Illness/Sickness: Black spot on my axolotls head and its growing ( very slowly)

Hi there
I have a bit of a problem my axolotl DiNozzo has a black spot on his head. At first i thought it was just a change in skin pigment , but now i am starting to question my first diagnosis as it is now about 2 times as big. Although please keep in mind this has been there since about February this year and was seeming to stay the same size (so it didn't really scare me as he didn't seem to be distressed by it) but i noticed a few days ago that it is bigger than before. It still isn't irritating him but im really not sure weather the spot is a problem.
On my profile there are some pictures of him in about march where the spot is still small it is now about twice the size.
Quick posts would be nice please so that this doesn't become anything sinister.
thanks
Brad

Can you post a new picture of the spot? Is it raised at all?

I'm too dim to find the pictures.

Hi,

Checked your profile page, but all your albums are from Jan. or earlier. Do you have them somewhere else? Also, was he a juvenile or adult when you first noticed the spot?

If this helps, here are the instructions on the various ways of posting photos:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1-gen...-forum-questions/55492-how-post-pictures.html

There have been several threads on the subject of black spots on the skin of axies and tiger sals - try searching for "black spot".

No the spot is not raised from the skin.
Brad

I will get some pictures.

Here is a few pictures of the spot on his head.

Brad.

PS If this doesn't work the pictures are on my profile.:happy:

This appears to be a nearly round flat darkly pigmented spot and while some inflammatory lesions and some non-pigment cell tumours can be pigmented these are usually raised lumps.

This is almost certainly a melanocytic lesion but what it is and how it will behave is beyond my expertise, I've found little in the open literature of help.

Normal black pigment spots on one of my wild types grew and spread rapidly when the axolotl was between10 and 20 cm so growth in itself is not necessarily a sinister process. This spot is clearly different to the pattern of the rest of the axolotl and is probably a melanocytic tumour.

It will probably behave in one of three ways
1. grow slowly until the axolotl is mature and then virtually stop - a pattern similar to a freckle in humans.
2. grow slowly but become thicker and continue to grow until it is an obvious and raised mass and then stop - a pattern similar to a mole in humans.
3. show accelerated growth, become a large raised lump causing damage to the head and eye or spread rapidly as other pigmented nodules throughout the body and kill the animal.

My guess is it will follow course 1 but if you want certainty you could ask a vet for an opinion, operative removal, a pathological opinion (Which as a pathologist I can guarantee will be difficult, melanocytic lesions are among the most troublesome to get right even in species with only one type of melanocyte!)

Operations carry risks, anaesthetic death, wound infection, damage to adjacent structures(in this case the eye) etc. If this were my animal I would not get it operated on. Even if this is ultimately a nasty tumour this animal could have several years healthy life before distressing complications merit euthanasia.

Thanks a lot this really helps, I will definitely follow this advice.
Great its good to know that is probably harmless, and when I next go to a vet I will take a photo and ask the vet what he thinks.

Thanks
Brad

i have just thought of another question .
is there any way of getting rid of the spot (safely)?

thanks
brad

Oceanblue:

My guess is it will follow course 1 but if you want certainty you could ask a vet for an opinion, operative removal, a pathological opinion (Which as a pathologist I can guarantee will be difficult, melanocytic lesions are among the most troublesome to get right even in species with only one type of melanocyte!)

Click to expand...

Looks like it could be, but I can't imagine it's a very sensible move on such a small creature.

The only obvious way to remove this spot is for a vet to anaethetise the animal and cut it out, hopefully not damaging the eye in the process. The face would probably regenerate normally and near perfectly.

This would not guarantee a cure if this is a malignant melanoma but would increase chances of long term survival if it is. The downside is operations carry risks, all might not go well and you may have the expense of surgery for a lesion which could cause no distress or suffering if left alone.

If this spot were on the tail or even a limb it would be easy to say cut it off and let the wonderful healing powers of axolotls repair the damage, but on the head next to the eye will require a vet who knows what he is doing.

thanks for the quick replies. and thank you. i don't think operating on a axolotl would be worth it know matter what is wrong i think it would do more harm than good.
thanks
brad