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Seizures??

tmorgan

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Is it possible for axolotls to have seizures? I have one axolotl who sometimes spasms and it looks as though he may be having a seizure.

He is in a 55 gallon tank with three other axies. Temp and water parameters are all ok. I dont have anything odd in the tank either; just sand, javamoss, and some plastic plants.

All of the other axolotls are happy as can be... it's just this one leucistic that is behaving abnormally. He's about 2 years old.

Is there anything I can do?

Thank you for any help. :D
 

weofui

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Can you describe the condition a bit more specifically? Do the limbs quiver and shake, or does his entire body thrash? Does he seem to lose control of motor functions? Meaning, if he's swimming when he has a "fit", does he sink or keep on in the general direction he was headed in? Do the "fits" coincide with feeding, pooping, etc...?
 

tmorgan

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His whole body thrashes. He sometimes seems to get "locked" into one position after a fit as well and will sometimes sit like that for a few hours. So, yeah, he seems to lose control of his motor functions. :( When he has a fit he is usually already on the ground. I haven't noticed it coinciding with anything really. :(
 

nwmnnaturalist

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That's quite strange. I'm not sure if it would pertain to Axolotls, but some animals react in such a way when suffering from illness or parasites. Is it healthy otherwise?
 

tmorgan

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he has a diet of earthworms and bloodworms... mostly bloodworms. I'm not sure at all what is causing this. :(
 

tmorgan

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Otherwise, he has been healthy. I have noticed that he hasn't been eating as much and is getting pretty skinny. :( I'm not sure what to do.
 

weofui

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Hrm... this is a mystery. How long have you had him? Has he always displayed this behavior, or did it start recently?
 

tmorgan

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I've had Loki for about two years now. He started exhibiting this behavior about a couple weeks ago. The first time I noticed, I thought he was just bloated from eating a bunch and trying to get comfortable. The spasms seem to be sporadic and random. Other than this, he swims around and acts normal. o_O
 

lollypop

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I know you said your water all checked out ok, but have you double checked, only my adult albino has done this before and water seemed ok, but knowing I had had my liquid test about a year I got a new one and low and behold I had a little ammonia spike, did a water change and all was good and all the spasoming/thrashing stopped. If you don't want to get a new test on the off chance, get the water tested at the lfs and get them to wright the results down. :)

Oh and it's tank mate never showed any change in behaviour
 
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tmorgan

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I will try a tank change. :) I tested the water but didnt see anything out of the ordinary, but better safe than sorry. :)
 
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