Severely damaged limb

leticiaquiles · Jun 22, 2018

Approx 4 y/o male axie, rotting? front right limb, has lived with siblings since hatch, never any aggression, water is good, all other axies normal, have already separated, vet appointment for Monday, any ideas on how to keep him comfortable over the weekend? Thank you.

Giuseppe · Jun 23, 2018

He looks extremely emaciated. Has he been eating normally? I think I would keep him fridged, doing 100% water changes at least once a day til you can see the vet.

Hayleyy · Jun 23, 2018

Oh my god! How horrible! Keep him in the fridge until your vet appt. He also looks incredibly skinny, what is his diet and how often does he eat?

leticiaquiles · Jun 23, 2018

Thank you for your advice!

He lives with his brother in a 45 gallon divided tank, he and his brother on one side, 2 sisters on the other, so he only shares his food with his brother. He has always been super thin since hatch, his albino siblings are all hefty. I feed once/day, in the morning, one cube of bloodworms, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp or krill, divided among the 4. The food goes onto a serving dish and both boys go at it. I have never witnessed any bullying or aggression and he seems to eat as much as his heftier brother so I assumed he was just skinnier by nature, since he has always been skinny. Do you feel I need to increase the amount of food?

My boy is alive and more active this morning, having spent the night in separate housing. I had fed him 4 bloodworms last night and just now, he ate 8 more in succession. I am headed to aquarium shop this morning, I will ask for blackworms. What else can I rotate into their diet?

If I do put him in the fridge, for how long? The entire weekend? He is in a room with a/c now and is more active this morning, than he was last night.

Thank you for this help.

Giuseppe · Jun 23, 2018

I would definitely recommend you feed more, he may be naturally thinner than the albinos but he still appears too thin. Good rule of thumb is their body should be as least as wide as their head. Nightcrawlers or red wigglers are a great nutritious food to add in. I would feed him until he won't take anymore for now, maybe feeding twice a day if possible. There's a sticky guide for fridging at the top of this forum I think, and I'd keep him in til you can see the vet. Remember to keep some dechlorinated water in the fridge with him so there's no temp change when you do water changes.

Hayleyy · Jun 23, 2018

I also recommend nightcrawlers. Mine was skinny when I got him and once I started him on nightcrawlers he fattened up to the right size within a couple of weeks. In the meantime feed him more food until he stops eating. I don't know if it's available where you live but I give my boy frozen axolotl cubes once a week, they're made for axies and have various fish, bloodworms and nutrients in them, they may help fatten him up. Otherwise use both bloodworms and blackworms, maybe some salmon pellets too.
I would fridge him for the weekend, but what temp does the tank sit at in the a/c room?
Looking at it more it is possible that his tank mate has attacked the arm and pulled off the flesh, leaving the bone. Given the right conditions the flesh will grow back, just keep him well fed and cool, and see what your vet says.

leticiaquiles · Jun 24, 2018

Update on injured axo (see 6/22 post): my boy is much better since having moved into private housing with shallow water, he is more active and alert, the rotting skin has fallen off and his bone is now fully exposed, I got earthworms from aquatic shop yesterday (they were out of blackworms), store owner told me to feed him a worm a day, cut into ~2 inch pieces, well, that was a mistake! Axo boy ate 3 segments, spaced a few hours apart, then proceeded to vomit all 3 by the end of the day

. I cut a much smaller piece and fed it to him late last night, this morning, he had kept that one in and managed to produce a nice poo ball. So far today, he's taken in 2 more smaller worm bits. Monitoring to make sure he doesn't vomit them. I've added a guava leaf (store was out of indian almond leaves) and have done a couple of water changes to keep water fresh and cold. Vet visit is tomorrow at 8:30am. Axolotl folk: any advice on what I should ask vet? Amputate vs no? How much should this guy eat in total, over the course of a day? How often? Although I've had him and his 3 siblings almost since hatch, this is my first time with axos so I have a lot to learn. Thank you for your help.

Hayleyy · Jun 24, 2018

Pooping and eating a bit is a good sign. Keep offering him food in little bits. Keep in mind that he will be less likely to eat in cooler temps.
Normally I wouldn't amputate but since the whole bone is exposed I'm not sure if it might be better (and more comfortable for him) to cut off the bone and let the whole thing grow back.
For feeding you want to feed as much as they will eat in one sitting. My boy has a big appetite so will happily eat two nightcrawlers and still be asking for more (I give him pellets if he is still hungry). I feed him every day, if he hasn't been fed he will snap at the glass when I'm near lol
I see people often feed a few times a week, it just depends on the axolotl. And juveniles are usually fed small meals a couple of times a day. In your case I would offer food every day, maybe twice a day, to get his body shape up.
Good luck with the vet, let us know what happens.

leticiaquiles · Jun 25, 2018

Back from vet. Of course, when I transferred "Gandalf the Grey" into a transport tub, his front limb fell off. I decided to go to vet anyway, vet said break is super clean and there is no sign of infection at all. Keep monitoring and yes, limb should regrow, since Gandalf is an adult, it may not be a full regeneration but the skin should at least grow back with some limb. We'll see and thank you to everyone who gave me advice on his care and diet.

Hayleyy · Jun 25, 2018

Great to hear! And that would have been a tad shocking for the arm to fall off haha. Watching limbs grow back is super interesting, post updates here as it goes along

It's true that regen isn't always perfect, Bucky's fingers are a little shorter than the other arm

leticiaquiles · Jun 27, 2018

Update: Gandalf the Grey is recovering but now seems to have a new issue...loss of appetite and constipation? Gandalf was steadily eating, small pieces of worm, until yesterday afternoon, when he began to refuse to eat. Last night, he took 2 small bloodworms, and this morning, 1 small mysis shrimp, but he is absolutely refusing even small pieces of worm. His activity level has decreased and he has not passed any poo since 6/24. What can I do to help? He is in separate housing, shallow tank, room has a/c, temp is ~66. I am doing regular water changes. Thank you.

leticiaquiles · Jun 28, 2018

Gandalf finally pooped yesterday, then ate only a small piece of worm. Today he wasn't hungry at all but he looks better so I'm hoping he's just focused on healing and regenerating.

Hayleyy · Jun 29, 2018

Great sign that he pooped. Keep offering food, he would just be stressed from everything.

tundrabadger · Jun 29, 2018

How do you go about offering him food? I'm asking because one of my girls can be kind of weird with it. actually I have an example from like 15 minutes ago, so this is very fresh. Sometimes I'll offer her food and nothing, right? Which isn't a big deal, she and her tank mate don't eat every day. But sometimes if I try again in a little bit she's like "Hey, a worm! This is he best day ever!"...and she isn't always great at telling me when she's hungry, so it's worth trying again just in case. Her tankmate on the other hand is a mooch, right now she's telling me that the worm I gave her was a great appetizer but she would like the main course now please. So I kind of have to tailor how I go about feeding to their personalities is my point. But like Hayleyy says, he's probably stressed as well, he's having a rough week.

Vita is still giving me attitude, i should go feed her before she gets the top off somehow

leticiaquiles · Jun 29, 2018

Gandalf the Grey is making ME more grey!!!! He has now gone 2 entire days without eating or pooping. He seems fine, is alert, limb looks good, I'm still doing daily water changes, added a bit of furan-2 to ward off infection but when I offer him food (anything from worm bits to bloodworms, krill, etc.), he backs away from it and moves to the other side of the tank as if to say " no Mah, no food, no want, no want !!! ".
How much longer can he go without eating and still be well? When should I worry?

Hayleyy · Jun 30, 2018

Honestly he should be okay for a week or so without food. Maybe try some bloodworms if you haven't already. There is a force feeding guide https://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=70199 but only if it's been weeks without food. I've never tried it and it is very stressful for all parties involved.
What temperature is your tank?
@ tundrabadger Your two seem to have completely different personalities haha. I would feed them individually according to what they want. One of my past axolotls would only eat every couple of days, but my current boy will go crazy if it's been 20 hours between feedings

But always watch their bodies (if they're too skinny, or too chunky, which is surprisingly possible lol)

leticiaquiles · Jul 3, 2018

Advice needed on injured axo (prior posts 6/22, 6/25, 6/27): Gandalf the Grey is doing well, he remains separated from his brother, in a shallow tank, his limb looks clean but I do not see any growth, I continue to do daily water changes plus a touch of furan-2 and a guava leaf, tank temp ~66, he is eating more regularly now, the nightcrawler worms were too thick for him so I switched to trout worms, he poos every 2 days or so, questions:

1) should I continue daily changes or start doing every other day?

2) 100% changes or start working towards 75% or 50% ?

3) when might I see some regrowth?

4) when can he return to his home with his brother? it is a 45 gallon tank (he and his brother are on one side so 22.5 gallons)

Thank you for all your help so far. This guy is a trooper.

Hayleyy · Jul 4, 2018

It looks like he has started to put some weight on!!
You don't have to keep them separate but it's a good idea only so you can control the water conditions better and make sure there is no fighting. Also keeping them separate will save your other axie in case this one develops fungus.
But, as long as the tank can stay cool enough it is okay. You could even use a divider with them if you want.
It'll take a little bit to get started with the healing but once it's going it will happen quickly. The skin seems to have started healing from the first pictures at least.
Wait 2 days before changing the water and test it. If ammonia hasn't built up you'll be okay doing changes every 2 days. If there is any ammonia however I'd stick with changing every day. Keep doing 100% only because there is no filter.

leticiaquiles · Jul 12, 2018

Gandalf the Grey's limb is REGROWING

Thank you to everyone here who helped me when Gandalf lost his limb last month. He first lost his 'hand' and forearm, and a bone hung on, but on 7/4, the entire limb fell off, leaving a clean wound and now, days later, you can see something growing! Gandalf remains separate from his siblings, so I can monitor him better, but I think I can return him soon. Also, all 4 of my axos are super happy now that I improved their diet based on your advice. Thank you much.

Hayleyy · Jul 12, 2018

So happy to hear! Please do keep us updated. It's really cool watching them regrow limbs!

Severely damaged limb

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