Illness/Sickness: Please help! I'm very worried

Came home today to my female qild axolotl looking very pale and sad. On further examinations I noticed her front right limb looks broken and twisted with skin torn off. She is in the tank with a male who is the same age/size (they have been in the tank together for over a year)
I'm not sure if I should be taking her out to separate them, fridging her or what I should be doing. My assumption is that she got herself caught in their castle cave some how because she likes to try and contort herself into places she can't fit.
Any advice is welcomed. Thank you very much.

Wild****

It could have been caused from the decoration or a bite from the male. Axolotls can attack others even if they have been living together for years.
My gut instinct is to assume it was an attack, do you have enough hides? At the least I always have one per axolotl, plus one (3 hides for 2 axolotls). When were they last fed? If they get hungry they can snap at each other.
Can you post some pictures? You can add attachments with the paperclip icon. If the arm is twisted you may need to snip it off so it heals properly (or take it to a vet so they can do it). You don't need to separate them unless you see fighting or further injuries, but sometimes it is easier to separate them so you can monitor her.
She should heal up fine in the tank as long as water parameters are optimal and temps nice and low. Keep an eye out for fungus as it will be attracted to the wound.

I feed them every other day. They were fed yesterday and then 2 days prior. I may need to add an extra hide in there
I never really thought about that because they usually hide together. I was worried about the fungus too, which was another reason why I was thinking of taking her out of the tank. I think I would be afraid to snip it off. She's my buddy. She likes me to hold her and pet her. I'm afraid she would be scared of me then and I might hurt her or do it wrong. Her color does look better right now and she did eat well yesterday.
I have several pictures. Attaching as many as I can....once I figure out how too.

If you're more comfortable having her in a tub then you can do that, just do daily water changes so ammonia, etc, doesn't build up.
She does look a little skinny so I would recommend feeding every day. If you're not feeding them night crawlers see if you can get some. They put weight on really easily on that diet. You want her (and his) body the same width as their heads.
The arm may fall off on it's own, but if you don't want to snip it off it may heal backwards. You could call around some vets to see if any of them can do it. It will heal regardless of what you do so you don't need to stress too much about it.
You say she likes to be held and pat but I'd say not to do that too much so you don't damage her skin. The oils on our skins (and anything else if we don't disinfect first) can be harmful.
Goodluck and update us on her condition

I thought she looked skinny too but she normally doesnt look that skinny. I started feeding every other day instead of everyday because they weren't eating all of the food and I started getting planaria and having a very difficult time getting rid of it.
I don't hold her frequently, just ocassionally and I am very careful of my clean hands.
What are the night crawlers I should be feeding?

Also, how would I snip it? What is the proper tool and technique to use?

Thank so much for your time and help. I appreciate it.

Nightcrawlers are basically really big and fat earthworms. I think in USA they are pretty easily available either from bait stores or ordering them online. The most common I would think are Canadian. There are also African and European species. Any of them are fine. They are big so sometimes you may need to cut them up so they are easier to eat.
If you amputate you will need really sharp sterile scissors (medical grade, not kitchen scissors) and another set of hands. Personally I would go to a vet, only do a home one when you have no other option. When cutting you will cut through bone, so it's not for the faint hearted. Search the forum for amputation threads, so you can decide if it's the best option for your axie.
The process I believe is to fridge the axolotl for a day or so, thoroughly sterilise your instruments and hands, then your helper hold the axie with the arm stretched out and you snip just above the wound. There shouldn't be too much bleeding (especially if you have fridged beforehand). You would want to read up on it though, I haven't had to do anything like that so I only know the basics.
Like I said I would highly recommend going to a vet.

Ok, thank you very much.
I have been looking for a vet in my atea and have not yet come across one that offers services for axolotls. I am continuing my research.
Thanks for your time

Vets can be a challenge...I'm hoping that if I need one for my axies the one I took my dog to when she was still with us can give me a referral, because while i don't think i could do better for cats and dogs in this city, i don't believe she does exotics. which topic, do you have any more mainstream pets and could their vet do the same for you?


Nightcrawlers are at very least *called* canadian nightcrawlers, I get them at the harware store near where they keep the fishing gear. one caveat, the ones that they sell as bait are flaming huge, so even my big girls don't need more than two...and two is only if they are *very* hungry. my little guy, Alexander, needs to have his worm cut in to very small pieces because the girth is such that a piece as long as, say, a worm the size i find in my garden when it's less dry is entirely too big for him to swallow. Also he can't finish a whole worm, so you want to watch that.

Ok, thank you. I will look for them and keep all of this in mind.
I am also currently looking for a new, more reliable vet for my dogs. I suppose I could call and ask the old vet, or any vet really. Never even thought to. Thanks!

Let us know how you go searching for a vet/your axies recovery

Thank you, I was able to get through to the breeder that I got one them from, and she advised me to do a tea bath. I have had my girl out of the tank, fridged, and she is almost all healed. She has shown good healing much quicker than I expected. She still babies the leg, however it is no longer facing backwards and she does have controlled movements of it.
Thank you so much for all the advice and time spent!

Great! Thank you for the update!