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Illness/Sickness: Axolotl refuses to eat

vanjaif

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Hey!

This is Skittles.
She is about 12 cm, but her age is unknown.

I picked her up 2 days ago.
The previous owner kept her:
- On gravel.
- With all kinds of fish.
- With water temperature of over 25 degrees celsius. :mad:

So she is in a very bad shape and if that wasn't enough I cant get her to eat.
She gets stressed out of her mind if i come close to the water, so hand feeding isn't an option atm.
But other wise she acts pretty normal compared to how my other lotls acted at her size.

She has been pooping a lot this last 2 days (more then my grown axolotls normally do in a week).
I have counted 8-9 pieces of gravel in her poop this far, And Im pretty sure she cant possible fit anymore in her tummy.

Since its Sunday the pet store is closed so I cant buy her any other food before tomorrow. And she refuses to touch the frozen bloodworms.

What should I do?
I don't know when she ate last time, how long can she survive while refusing food?

Just give me any advice you have on food and how to nurse her hack to health.



And last but not least: Is my axolotl an axolotl?
So many people have commented that she looks like an Andersson Salamander or some other kind of salamander.
And since Axolotls are the only kind i have had i cant really know for sure.

Thank you :happy:
 

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LSuzuki

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Skittles is a real cutie. :happy:

She looks very plump, so I wouldn't be worried about her not eating yet. Adults can go for quite a long time without eating, and while she isn't an adult, she had been eating well (assuming it isn't all gravel in there), so a couple of days shouldn't cause permanent harm.

She has undergone some pretty big environmental changes, so it is probably just stress that is keeping her from eating. Plus, you are probably feeding her something new.

Have you tried feeding her pieces worms? Around here, we can get them at convenience stores (fish bait) that are open Sunday.

"What should you do?" Keep doing what you are doing, which is giving her good care. Be patient. Eventually, she will figure out that the food is food, and that your hand brings food, and that this new place is safe.

I have no idea if she is a "pure" axolotl or not, but is no one with more amphibian experience comments on this post, you could try posting in some of the other forums.
 

Stupot1610

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Hey!

This is Skittles.
She is about 12 cm, but her age is unknown.

I picked her up 2 days ago.
The previous owner kept her:
- On gravel.
- With all kinds of fish.
- With water temperature of over 25 degrees celsius. :mad:

So she is in a very bad shape and if that wasn't enough I cant get her to eat.
She gets stressed out of her mind if i come close to the water, so hand feeding isn't an option atm.
But other wise she acts pretty normal compared to how my other lotls acted at her size.

She has been pooping a lot this last 2 days (more then my grown axolotls normally do in a week).
I have counted 8-9 pieces of gravel in her poop this far, And Im pretty sure she cant possible fit anymore in her tummy.

Since its Sunday the pet store is closed so I cant buy her any other food before tomorrow. And she refuses to touch the frozen bloodworms.

What should I do?
I don't know when she ate last time, how long can she survive while refusing food?

Just give me any advice you have on food and how to nurse her hack to health.



And last but not least: Is my axolotl an axolotl?
So many people have commented that she looks like an Andersson Salamander or some other kind of salamander.
And since Axolotls are the only kind i have had i cant really know for sure.

Thank you :happy:


Your axolotl has been through a lot by the sounds of it, so it probably won't eat for a week or so even though you have it in perfect conditions.
She may continue to pass small amounts of gravel for a week or two, when I got a couple of mine they had been kept on gravel previous to arriving in the pet shop but in the shop they were on sand, and when I got them home they were still passing gravel nearly three weeks after I bought them.
In regard to feeding, your axolotl may be more receptive to live food; earthworms etc. given its curent state. I have to say, your axolotl looks in quite good shape considering what its been through.
She will survive for a while without food, just keep persisting and eventually she will begin to eat, I'm sure. Try and keep her as cool as possible.
Your 'axolotl' does look very like an Ambystoma Andersonii, it is possible it is a hybrid Andersonii X Mexicanum or it may just be a nice looking axolotl.

Stuart
 

vanjaif

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Thank you both for the answer :happy:
(I don't know if you get a notification or anything when i answer, or if I'm answering in the right way at all, Im pretty new to actually using my Caudata profile)

I actually got her to eat today! She got me really worried for a second, and I have seen so many pictures of axolotls looking all normal sized, but refused to eat, and it was just because their belly was totally full of gravel :shocked:

She still acts normal and seem to be doing good. Hopefully she will heal up pretty quickly, cant wait to she how she will look when her gills get back.


Im really curious about her breed, would be nice to know for sure if she was an axolotl, andersonii or a hybrid of the two. :proud:
 

LSuzuki

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If you don't get and answer on this forum, ask the question on this forum: Species, Genus & Family Discussions - Mole Salamanders but not tigers or axolotls (Ambystomatids) at Caudata.org Newt and Salamander Portal I suspect any info on her history would help. I know there has been discussions about hybrids and the (un)desirability thereof on that forum. Some people were trying to figure out indicators of an Andersonii actually being an axolotl hybrid, so they may have figured out some characteristics to look for.

Regardless of what she is, she is beautiful!
 

vanjaif

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If you don't get and answer on this forum, ask the question on this forum: Species, Genus & Family Discussions - Mole Salamanders but not tigers or axolotls (Ambystomatids) at Caudata.org Newt and Salamander Portal I suspect any info on her history would help. I know there has been discussions about hybrids and the (un)desirability thereof on that forum. Some people were trying to figure out indicators of an Andersonii actually being an axolotl hybrid, so they may have figured out some characteristics to look for.

Regardless of what she is, she is beautiful!

Thanks :happy:

I have looked trough the forum but couldn't find much about it. Only about andersoni and morphing etc. or how to care for them compared to axolotls.

I may post on the forum later :happy:
 

vanjaif

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Oops - wrong forum. Here is a link to the thread I was thinking of:http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...mbystoma-mexicanum-x-ambystoma-andersoni.html and I think that forum is the best bet on clues as to if you have a hybrid or not. :happy:


Wow thanks! That link kind of answered my question. One of the hybrids there looks almost like Skittles (my axolotl, not axolotl) :happy:

Ill post my pictures there to be sure to get it confirmed :D

Thank you so much :happy:
 

vanjaif

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After she passed this huge stone (+ 7 smaller ones) she is finally eating like a pig :happy: haha and her gills and toes are starting to grow back!
 

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Bette

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After she passed this huge stone (+ 7 smaller ones) she is finally eating like a pig :happy: haha and her gills and toes are starting to grow back!

Wow - that's a big stone! She is so lucky that she passed it. I'm glad to hear that her gills are growing back.:happy:
 

vanjaif

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haha it's luckily in cm! But as she is only 12 cm, carrying this rock is crazy! it must have filled up 1/4 of her belly.
 
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