is not within 24hours put him in the fridge until the vet appointment(you dont want to take him out of the fridge so soon so if you get an appt and its less then 24hours away dont fridge him) of course this is if he doesnt start to stress out and get worst. Regardless of when the appt is if he takes a turn for the worst fridge him.

With the pictures though i really suspect infection. Doesnt really look like bloat but if you see that his legs and belly start to swell then it may be bloat instead of an infection, i feel though bloat is more common in juvies under 3-4months old. But I know it does happen to older. Regardless this is a emergency in my opinion to get him to a vet before he gets worst. From your description he doesnt seem sick, but the pictures say otherwise so it may be earlh

Thanks so much for your help!! I've got an appointment for tomorrow morning.

Good luck, Jafftab. I hope the experience isn't too stressful for him, and he heals up soon.

I've got him back from the vets but it's not good news. Unfortunately it's his heart that's the problem. The vet removed some fluid but it looks like it's just a matter of time. He's back in the tank now and looking ok but when he starts to deteriorate I'll take him back to be euthanised.

Thanks again everyone for your help!

I'm so sorry Thank you for posting the results of the vet's inspection, I should imagine it was really hard for you.

My heart goes out to you and your baby.