Cloaca swollen or is he a boy or both? Feeding tips, too.

The subject asks the question.

We bought our first axis a couple of weeks ago, so we're not sure what's normal. Last week, the cloaca seemed very swollen and he was floating and walking with the rear end up. It was fridged for a few days, had an ”explosion", and was returned to the tank. I think the cloaca is much less swollen. The rear end up floating seems to have ended and it doesn't seem like it has any trouble staying on the bottom or getting around. Still, I will find it floating on the surface (upright) and floating suspended mid tank or even resting in odd positions on stuff, almost like it's planking.

Is this normal behavior or cause for concern? Can anyone judge whether the cloaca appears normal or what gender it is? I have attached two photos. It is 8 to 9" long and the toe tips are white.

Lastly, I'm not sure whether I am feeding it a good amount. I do an occasional shrimp pellet and I am also giving it about 1/4 of a Canadian Crawler a day.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

It looks like a male. Make sure the temp in the tank is under 75F preferably 65F. As for the diet, yours is pretty much an adult and you should be feeding it earthworms every few days instead of the shrimp pellet every day (can cause digestive issues sometimes) basically feed him until he stops eating and then you should get an idea of how much to feed him every few days.

Slight correction, axies should preferably be kept in the 60-64 degree range (Fahrenheit, 16-18 Celsius)

You also shouldn't rush to fridge your Axolotl, as fridging for just a couple of days can just cause stress.

About the odd positions/planking, axies just like to do that! They're rather silly. My little juvenile just likes to 'plank' on top of his thermometer despite there being plenty of wider perches in the tank. Just what they like to do I guess.

It definitely looks like a male. Can you describe "explosion", I don't understand lol.

If he's got the floaty bum syndrome it indicates gas build up or constipation, nothing too sinister. If it continues for a few days consecutively then fridge.

As for the floating - some love floating! Give him some plants to float on too, my one loves hanging in the plants. If they can get to the bottom and stay there I wouldn't worry.

As for feeding, earthworms are the best and pellets are good to. The amount of feeding depends on each axolotl, as long as their body is as wide as their head, they're healthy and continue feeding every 2-3 days. If it's thinner, feed more and more often until a healthy weight. For example my wild type eats 3 worms every 2 days, my leucistic ate 1 every 2 days and stayed plump.

Yep, all sounds normal to me.
I find pellets cause my axies constpation, worms are much better. You might find more food less often works too.
And it's a boy!