Bloated Axolotl.. help please!

Hi everyone,

I haven't seen much of my Axy lately, though she has still been eating. Last night she came out of one of her hiding spots and I noticed she looked much bigger than usual. She's very bloated! She isn't floating, in fact it almost seems like she's sinking. I saw some pictures when I first tried looking it up, and she's no where near as big as some of these bloated Axys get- at least not yet.

There are no small rocks in the tank, and from what I can tell no big rocks are gone. She usually eats more and is more active than she has been the last few days. Her water is about 67-69 degrees Fahrenheit, I have trouble getting it any lower though she's in the coolest possible place in the house. The water when tested tests okay in all of my tanks. She has one of the "java moss" plants to walk across on the bottom of the tank, some moss balls (which are all accounted for), and a few plants in the tank.

She probably is at least three inches wide, and two inches tall in the tummy area. She did get a giant poop out two days ago, probably about as wide as she is at the moment. She's been hiding in her hiding spots a lot the last several days, so I can't get a good picture at the moment.

I really don't want to have to put her in the fridge, but I want to lose her even less so if I have to I will. Could she still just be constipated? I feed her freeze dried brine shrimp, shrimp pellets, and the occasional freeze dried bloodworms (though she hasn't had any in a long time). I didn't feed her yesterday, and probably won't today either as I read that if they are constipated feeding them can make things worse.

I'm really worried about her! I got her from a pet store a few months ago, and have since got another smaller Axy in another tank as well who seems to be having some floating problems occasionally. I really don't want to lose any axolotls! Any advice would be very much appreciated!

My first red flag would be the freeze dried food - it's not a very good thing to be feeding an Axie at all. Freeze dried foods expand when wet, and can cause digestive trouble. They also have very little nutritional value - from the freeze drying process. So all around just a crappy food.

As an adult axolotl, they should be on a diet of earthworms. I would switch to earthworms right away and see if she improves.

The other thing, how big are these stones? You would be VERY surprised how big of a thing Axolotls can swallow - if the stones are not twice as big as her head I would remove them immediately as an impaction risk. She may have swallowed one, even if you don't notice there's one gone.

All of the rocks are much bigger than her head, I checked that before putting any in but I may remove them just in case. I have some blocking the bottom of the filter to prevent major water flow.

Where do you buy your earthworms? I've heard buying them from walmart is okay, but I want to be sure they are safe for her and my smaller axolotl to eat without pesticides. I've also heard you can feed them small fish, but I'd feel better feeding her worms as a lot of the fish pet stores sell around here are sickly.

I should also say that there are NO vets around here that can care for reptiles, birds, or small mammals. I'm pretty much all on my own when it comes to taking care of my sick small animals. I hope nothing will happen to her and the bloating will go down soon, I really don't have a whole lot of options.

Earthworms from Wal-Mart are fine.

I would agree on the no to small fish - 'feeder' fish like rosy minnows often carry diseases at the pet stores and you'd have to quarantine them for quite some time before even considering feeding. Plus it's not the best diet anyway.

Post some pics, side and overhead shots

After looking at her today, she seems significantly less bloated. Much better now! I will go to walmart tonight and buy some earthworms to start feeding her. Thanks so much Kaini! I think she may have just been constipated or something.

I would post pictures, but she's towards the back of her tank right now and I couldn't get any side pictures. If I wanted to get one over the top I'd have to hold the camera directly above the water and reach pretty far, which probably isn't the best idea. I'll wait until she comes out and then post some.

Thanks so much everyone who replied, I'm not sure what was going on but I believe she's better now. :wacko: