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Axolotl gill and throat probel: HELP

axolotl30

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My axolotl that I've had for a couple of years is very sick. His gill slits are gaping open and his chin/throat is sticking down very far. He tries very hard to eat but he can not keep anything in his mouth. His food either falls out of his gills or he drops it. I've tried two days of refrigerating and an axolotl safe antibiotic. He's in a bare bottom 10 gallon tank but he used to be on sand. Please help me do something, he's slowly starving to death.
 

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Hayleyy

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Oh gosh I'm sorry, how scary for you. I have no idea what it is or what you can do other than refrigerating. Hopefully someone gets back to you asap! Do you have a vet around you with axolotl experience?
 

Bellabelloo

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I would advise you to take your axolotl to the vet for this. It may be worth having a look in its mouth in case something is stuck. This is best using two people, one to hold your axolotl and the other to use a plastic spoon to gently open the mouth.
 

DSaxolotl

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That looks very bad, vet is best option.

But some additional and much needed info
Ph
Ammonia
Nitrites
Nitrates

What are all those right now in your tank?
How does the bump feels like on touch? Rough firm? Soft and meaty?

Were there any objects that got lodged/swallowed? If you had fish maybe some fish bones? Sharp pebbles? Post picture of your main tank

Which antibiotic have you used and for how long?
 

Axolotlee

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It looks like an abscess and needs to be drained. He has some sort of infection. Maybey he got cut in the mouth and the water was bad quality and bacteria or infection set in.an antibiotic won't help in this situation. Axolotyls heal them selves so for this to stay there it must be fluid. I would call the institute that studies them there is a few and ask for advice. In the mean time mush his food up for him to baby food fine so he doesn't have to chew. Or use a turkey baster to push the smashed food down his throat softly . I would try to feed him every other day or every 2 days mushed worms,just a little to get his appetite back first. His stomach has shrunk so he won't eat a lot at first. Small portions the size of a dime will do for about 2 weeks every other day. Keep him in the right temp abt 64 use a air conditioned room or chiller or some fans but keep that temp at 64 even a few degrees will stress the poor baby. Hope he gets better soon. Don't fridge your lotto I don't know who made that up but the temp change will stress him out more
 

axolotl30

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Thanks for the replies everyone. He is very skinny now and still unable to eat worm pieces that are really small. His throat doesn’t seem to be swollen, but more like his gills are sagging down really far. His swimming also seems to be affected so maybe also something else? His main tank was just very plain. A fine sand substrate, a cave to hide in, and some smooth river rocks far too big for him to swallow. Prior to this happening, he had some high nitrates but everything is now under control. The antibiotic I tried was API E.M Erythromycin which is for typical bacterial infections. He’s received about 9 doses over the course of a couple of weeks. Nitrates/nitrites/ammonia are all neutral, and other water conditions are good too. My other guess would be something viral? Not sure, there’s no vets with the skills in my area. I’m trying not to panic but I’m running out of time
 
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