Axolotl seizure???!

cmh66

cmh66

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HELP! Please! I just got off of the phone with a vet and he gave me good information about why my axolotl has been acting sick (pale, throwing up, little appetite, etc) but the reason why I am here now is because he is having weird spasm attacks as well. I moved him to a separate bowl to completely clean out the tank and it looked like he was going to just jump right out of the bowl....what does this mean......he didn't stop for about five seconds.
 
He has also been doing this about once every ten minutes....I am really scared. He has never done this before and he is still a juvenile. The tank parameters are perfect...I just checked twice.
 
What did the vet say? Did your axolotl lose its slime coat for any reason?
 
He said to do a 75% water change, up the temperature a bit (which I though was unnecessary) and keep seeing if he will receive worms. That's all I can do. But he's still white as a ghost it's almost sickening (he's a wild type). He doesn't even move out of the way when I try to give him worms.
 
cmh66 said:
up the temperature a bit
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What was your temperature at and what did he want you to increase it to? Does the vet you contacted specialize in exotics/amphibians?
 
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It's about 65 and he said a few degrees to make him comfy? Makes no sense...But I am super worried. I can't find out anything ( I have been researching for hours! ) I am so afraid he won't make it.
 
Raising the temperature doesn't sound correct. Does the vet have experience with axolotls?
 
michael said:
Raising the temperature doesn't sound correct. Does the vet have experience with axolotls?
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Yes, he specializes in exotic animals (Birds/amphibians/etc). He seemed to know a lot and said a lot of things I already knew from research. So, I believe he knew what was happening...But there is no noticeable change in Randy's health. I'll provide some pictures of him healthy and him tonight.
 
Isn't it possible that your axolotl might be shedding its skin due to some other type of stress? Do you have any bright lights or is there a lot of activity outside its tank?

Someone whose got more experience with the shedding might be able to help with what I'm going at.
 
Elise said:
What was your temperature at and what did he want you to increase it to? Does the vet you contacted specialize in exotics/amphibians?

Would you mind posting all your water parameters and pictures of your juvenile? Can you also tell us why he was placed into a separate bowl and what the water source and temperature of the bowl was? How about a timeline of when this started happening? Basically any details you can provide will save us from having to pry as there is a lot of vagueness here.
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pH was a bit high, about 7.6 or higher.
Ammonia was 0
Nitrite was 0 and Nitrate was 0.

He was placed in to another bowl because I was doing a complete cleaning of his tank. The water was the same as the water in his tank before I gave him new water. This all started happening on monday. He first threw up all of his food and I thought I just overfed him. Then he started to reject worms I would offer him. Then he just lost all of his pigment.
Here is a picture of him before this happened.
6tcqb6.jpg


And after....

15zja6p.jpg
 
Boomsloth said:
Isn't it possible that your axolotl might be shedding its skin due to some other type of stress? Do you have any bright lights or is there a lot of activity outside its tank?

Someone whose got more experience with the shedding might be able to help with what I'm going at.
Click to expand...

He rarely ever has lights on him, except maybe dim light during the day time ( he is in a far corner of the room with very little light) or if I am taking pictures or trying to see where he is to feed him or clean out poo. There are only two of us living in this house and we barely have any loud people over or scary activities outside of the tank.
 
Also, to add to all of this I got him from a pretty bad pet store. I nursed him back to health somewhat before this happened. I have had him for less than a month and got him when he was very small, emaciated, and pretty pale. Could it be some sort of nasty thing he got in the store? Sorry for all of the vagueness before-hand.
 
When you bought him was he kept on gravel? I'm just thinking maybe he has some blockage. I'd bet the store just got him in for less than a week before you bought him and that's plenty of time to eat something he shouldn't.
 
Boomsloth said:
When you bought him was he kept on gravel? I'm just thinking maybe he has some blockage. I'd bet the store just got him in for less than a week before you bought him and that's plenty of time to eat something he shouldn't.
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Nope, they had him on the same black sand I have in the tank now. :(
 
You wouldn't have happened to buy him from dark water aquatics did you?
 
Wow that was just off of the fact you're in florida and I know they only use black sand, also your wildtype is almost identical to the one I bought from them. The lady who owns the store has very very basic knowledge of axolotl husbandry from the conversation I had with her. One thing that someone else on this site said about them was they didn't believe or keep their axolotls at the recommended temperature. They also kept the axolotl I got with a betta fish, some small crayfish, and other invertebrates. I am guessing it might have still swallowed something in the tank, try lowering the temperature and really keep an eye out for droppings.
 
Boomsloth said:
Wow that was just off of the fact you're in florida and I know they only use black sand, also your wildtype is almost identical to the one I bought from them. The lady who owns the store has very very basic knowledge of axolotl husbandry from the conversation I had with her. One thing that someone else on this site said about them was they didn't believe or keep their axolotls at the recommended temperature. They also kept the axolotl I got with a betta fish, some small crayfish, and other invertebrates. I am guessing it might have still swallowed something in the tank, try lowering the temperature and really keep an eye out for droppings.
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That's crazy weird! You scared me, I thought you would be one of the owners or something, and I wasn't talking very nicely about their store. :lol: But they really did NOT know what they were talking about when they were telling me about the axolotl. I just nodded my head and ran out of the store with a new baby axolotl to nurse back to health.
Would swallowing something bad cause him to change colors like he has? Should I put him in the fridge at all? I'm not too sure how I feel about it, but if it's necessary to save his life I will in a heart beat.
 
Update: Offered him another black worm, he let me dangle it in front of him and perked his head a little, but then ignored it. I just looked over at him and he swam from one side of the tank to the other ( A lot more active than earlier). I am happy he is moving about, but still completely worried about the drastic color change and going on his third day without a meal.
 
cmh66 said:
That's crazy weird! You scared me, I thought you would be one of the owners or something, and I wasn't talking very nicely about their store. :lol: But they really did NOT know what they were talking about when they were telling me about the axolotl. I just nodded my head and ran out of the store with a new baby axolotl to nurse back to health.
Would swallowing something bad cause him to change colors like he has? Should I put him in the fridge at all? I'm not too sure how I feel about it, but if it's necessary to save his life I will in a heart beat.
Click to expand...

If he swallowed something that is blocking his digestive pathways it could easily stop him from eating and cause stress. He could have also been stressed just by being kept in water that's way too warm for extended periods. I'm guessing that most of the tanks in that store are kept above 72F just from the few times I went there. Its the sad part about axolotls in most pet stores is the store rarely sets up or knows about their temperature needs.

EDIT: keep trying to feed him and make sure the water parameters are perfect, no ammonia/nitrite, low nitrate and keep the temperature low. He might need some time to recover.
 
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