Illness/Sickness: worried about new axolotl

hey I got a white axolotl a few days ago, I'm new here.
I've had the tank set up for about 3 weeks before I put him in.
At first he seemed fine, walking around exploring his new tank (60L) and I tried to feed him a worm, but he seemed like he couldn't swallow it? So I removed it and gave him some bloodworm instead which he ate up nicely.
Yesterday We moved his tank, as it was just sitting in the middle of the floor and we put it onto a desk. Since then he has just sat in the same place, I don't think he's moved at all and he's gone really really pale and his gills have gone totally white. I tried to feed him again but he didn't want to know, I've even put my hand in and touched him with my finger and he is still just sitting there!

I'm not sure how to attach pictures but I hope this worked, there should be a pic of him at first then a pic of him today

Hello (do I call you chazsucks?),

First, it is perfectly normal for an axolotl to sit around all day. They are not necessarily what you would call active (they don't have to swim to breathe) and are nocturnal, anyway.

I assume you are monitoring the water quality and there is nothing unsual there?

There isn't much to be seen of your tank in the pictures - do you have places for the axolotl to hide?

Being moved around (coming to your home just a few days ago, and then the tank being moved) can freak an axolotl out, too. If you have places for it to hide, then just give it a few days to settle in. You're lucky the axolotl is eating - some touchy ones go off their food for a few days after a move.

On a side note, I recommend not touching the axolotl. They have sensitive skin with a delicate slime coat that can be damaged by our hot, salty, oily, bacteria-infested human skin.

Lastly, worms may be new for your axolotl - or some axolotls just have the suck-spit-suck-spit method of getting a worm situated the way they need it for swallowing. Maybe if you give it a bit more time? The worm may also be too large for the axolotl to swallow; you can cut the worm in half or into smaller pieces and see how that goes.

Good luck to you,

-Eva

hey thanks so much for your reply it's really helpful as i tried to do lots of research before actually getting one, but a lot of it confused me and it didn't exactly tell me the things i needed to know.
You can call me charlotte, i just use chazsucks for every forum so I don't forget my username :S lol

The water seems fine and he has rocks and things to hide in but he's avoided them since he's been in there so I'll take you advice and leave him for a couple of days and see if he perks up

The worm I gave him he kept sucking in and sliding it out. Then he would leave it for a couple of minutes and repeat and he did this about 7 or 8 times which is why I was worried he couldn't swallow it so next time I'll try cutting it in half

thanks for the response! x

Hi Charlotte (that's my best friend's name, too),

Yes it sure seems like a lot of information at first. You'll get the hang of it quickly, though - with lots of emotional ups and downs in between, I'm sure.

One of my axolotls - he is about 2 years old now - still eats his worms that way. It's some kind of "normal", I suppose.

Good luck to you, then, again!

-Eva

Hi charlotte,

Its wonderful to see people with best intentions for their axolotl. Im sure you would soon garner all the information to take care of your pet well! Personally, when i feed my axolotl earthworms, i kind of 'soak' the earthworms in some clean water for about 15 mins before chopping them up and offering them to the axolotls. I think it might help clean out the earthworms especially if they had fed on something such as certain citrus fruits for eg. that can cause them to taste bitter or smell yucky! (Well at least bitter or yucky to axolotls, i would never try them myself )

Eva has given good suggestions to let your new pet settle down into its new home. Hiding places would definitely also give it some comfort. Is your tank situated in a quiet/shady area of the house? I had a friend who once had axolotls smack right in the middle of the children's toyroom and sometimes excessive vibrations such as children running about, can cause them to be a bit freaked out too. Fortunately she relocated her tank to a quiet dark spot in the home!

Cheers