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Illness/Sickness: Axolotl has large swellings by rear legs

Stiky

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Hi everyone!
I've had my axolotl (Jiggly) for 6 months and he's about 6" in length. I believe he's male judging by the lumps by his back legs. I've been searching the forum for any information regarding swelling near the back legs but can't seem to find any. I've seen a lot about bloat, but don't think Jiggly's suffering from this as the swelling is only near his back legs. He seems to be healthy and there are no problems with feeding. The swelling seems larger on some days than others. I think it may be due to constipation. I've attached some photos of jiggly. Can anyone tell me is this normal? Th
Here's the info on Jiggly's care etc:
*Jiggly is fed blood worm, occasional earth worms, and today i gave him some daphnia. He's fed every 2 days. I've been thinking of buying some axolotl pellets for a bit of variation to his diet. There's no problems with his feeding- he will eat whatever is put in the tank (including my fingers!).
*His tank is 30"/12"/13" and I do 20% water change every 10 days (as well as using a syphon to remove uneaten food).
Please can anyone give any advice?! Are these swellings normal? Or are they bad and do I need to take action to stop this occuring? :confused: As I said Jiggly seems perfectly healthy appart from the swellings. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Sadie
 

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IanF

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It seems to be in Cloaca region, so there is a chance he's just very 'male' but my geuss is that something's up. I can see he's on a bare bottom tank currently but was he kept on anything else previously? Also the size of food might be giving him trouble although with the type of food you're using only the earthworms would pose a problem.
If it is swelling or exretion problems I could only reccomend giving him a week or two in the fridge. However, perhaps wait for someone else with more experience to comment before doing anything.

Ian
 

Gamachii

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Hello!

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/illness3.shtml
If you look at this article, there is a photo about halfway down with the title Constipation.

I don't see your Axie arching his tail at all, which is the other symptom, but the swollen cloaca looks the same.

Is there anything small that your axolotl could have swallowed by accident while eating?

You might want to wait for a second opinion, but the recomended treatment for constipation is to fridge your axolotl until it passes.
 

Darkmaverick

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Hi Stiky,

Your axie looks healthy and shows no visible signs of illness or stress. Assuming you have not observed any unusual behaviour and still maintain the tank water parameters and temperature well, i would just say that he is a healthy male.

Cheers.
 

blueberlin

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My young male looks just like that, too. Nothing to worry about - Papa can be proud! ;)

-Eva
 

Stiky

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Hey everyone :D
thanks for all your feedback. Good to know there's nothing seriously wrong with jiggly! The swelling emerged as he's grown a bit so it is possible that he is just well endowed! I'll keep an eye on him though. The pebbles are too large to pose a risk of impaction as such I don't think he could have swallowed anything. The water is about 16/17 celsius so I dont think he's too hot. I've attached a couple of photos of jiggly and the tank! Thanks very much for your help x
 

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