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HELP!! Axolotl body spasms

BattiBetti

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Hey,

I got two juvenile Axolotls a couple of weeks ago, a male wild type(HBK) and a female leucistic(Calico) and so far they've been doing ok. However last night I gave them a meal and shortly after finishing up Calico went flying from one side of the tank to the other with her body contorting and writhing unaturally around for about 5 seconds. After that her head was twitching when she was trying to swim.and for about half an hour she seemed uncharacteristically mellow and mopey and just wasn't herself. After that she perked back up, I've been keeping an eye on her all day today and she's been her usual self except she's been hanging out by the filter more than she tends to.

She's a dopey axolotl and sometimes manages to get herself stuck in corners and wriggles around and contorts trying to get out but this was completely different and I was terrified she was having a fit. She seems to be constipated and her cloaca is a little red and swollen but I'm not sure what to do about this?? I've heard about fridging but I'm unsure about this plus we're staying away for a night and following that are having a few long days out and so won't be able to keep a close eye on her. I've been testing the water and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it.

We also went to the pet shop we got her from today and they weren't much help, all they said was to try relieving the constipation by feeding them live food(we've been feeding them frozen bloodworms and prawns) so we fed them some live shrimps when we came home. The woman there suggested that the twitching episode from yesterday could be a result of her trying to go to the toilet and trying to push too hard and freaking out. Aside from this they've been perfectly happy relaxed axolotls.

Does anyone have any idea what could be wrong with her and if it's anything serious?? I'm really scared for her.
 
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Hayleyy

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Sometimes axies will get bursts of energy and swim around the tank quickly, one of mine likes to do it. It can be normal but it's always good to rule out anything bad.
If you can get some I would recommend live worms as a food source. Frozen bloodworms aren't super nutritious and prawns are more of a treat. Nightcrawlers are a great option.
What temperature is your tank? How long has it been since you have noticed it's pooped? Is it eating okay? I've read some people use wax worms dipped in olive oil to help constipation. I haven't done this myself though.
 
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