Question: Old age setting in???

Hi there,

I am new to all of this but I have had my beloved axie for 15 years this year, he has had a HARD life and Im worried that it may be coming to an end .
Gizmo has 2 other tank mates, young (well compared to him) 4 years olds who are lively and super funny.
He has no gills left due to a attack from a goldfish, whom was instantly re-homed and I can not get him to put any weight on (he has had no gills for the last 5 years).
He has been very skinny for the last 6 months.
Do they get skinny in old age??
I will try and post a photo soon. But any help or explainations would be helpful!

Give him his own tank

You think his own tank might make him happy???
Maybe there is some kind of food that is high in fat for axies?? I would love to try and put some condition on him.
Does anyone think there is a time for axies where they should be 'put to sleep?' I would hate for him to be suffering as he has been a great buddy for so long.
I have posted photos of the old guy. What a trouper!!!

15 years is a great age for him..and maybe he is slowing down. What do you feed him, generally it is advised to offer earth worms.

He gets freeze dried worms (they come in little blocks) and also some axie pellets that I brought from the shop specially for axies and worms have been a regular treat.

I will start feeding him more worms....one or two every second day???

I'll do my best but Im sure his days are numbered.....everytime he is sleeping I think he is dead!!!

How long can it take before I might see results of his condition getting better, Id love to get some weight on the boney dude!

Thanks for the replies!!! What a super great website!!!

Hi there!

Have you tried live earthworm? The live worms wriggling should attract the axolotl's attention and help stimulate feeding. You can use earthworms from your garden as long as you are very certain that the worms have not be exposed to chemical pesticides or fertilizers.

Just a thought:

At feeding time, do the more lively axolotls allow Gizmo to eat his fair share? I know one of my young wildtypes in particular keeps an eye not only on her own food, but on her tankmate's meals as well. If I don't watch her, she will often try to steal their food (she's quite fast, entirely too cunning, and very greedy).

I am going to start with live worms today, I have used them in the past and he has been great with them.
I hand feed all three separatly to ensure the get what they need and reduce mess in the tank. Gizmo eats well when ever I offer him anything he is more than happy to take it its just his weight that is frustrating, his body conditions is getting worse slowly but surely...I think he is just a elderly axie....

Anyone else have any photos of really old axies???

I also found out today after reading some of these threads I should change my tank arrangment. I have been using stones in the bottom of the tank! I guess Im lucky none of my axies have had one stuck in their mouth!!! Am thinking of changing to sand or nothing....

My wild type (Im not sure if he is, but Im guessing this means the brown, speckled and darker coloured axies) is also very cunning, quite a bitter...is this a characteristic of wild types? or just his personality??

hi jemma and gizmo
that is amazing.....he is 15 wow....you are a great carer well done.....i have a 21 year old cat...yeah i would get rid of the gravel.. i have 1mm gavel in my tank and i can tell when abby eats it cause she has a blue tummy......i think it is meal worms (please correct if im wrong someone) they have a high fat content but you have to cut their heads off because they bite the axies belly....,what is the eldest living axies age??does anyone know??
keep up the good work
lea

I saw on the internet it is 26 years of age, Im not sure if this has any truth to it.
Meal worms! ewww they bite!!!??? THIS SOUNDS GROSS!
Haha I will investigate tho! Oh the things we do for our pets!!!

I wonder why he never grew back his gills? Do axies not regrow gills? Amazing he has lived to be so old without them. Yes I agree. I would feed him live earthworms and mealworms are high in fat. As Lea said, cut their heads off first. Those should fatten him up.You could also just feed him everyday if you want him to gain weight. What a trooper. He has lived to a ripe old age. He must have been taken care of well.

I am also surprised they never grew back, the gills were a combanation of the fish attack and also a fungal infection, what was left of them after the fish attack fell off in huge chunks while I was treating him for the fungal infection. They just never grew back.
I wonder if old age contributes to him not regenerating...
Or I also wondered if he has a sufficiant supplies of oxygen that his need to grow them back was not high enough??

Any thought???

I believe as axolotl get older they tend not to be able to regenerate so well. Also I would offer an earthworm daily until his weight builds up a bit.

15 years! That is incredible! I hope Sloppy Joe & Peanut live that long!

Your axie is very thin. I would start feeding him on a daily (or even twice daily) basis- earthworms and maybe some bloodworms too. Ideally his body would be as wide as his head (from an aerial view).

thanks so much everyone!!!
I am off to gather worms right now...
I will let you know how gizmo goes on his weight gain programme and I hope to get another year out of him!

Thanks again!