I am raising 25 axolotls. They are all a little bit over two inches long now, and almost five months old. There are two with problems:
1) Baby #1 is an axie of whom I have posted pictures on this forum in the past. He has developmental problems with his limbs. His front legs are very small and short, and his hind legs are almost nonexistant. They're tiny little stubs and you can only see them if you look very closely. I haven't had the heart to euthanize him, so I figured I would just raise him, keep him as a pet and let him have as happy of a life as possible, and of course, not allow him to breed. His stomach is extremely fat, but I don't believe that he has a gas bubble because he is not floating in any way and I cannot see any air in his stomach. He seems to be happy and healthy, and he's eating regularly. Given the fact that his limbs are malformed, I wonder if his stomach is malformed as well??
2) Baby #2 has been floating upside down for the past three days now. I've made the water level in his container very low (just enough to cover him) in hopes that this would make it easier for him to keep himself right side up, and sometimes, I'll notice that he is right side up, but it's only sometimes. A few of my other babies have had gas bubbles in the past, but they've expelled them and are fine now. The point I'm making is that when my other babies had gas bubbles, the air bubbles in their stomachs were clearly visible. This baby, however, does not have any visible air in his stomach. He just seems to be "fat". But he's eating and moving around, so I'm hoping that this issue will come to pass.
All of my babies are kept in separate containers, so they never come in contact with each other. Also there is nothing in their containers (gravel or other things) that they could have swallowed, aside from their food (bloodworms). Each container holds one axolotl, some bloodworms, and some water. That's all.
Please help. I don't know what to think.
1) Baby #1 is an axie of whom I have posted pictures on this forum in the past. He has developmental problems with his limbs. His front legs are very small and short, and his hind legs are almost nonexistant. They're tiny little stubs and you can only see them if you look very closely. I haven't had the heart to euthanize him, so I figured I would just raise him, keep him as a pet and let him have as happy of a life as possible, and of course, not allow him to breed. His stomach is extremely fat, but I don't believe that he has a gas bubble because he is not floating in any way and I cannot see any air in his stomach. He seems to be happy and healthy, and he's eating regularly. Given the fact that his limbs are malformed, I wonder if his stomach is malformed as well??
2) Baby #2 has been floating upside down for the past three days now. I've made the water level in his container very low (just enough to cover him) in hopes that this would make it easier for him to keep himself right side up, and sometimes, I'll notice that he is right side up, but it's only sometimes. A few of my other babies have had gas bubbles in the past, but they've expelled them and are fine now. The point I'm making is that when my other babies had gas bubbles, the air bubbles in their stomachs were clearly visible. This baby, however, does not have any visible air in his stomach. He just seems to be "fat". But he's eating and moving around, so I'm hoping that this issue will come to pass.
All of my babies are kept in separate containers, so they never come in contact with each other. Also there is nothing in their containers (gravel or other things) that they could have swallowed, aside from their food (bloodworms). Each container holds one axolotl, some bloodworms, and some water. That's all.
Please help. I don't know what to think.