skinny Sam-moving location and possible fridging?

Hi there,
Im in need of some advice on moving my sick axolotl across the city and possible fridging...

I went away for a long time and stupidly left her in bad hands at someone elses house. When I returned her water quality was terrible, she had stopped eating (for atleast 3 weeks, but probably more), and she is very very skinny. I have done what I can for her water quality (fixed pH, put treatment stuff in it, cleaned out poo - but it may still be contaminated) and she is still not eating. I now need to get her back to my house so I can monitor her constantly. It's about a 1.5hour drive

Questions -
Would you suggest fridging her before the big move so she is less stressed with water movement from the car?? The water temperature would obviously increase whilst in the car (I'm in Australia - it's warm outside). If yes, should I put her straight back into the fridge when she arrives - or is that too much temperature change for her to handle in one day?

When you fridge an axolotl, do you have to decrease the temperature gradually, or is it ok to take her straight from a 20degree tank into the fridge? Same applied for 'unfridging' after she's done.

How big does a fridging container need to be? Just enough to fit her in or does she need swimming room as well? any special requirements for fridging containers? (i.e. lids)

Would you suggest not fridging at all, and just putting her into treated fresh water that is slightly colder than her tank water, which is too warm for her (at 20-24degrees) especially considering she's not eating.

Im worried about rising temperatures over summer considering she's in such a fragile starving state. Is it ok to fridge an axolotl that is so skinny and sickly-looking for the summer?

Thanks very much for your help,

I would put Sam in a container in an esky with some ice bricks for the trip.

Oh and the container needs to be longer then your axie.

felicity said:

Questions -
Would you suggest fridging her before the big move so she is less stressed with water movement from the car?? The water temperature would obviously increase whilst in the car (I'm in Australia - it's warm outside). If yes, should I put her straight back into the fridge when she arrives - or is that too much temperature change for her to handle in one day?

Click to expand...

If the temperature will get too warm in the car, then fridging beforehand would be a good idea to control the temperature more. You can use an esky as kira mentioned too, to keep the temperature cool. The fewer temperature changes the better so it might be a bad idea to fridge your axie, take her out for a while and the water warms up, and then put her back in the fridge.

When you fridge an axolotl, do you have to decrease the temperature gradually, or is it ok to take her straight from a 20degree tank into the fridge? Same applied for 'unfridging' after she's done.

Click to expand...

You can put her straight in the fridge. When you unfridge though, it is important to gradually increase the temperature before putting her back in the tank. I usually leave my axie in his container for a while letting it slowly warm up to room temperature. When the container equals the tank temperature I put him back in his tank.

How big does a fridging container need to be? Just enough to fit her in or does she need swimming room as well? any special requirements for fridging containers? (i.e. lids)

Click to expand...

It can be just enough to fit her, that should be fine. I use a tuppaware container with a lid, but leave a crack open. I have heard you can put the lid on fully but it has always bothered me to have a sealed container! I also wrap the container in a tea towel so he is not stressed from the fridge light. Because the container is small, you will need to do 100% water changes each day with fresh dechlorinated water. I keep a bottle in the fridge next to the container with the fresh water in it, so that the water change is the same temperature as the water I am replacing.

Would you suggest not fridging at all, and just putting her into treated fresh water that is slightly colder than her tank water, which is too warm for her (at 20-24degrees) especially considering she's not eating.

Click to expand...

Hmm I would think that this is preferable. Around 14-18C is an ideal temperature to aim for as your axie will not be in a tank that is warm, however the temperature is warm enough so that she will feel like eating.

Im worried about rising temperatures over summer considering she's in such a fragile starving state. Is it ok to fridge an axolotl that is so skinny and sickly-looking for the summer?

Click to expand...

Hmm it is hard to say. I think if your axie is very skinny you need to fatten her up, which is unlikely to happen in the fridge as she probably won't feel like eating. I think do your best to have a clean tank, with a temperature less than 24C, and keep trying to feed her. Hopefully she will recover quickly!

Good luck!

Thanks very much for your advice - very useful.
The trip was quite stressful for her with the water movement, poor thing. But I blasted the air-con on her so atleast the temperature stayed stable. I've now got her back in her tank and I've managed to maintain temp at 16oC and I got the water tested at the pet shop and they said it was perfect. She's still not eating though. I've tried several different types of worms but she's just not interested. She also puts her tail up high with the little hook in the end like she's stressed all the time - there's very minimal water movement from the filter so i dont think it's that. So I don't know what's wrong now. Any other ideas?