Help!! Urgent!!!

Got an axolotl from a friend of mine who thinks his other ones have been attacking her. We thought she'd do better in a tank with only one other axie. So far I'm afraid to put her in.

She is worse than I thought. Her tail has been nibbled back to the point that I would call it a nub, with a wound on the end, where it has been bitten down a cm into the flesh. Her gills look sad as well. She isn't using her hind legs to get around much and they could have been trying to eat those as well, because i think i see a tiny bit of broken skin there too. Her front legs look a little pathetic as well like she doesn't have the strength to use them.

I think she looks very thin too, maybe the others have all been eating whatever food they've put in the tank and she is perhaps real hungry too.

I have her in a separate container, fresh water, with some different foods in the corner; some blood worms and some pellets, the easier for her to eat.

Any suggestions? will her strength come back or is it not looking great? will she repair enough of her tail, and will her legs regain strength? also, how would you coax a frail axie to eat again, and what? will fridging her help here, or is she better treated another way? Im seeing if she takes the food, but so far she hasn't tried to snap at anything. Please help!!!

Don't fridge her, because that will slow down her metabolism. If she's big enough, I would suggest wiggling a worm in front of her face to try to get a feeding response. If she developes fungus, fridging may be necessary. Just remember to keep her in clean, cool water, feed her, and hopefully watch the extra bits regrow. I've heard of axolotls surviving brain transplants, and even partial removal, so I'd expect this to be easily possible. I hope she gets better!

~Anthony

thank you so much, this is more or less, exactly what I wanted to hear.

I had looked into fridging her but, due to her not eating, thought this might not be ok.

I have tried the worm in front of her face for a bit. will try again a little later and will watch for signs she has eaten any blood worms or pellets.. (the blood worms are from a frozen blood worm cube.)

I look forward to any other suggestions from people on here,

But thanks again. looking around the site i see that she could be in a much worse state, attack-wise. I just hope she isn't too starved now to start eating again. could have been weeks since she last ate properly..

I'll also get a photo of her tomorrow when im sure i wont stress her too much. someone can tell me if her tail is bad and also if she looks starved.

Sounds like you're doing what you can for her. Just make sure not to leave the food in for too long, I've lost a starved one before from being too worried that he wasn't eating. I left the food in for a few hours and that was enough. That was before I joined the forum though. Also, sometimes my male won't take a worm from my hand, but he'll accept it if I drop it straight down in front of his head. Maybe that'll get her eating?

(I noticed your profile picture has what looks like gravel under the axolotl. If you are using gravel still, I suggest removing it immediately, as you are risking the lives of your pets by using it. I use sand in my tanks, but bare-bottomed tanks are okay too.)

~Anthony

It already sounds like you're doing a great job :happy: As healing goes, we know all axolotls are fantastic at it so she should recover well in due time. Remember to keep her water cool and clean. Change daily if you're unable to set up a small filter for her. I myself have been fattening a rehome up over the last month and would highly recommend wax worms (if you can get her eating larger food items) for the purpose of gaining weight. They've very fatty. Try not to get frustrated if she's not eating vast amounts to begin with, it's not unusual when axolotls are in new surroundings.

Antgarner said:

Sounds like you're doing what you can for her. Just make sure not to leave the food in for too long, I've lost a starved one before from being too worried that he wasn't eating. I left the food in for a few hours and that was enough. That was before I joined the forum though. Also, sometimes my male won't take a worm from my hand, but he'll accept it if I drop it straight down in front of his head. Maybe that'll get her eating?

(I noticed your profile picture has what looks like gravel under the axolotl. If you are using gravel still, I suggest removing it immediately, as you are risking the lives of your pets by using it. I use sand in my tanks, but bare-bottomed tanks are okay too.)

~Anthony

Click to expand...

ahh.. well i have left the food in while i was asleep. just got up now, would have been about 6 hrs. I will change the water immediately. what's the danger of leaving the food in with her? also, i tried dangling it in front of her face and dropping it down past her nose. it is how i usually get my axie to start eating each time i feed him, because he always starts off seeming uninterested (he always ends up gobbling everything after that first snap)..

As for the gravel, that is long gone. I once had a problem with him trying to pass stones and now have "river stone" size rocks.. no problems with these. It is an old photo and I should have a new one when both my axies are settled in together and I can get a photo of them both in one.

Dinky,
I will be unable to get a small filter on her container, it's just a tupperware bowl sort of thing. I'm not sure how to keep her cool. It's summer here in Aus, and I dont want to fridge her and stop her from eating..


AND SHE JUST SNAPPED AT THE BLOOD WORMS AS I WAS MOVING THEM AROUND HER CONTAINER!!!!

i was worried that they may have had some effect on her and was about to post this and start removing them, but she snapped. I think I can coax her to eat now..

:happy::happy::happy::happy::happy::happy::happy::happy::happy::happy::happy:

If you leave the food in, it will cause an ammonia spike which often has the potential to kill axolotls, more so if they are weak. Sounds like you've got everything down now, though. May your axies live long and die of old age. :happy:

~Anthony

You can leave food in for a couple of hours with no ill effect. Just do regular water changes.

Get an esky, and keep her tupperware in it with some chilled water. You'll have to be religious about keeping it at the right temperature.