24 hours since he swallowed large worm, he's still 'gasping'?

Hi everyone

Well sadly I made a stupid mistake yesterday and fed Lars a whole huge earth worm without cutting it up thinking it would be okay for him. Well he really struggled to eat it and keep it down, and he kept inflating his throat and swallowing again and again, spitting part of it out then swallowing again and really gulping at it. He does this thing where his gills flick a lot and his mouth opens like he's 'gulping'. He's perfectly normal in behaviour today, just this gill flicking/gulping is still going on. I'm getting concerned that he might have something lodged somewhere or he's just feeling a bit 'ugh' after this. Sometimes he stops for a while, then carries on, he hasn't vomited or anything.

What can I do to help him and is this serious? I will not feed him for two days as he looks very swollen on the belly area.

Please do not comment on my mistake, I feel awful!

I have no idea but I don't think it's anything serious, at least that I know of. My axie does that9flicking of the gills) seems like all day long but never has any problems that I've noticed, but again, thats as far as I know. I would just keep an eye on him and see if anything changes....
good luck

Nachtmare said:

I have no idea but I don't think it's anything serious, at least that I know of. My axie does that9flicking of the gills) seems like all day long but never has any problems that I've noticed, but again, thats as far as I know. I would just keep an eye on him and see if anything changes....
good luck

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There have been a few changes. His tail seems to be curled around quite a bit sometimes, like he's stressed, but I've checked the water and there's nothing in there that can scare him. He did almost jump out last night too! He was scratched by an ornament so I took it out, filed it down and after checking again for any sharp points I put it back in.

I'm assuming when you say you checked the water that you tested for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? Also the pH and temperature? Frequently problems with water quality cause behavioral changes. A curled tail in a juvenile is definitely a sign of distress- and by a curled tail, I mean a tight curve in the end of the tail, like the letter "J". It is pretty common for them to rest with the tail at whatever curve is comfortable. It could take it a couple days to digest a large meal, but in my experience they aren't interested in eating while they are still digesting. I would check your water parameters to rule out any other issues, just to be on the safe side.