Skinny axolotl can barely swim

My axolotl came home very skinny after I left him with a friend of mine a few months ago. He's still skinny, but eats regularly. All his water parameters are perfect. But he's so skinny now he can hardly move. He looks like he's struggling to carry his own head around and I don't know of he's able to swim tot he top I'm so so worried about him please help.
He keeps laying on his back it's freaking me out x(

What is he being fed and how often? You could try increasing how often you feed him to see if that helps.

I feed him frozen bloodworms every night then get rid of what he doesn't eat. I started hand feeding him to make sure it's close to him and he doesn't have to swim at it.

on a separate post i was told tht blood worms are not nutritionally the best. maybe switch to earthworms? or the proper pellet foods etc?

if he is skinny i dont think there is any solution other than trying to fatten him up. if he eats regularly as u said thts a good sigh. i feed mine about a full earthworm a day, since urs is so skinny maybe try 2 a day till he starts looking normal and behaving more normally.

Okay sounds good! Is it safe to just get earthworms from a bait shop?

hmm tht i am not sure about. i have read tht as long as there are no preservatives or otehr chemicals they should be safe however i dont know if u can trust whtever the guy at the bait store tells u. i buy mine from petco or pet smart, they sell 35 in a small container for 4 bucks or so. u just store them in the fridge. i feel safer buying them from a large pet shop tht has its reputation at stake, u know. like they know ppl are going to feed these to their animals and there would probably be an outrage if someone realized their earthworms are dangerous. thts my logic and so far so good. teh containers are marked as "red wigglers" not earthworms. they are the same thing. im not sure of the size of ur axie but mine like the pieces cut up pretty small. like cut the worm 4 times and thts an ideal size for my 5-6 inch cuties.

also earthworms have this juice in them some axies do not like so i give the pieces a good rinse after cutting them to dilute it just in case.

lastly sometimes i feed them directly with a metal tong but other times they will spit it out if i do this so ill leave it in their food dish and its usually gone withing the hour. so if he seems like he doesnt want to eat them at first just leave them in a small food dish or a hard suraface tht does not have sand on it and u might be suprised on how fast it disappears.

i would not reccomand putting it directly ont he sand just bc the less they ingest the better however as long as ur axie isnt too too small i been told tht sand just goes through their system and should not cause problems

last thing, if u do choose to leave the earthworms pieces in the tank make sure to check back and if its not eaten in about 2 hours or so remove them. other wise it will foul the water and you dont want tht

I hand feed my axies... even the worms. I'm kinda gross though and i will just hold them in my hand and cut them with my thumb nail, to the size that axolotl likes, so the worm will still wiggle for 'em. I got my mauled axie who lost all four limbs to eat two full size nightcrawlers that I dug up in the yard tonight that way. I figure if i can bait them for fishing and whatever then really whats the harm. I also took anatomy and physiology in technical college and had to work with cadavers and dissect cats and pigs so.... a worm I really dont feel bad about. it's axie food. I hope you can get him to eat! mine love worms *(except for one that will only eat pellets!)*

Thank you all so much! I didn't know petco had worms, I'll defiently get them from there.
What's really concerning me lately is that he keeps flopping onto his back and is unable to flip around... I have to help him. But I'm afraid constantly flipping him stresses him out.
Also, I don't know if he is capable of swimming to the top for air anymore... How do I help him? His gills lost all their feathers when I left him with my friend ((

I got canadian night crawlers from Walmart. As long as it doesn't have anything added like fish attractant or anything it should be fine. Red wrigglers would work too but are not as accepted as easily. To cut the worm easily you could use scissors or use something like a double edged razor blade. To help him breathe from the surface you could move him to a hospital tank, it could be a food safe bowl big enough for him, and just put enough water to cover him but so he can lift his head up. It'll also help him stay upright. Good luck!

It won't stress him to be in such a small tank?

Okay so I lowered the water level in his tank A LOT he's got only 1-2 inches in there now (he's still completely submerged). Is this safe? I have a sponge filter, will it still work?
Please help I'm so scared for him

please help he's hardly moving now what do I do

What temperature is it at?

Perhaps you should consider looking for a veterinarian. I'm not sure if the sponge filter would with the water level that low, you want to do 100% water changes. A plastic tub, as long as it is food safe, is perfectly safe, you just want to give him enough space to turn around and move a bit. I use a large bowl meant to store things like casseroles.

Also, what are the parameters in the water? Is he the only axolotl there? The goal would be to keep the water cool and low enough for him to be able to stand up straighter. It will only make him more comfortable and help his body heal, good food like earth worms also help. If your axolotl has anything more serious we cannot help, and only a veterinarian can tell you what is wrong.

Thank you for your help, I put him in a Tupperware container and bought him some earthworms which I'll feed later. The water temp is 64 F and all the parameters are good, he's the only one in the tank

If he has any issues eating the worms, it could be because he's not used to them and they're too big for the state he's in, you can cut them up into little bite size pieces to make it easier for him to eat. Good luck!

He didn't make it

I'm so very sorry for your loss. But please, no matter how sad you are right now, do not let it put you off getting another axolotl. (Just next time you have to go away, maybe leave it with a different friend!!) And for your new lotl, I do agree with all the advice about earthworms. As soon as they can handle them, but certainly by the time they're about five inches, they should be on earthworms.

I'm sorry for your loss.

Thanks all for your advice, it really helped ^-^ I'm sure one day I'll be ready for a new axie