Won't eat, looking thin.

This is horrible, I don't know what to do. =/ I still can't convince my other half to let us take her to a vet. We did another water change tonight and she's super-curled up and now both of her arms seem stuck up over her shoulders. I feel absolutely horrible about this, I can't stand to see her this way. There isn't anything we can do without a vet is there?

I've uploaded two pics I took tonight to show off her position, they're less clear than some of the others, sorry.
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu112/rachellashare/Axelotl/sickip.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu112/rachellashare/Axelotl/sickip2.jpg

Hi Rachella,

I really wish i could help you but unfortunately i can't do much across the world over a computer.

The more i look at the photos, the more i suspect a neurological disorder, in fact, im also suspecting a spinal injury. Spinal injuries can lead to dysfunction of motor nerves supplying the forelimbs, hence the permanent unusual position of the forelimbs as well as the curled posture. A loss of nerve function can also result in your axie being unable to feed, position itself upright etc.

I want to be frank and honest with you. Without a vet to properly perform a diagnostic work up and treatment, the chances of your axie spontaneously recovering is very slim. There really is nothing much else you can do. The most you can do is supportive therapy via fridging, fluid and supplementary nutrient therapy. The other option is euthanasia.

Vets often use a special amphibian ringer solution or saline solution composed of some electrolytes (and even vitamins/glucose) to hydrate dehydrated and emaciated amphibians. We can administer an isotonic solution (or hypertonic then isotonic) solution to the salamander. Calcium gluconate can be used in emergencies to correct hypoglycaemia and hypocalcaemia. That has definitely been performed in vet practice.

However the skin has selective permeability to electrolytes and micronutrients so you cannot guarantee the axie will absorb whatever you place it in, in the right amount you want. Transdermal route of fluid therapy is not unheard of but i would go with an intracoelomic or subcutaneous injection instead. These routes ensure that the fluids/electrolytes/glucose/vitamins administered is in the right volume and concentration, and delivered to the animal. However for your case, if you are able to get calcium gluconate and amphibian ringers solution, i would guide you through placing the axie in a bath. This minimises the risk to you and to the axie.

Would you be able to get some calcium gluconate and amphibian ringers solution? Try pharmacies and vet clinics. They are not too costly. 1 fluid bag is more than enough. Please get back to me (email or leave a message to me is fine as well. I tend to read them before i read the forums).

Cheers.

That... all sounds so complicated! To me, at least.

I'm not sure how she could've injured her spine, she was doing fine when we put her in the fridge; sitting on all fours, moving around normally. When we changed her water, though, she'd pull her arms and legs in and swim around. Could she have hit the side and hurt it that way?

My BF wants to know in your honest opinion, if we were to get the stuff and try helping her, what do you think her chances of recovery would be? In that same respect, if we took her to a vet, do you think she'd be able to recover? It's good he's asking this because I think I'm wearing him down, although he's almost ready to give up. He's really upset because we're positive that without our room-mate tampering with our aquarium in the first place she'd be fine, not to mention the axelotl technically belongs to him and is his last surviving aquatic creature (he had an asian tiger lobster before [died of old age we're pretty certain] as well as a golden-spotted pleco [my fault, I fed it a bad piece of lettuce. D:]).

Let me know what you think. I would've sent this to you in a message but I'm not exactly sure how to do that on these forums.

Hi Rachella,

You can just click on my name to access my profile page. You can leave a quick note, private message or email me from there. I check my message daily and respond to them first.

If your axie's forelimbs are still able to move normally and only held to the side when swimming, that is fine and normal. However, if the forelimbs are always held to the side and doesn't demonstrate normal range of motion or awkwardly positioned, then its likelier to be a neuro case.

Calcium gluconate and amphibian ringers solution are relatively cheap. A lot of veterinary medicine can only aim to support the axie's own recovery process. Therefore two axies in the same situation with the same treatment can still lead to very different outcomes. It depends a lot on your axie's own healing process and immunity. I cannot give you a guarantee. But since you wanted other options rather than bringing to a vet, this is the closest i can think of that is safe and easy to administer. i would say that this fluid and electrolyte therapy can substantially make your axie feel better in conjunction with the fridging.

I can only recommend you to bring your axie to a vet who can do diagnostic imaging. I would go for radiography and maybe ultrasound. The radiograph can determine if there is a fracture or spinal damage of any sorts whereas the ultrasound can detect soft tissue growths, abscesses and some impactions. Only by knowing the extent and severity of the injury/illness can the best course of action be taken for treatment.

Regards

Sorry I haven't kept in touch.

Mudkip is still alive, she's doing no better and no worse.

I've given my BF until tomorrow to figure out what he's going to do, whether it's taking her to a vet, attempting to administer shots ourselves or euthanasia. Either way it's not fair of us to just keep her in there like this. He's already suggested a few times just putting her back in the aquarium and letting what happens happen but I refuse to let him do that.

Come tomorrow evening hopefully I'll have some more productive news.