Axolotl seizure???!

cmh66 · Mar 12, 2014

Boomsloth said:
If he swallowed something that is blocking his digestive pathways it could easily stop him from eating and cause stress. He could have also been stressed just by being kept in water that's way too warm for extended periods. I'm guessing that most of the tanks in that store are kept above 72F just from the few times I went there. Its the sad part about axolotls in most pet stores is the store rarely sets up or knows about their temperature needs.

EDIT: keep trying to feed him and make sure the water parameters are perfect, no ammonia/nitrite, low nitrate and keep the temperature low. He might need some time to recover.

Well I have had him for a few weeks. He was VERY stressed at first and didn't eat much. But he warmed up and was so happy and healthy. This just came out of no where...and there really isn't anything in the tank that could block his digestion. Maybe when I fed him too much it plugged the other end too?
The water parameters seem about perfect, minus the pH levels which are a bit high..somewhere around 7.6 and 8. This is why I am so confused. Plus, I don't know what could have stressed him this badly, if that's what's causing all of this.

Boomsloth · Mar 12, 2014

Oh I meant something he might have ate while at the store. They keep them on sand but they also keep different invertebrates that at that axolotls' size can cause blockages. Also some axolotls under 5" can still become impacted with sand.
Is there any way you can try lowering the temp a little?
You can also try feeding him different foods, blood worms, black worms, maybe even some scallops which people say are irresistible to them.

cmh66 · Mar 12, 2014

Boomsloth said:
Oh I meant something he might have ate while at the store. They keep them on sand but they also keep different invertebrates that at that axolotls' size can cause blockages. Also some axolotls under 5" can still become impacted with sand.
Is there any way you can try lowering the temp a little?
You can also try feeding him different foods, blood worms, black worms, maybe even some scallops which people say are irresistible to them.

Possibly...Hmmm...But he ate normally and pooped normally before monday. I also did feeding 101 with him in a separate bowl, so he wouldn't have swallowed sand during feeding time. I will lower the temp and see what happens. I also switch up what he eats regularly. Between blackworms, bloodworms, and daphnia. But he is getting a bit big for the daphnia now. hah! Never heard about the scallops! That would be a treat! Thank you for helping! I can't help but go insane wondering if he is going to be okay.

cmh66 · Mar 12, 2014

His gills just got very red out of nowhere. This is either a very good or bad sign. I'm thinking good because that is a sign of blood flow right?

Boomsloth · Mar 12, 2014

cmh66 said:
His gills just got very red out of nowhere. This is either a very good or bad sign. I'm thinking good because that is a sign of blood flow right?

try feeding him. usually that happens when they start looking for food or want to be more active.

cmh66 · Mar 12, 2014

Boomsloth said:
try feeding him. usually that happens when they start looking for food or want to be more active.

Oh my gosh! I will right now! I hope it's him feeling better. I also checked the parameters again and everything was about perfect. The water felt a bit warm to me, may be my cold hands anyways. But, the thermometer I have said it was about 65. I'll try and get it down 5-10 degrees tonight. What would work best? I usually just put icecubes in a ziploc and let it gradually melt. Any other ways you would know of?

Boomsloth · Mar 12, 2014

I use the fan method at all times because I never know when my building will decide to crank up the heat. If my tank starts to get to about 70F I use large frozen water bottles. I have about 4 frozen at all times just in case. I found out today that even though my tank is sitting at about 68ish when I went to do a water change, the tap water was coming out at around 74F. Thank goodness I checked before adding it in.

Boomsloth · Mar 12, 2014

Another thing is the wildtype I got from that store is healthy but doesn't seem quite as vigorous as my other axolotls. It could be poor genetics.

cmh66 · Mar 12, 2014

He got most of his color back already! I don't even know what I did to help! He ate a few worms already too! He's not as fast to bite right now, so I left him in his feeding bowl to hunt live black worms for a bit. The water in his tank is cooling now too. I will have to freeze some water bottles (great idea since we are both in Florida and the Summers are stupid hot!). Thank you so so so much for helping me through this!!

Also, Randy (Dark Water Axolotl) is definitely not as swimmy as my old axie, Agador. But I got Agador from a pet store as well. They were keeping him (juvenile) in a tank with four other axolotls (also juveniles). I'm happy people like us get to save these cute creatures and can spread the word about how awesome they are.

Boomsloth · Mar 12, 2014

cmh66 said:
He got most of his color back already! I don't even know what I did to help! He ate a few worms already too! He's not as fast to bite right now, so I left him in his feeding bowl to hunt live black worms for a bit. The water in his tank is cooling now too. I will have to freeze some water bottles (great idea since we are both in Florida and the Summers are stupid hot!). Thank you so so so much for helping me through this!!

Also, Randy (Dark Water Axolotl) is definitely not as swimmy as my old axie, Agador. But I got Agador from a pet store as well. They were keeping him (juvenile) in a tank with four other axolotls (also juveniles). I'm happy people like us get to save these cute creatures and can spread the word about how awesome they are.

no problem! Its a shame that stores like that will continue selling axolotls, I was too quick to say "i'll take the axolotl!" before hearing what she had to say about their care. I live in a dorm now and find that some days they blast the AC throughout the building and then other days it just gets hot. I'm moving out before may so hopefully I get more control over the temperature. Another thing is axolotls tend to be a little more active at sundown and sunrise so maybe try feeding him later in the evening or earlier in the morning.

cmh66 · Mar 13, 2014

Boomsloth said:
no problem! Its a shame that stores like that will continue selling axolotls, I was too quick to say "i'll take the axolotl!" before hearing what she had to say about their care. I live in a dorm now and find that some days they blast the AC throughout the building and then other days it just gets hot. I'm moving out before may so hopefully I get more control over the temperature. Another thing is axolotls tend to be a little more active at sundown and sunrise so maybe try feeding him later in the evening or earlier in the morning.

Well since he's still a baby I do feed him twice a day. But it's around the afternoon and night time. So maybe I'll start in the morning.

And good luck with the whole dorm issue! I'd love to see your axie!

Boomsloth · Mar 13, 2014

Oh I have a little family of 9 axolotls lol

This is the axolotl from that store

Here is a picture of them all waiting for food.

hzlotl · Mar 14, 2014

Hey cmh66,
Any updates on your axie?
Here's my 2 cents. From a lot of the reading that I've done in the past, people refrigerate their axies when they are sick, and when they swallow gravel or have a blockage.
Being in cold water slows down their metabolism, decreasing the growth of the disease, and also helps them pass whatever is stuck. Raising the water temperature will only get him more sick.
Please post updates on how he's doing. I hope it turns out alright for him.

Smokey0923 · Mar 17, 2014

it looks like the substrate you have him in is too big..my friends got really pale (golden albino) and he was as light as my albino. We took her sand out and he was much more active. Not longer after we took her sand out he got back to his normal color and had a very big sand colored poo. He's now back to himself and eating again. Try thinner sand in his tank. Or take that stuff out for a few days and see if it helps.

cmh66 said:
pH was a bit high, about 7.6 or higher.
Ammonia was 0
Nitrite was 0 and Nitrate was 0.

He was placed in to another bowl because I was doing a complete cleaning of his tank. The water was the same as the water in his tank before I gave him new water. This all started happening on monday. He first threw up all of his food and I thought I just overfed him. Then he started to reject worms I would offer him. Then he just lost all of his pigment.
Here is a picture of him before this happened.

And after....

cmh66 · Mar 26, 2014

He is doing so much better. I changed a lot of things to try and make him healthy again. I changed his food from blood worms to black worms. Bought a new twenty gal tank. Got a new filter and more plants and hides. He's getting bigger and has his color back. The sand didn't seem to be the problem but I am thinking about changing it out because crud gets buried and makes the tank yucky.

Kaini · Mar 26, 2014

If you got a new filter and tank that means you're going to have to cycle it - keep an eye on your water parameters.

Sweetie · May 6, 2014

cmh66 said:
pH was a bit high, about 7.6 or higher.
Ammonia was 0
Nitrite was 0 and Nitrate was 0.

If nitrates are zero, the tank is not cycled so daily water changes would be needed.

cmh66 · May 9, 2014

Sweetie said:
If nitrates are zero, the tank is not cycled so daily water changes would be needed.

What should the nitrates be at? He is eating and looks healthy. Maybe a bit "runtish" looking. But he is happy! I do water changes every other day. About 20-30%. Is that too much? I feel like he is doing fine with this though.

Axolotl seizure???!

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