Help, my axie jumped out the tank!

Hi guys, got a bit of a problem here.

My axolotl got a fright and managed to gain enough velocity to launch himself through the only hole in the tank lid where the filter tubes go. He fell quite a distance and crawled through all sorts of dust and debris before my boyfriend managed to find him.

He was out the water for about a minute, and my bf rinsed him off in a tub of water before returning him to the tank. I'm unfortunately visiting family 3 hours away, and have only seen these attached photos. His tail is cut up pretty bad, and there is this weird darkish brown extrusion on his upper flank.

I can't tell from the pictures what it is, and am really worried that it could be internal organs. What do you all think? Really worried as I can't inspect him myself. I've told my bf to let him settle before trying to get more pictures.

If you're talking about the brown blob to the right of the dorsal fin, that looks like dirt to me. That section is all muscle, so you would not expect to see organs protruding there . Most of the organs are in the belly of the animal. I can't tell from the picture if there is a scrape there too- potentially something could be imbedded if it fell on it hard enough. But it does not look life threatening to me.

Thanks, I was also wondering how organs would show through that part of the body but I was worried all the same! After the initial panic, it seems that the brown blob has vanished, so you're probably right and it was just dirt- phew!

He does have a few major cuts to the tail and a bit of a bruise on his head, so my bf will keep a close eye for infection/fungus over the next few days, until I'm back.

I suppose that's also taught me a lesson- block up any holes in the tank lid, just in case!

You can add Indian almond leaves to the tank. It will help soothe and heal the area as well as providing a mild anti fungal property. The water will turn yellow but that's what you want.

hayleykahnita said:

You can add Indian almond leaves to the tank. It will help soothe and heal the area as well as providing a mild anti fungal property. The water will turn yellow but that's what you want.

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Excellent suggestion. Hopefully, they will prevent any infection or fungus from occurring. The lotl looks pretty good, all things considered. Try not to panic - he can obviously do enough of that for both of you! But yeah, block up that hole!!!
I don't use Prime with the added aloe vera, but others on this site do and recommend it highly. As it is likely his slime coat has been compromised by all the handling and being out of the water and so on, something such as Prime that helps him restore his slime coat may be of benefit at this point. Others with more experience may have thoughts on this suggestion. Good luck, and please keep us posted with progress reports.

Thanks all, reports from this morning are that he's looking a little sorry for himself, and new pictures of his tail look pretty raw and sore.

I'll order some Indian almond leaves, and I get back on Friday so I'll be able to properly inspect the damage. I'll keep you updated!

Poor wee guy He looks a little like my lolt. Hope he gets better soon.

He should be fine - axies can survive quite a while out of a tank, so a few minutes won't be an issue.

As said before keep an eye out for fungus and infections, and you'll be surprised how quickly tails heal.

Here's the most recent picture of the damage, his tail is all cut up along the dorsal tail fin. The very tip is also pretty cut up. He's still in with his tank mate, and he's eating normally which is good. I'm awaiting some Indian almond leaves in the post and am thinking I might give him a tea bath when I get home.

texa said:

He's still in with his tank mate, and he's eating normally which is good. I'm awaiting some Indian almond leaves in the post and am thinking I might give him a tea bath when I get home.

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The tea bath is a good idea.
Meanwhile, it is very good news that he is eating normally and that he is in his usual environment, which will minimise his post-traumatic stress reaction. With good water quality, his tail should heal fine. Just keep a close eye out for fungal infection.

Hi all, as ever you were all right and Rosie (boy with a girl's name, oops) is eating ravenously and healing really well. I gave him a tea bath when I got home last Friday, and although the almond leaves still haven't arrived, the cuts are not red or infected and seem to show no signs of fungus. I wonder if the tail will heal over and the cuts disappear or will the tail always be ragged?

Everything seems good with Rosie, however my wild type seems to be having problems now! I've been noticing regurgitated worms in the tank, and thought it might have been Rosie due to her stress, but I have just seen Toothless vomit up 3 worms I just fed him about 30 mins ago.

I normally feed them 4 to 5 worms every 2-3 days, depending on how hungry they seem. The water is testing through as:

pH- 6.5
NO2- 0 mg/L
NO3- 20mg/L
NH3- 0mg/L

The temperature is sitting at 19°C, which is pretty high (for Scotland!), and it has been very warm up here in Aberdeen. However, I've been noticing vomited worms for about a week and the temperature has only been at 19°C for the last 2 days. Any thoughts?

P.S Thank you to everyone for their help, this site has loads of very knowledgeable people and I am very grateful for your advice!

4 or 5 worms is a lot in one sitting - try feeding little and often, it could be that he can't take a big meal in a slightly warmer tank. Maybe one worm at a time every day.

And count yourself lucky - I am struggling to keep my tanks down to 20C with ice and fans!

Thanks Auntie, I'll maybe try one worm tomorrow, and see how that goes down with him. The temperature is usually sitting at 13°C or less, so it is quite a bit warmer.

I've got some ice bottles freezing at the moment as well!