KimYoshiko
New member
I have seen some good advice in other threads but was hoping to get some more specific help.
I have a five-year-old leucistic male who has increasingly been refusing food for about nine months. Previously, his diet consisted of Hikari Carnivore Sinking Pellets, with frozen bloodworms as an occasional treat. Currently, he is refusing (or is unable?) to eat almost all foods offered.
In addition to the Hikari pellets, I also tried feeding axolotl pellets from Ed's Fly Meat, which he ate maybe once and now ignores. I have also tried worms in every way I can think of: live, chopped, blanched, soaked, Canadian and European nightcrawlers; these sometimes get sucked up but then are spit back out. I have left live worms in the tank overnight, but he won't touch them (and possibly is afraid of them). On the advice of another forum, I tried feeding raw chopped shrimp, which he did eat with enthusiasm for several months before again losing interest. He will still go for bloodworms, but the last time I fed them to him, he seemed to have difficulty swallowing them?
About six months ago, I did fridge him, hoping he'd pass a blockage or something. He was in there for a week; on the second day the water in his tub turned neon green and I was not sure if that was the result of some kind of infection or from him possibly eating part of his moss balls? When I returned him to the tank, his appetite did seem to pick up, but over time started dropping again.
About one and a half months ago, I fridged him for two and a half weeks, during which time he did eat some shrimp in the fridge and successfully pooped. I've since returned him to his tank, but his appetite hasn't come back, and he's noticeably lost weight. I have seen him swallow shrimp only to spit it back up three or four days later, partially digested. I have looked inside his mouth when he does this and can't see anything blocking his throat, and he has pooped so I don't think there is a blockage further down?
Today I tried force-feeding him according to the sticky post, but my fiance and I could not get his mouth open and we were afraid of hurting him, so I returned him to the tank without having fed him anything.
During all this time, his behavior actually has not changed and he has not been showing other signs of stress. He is not any more or less energetic than previous. He still comes to the front of the tank when people come into the room. He has always swum around a lot for an axolotl from what I understand?
Tank parameters are ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrate ~5-10ppm. Temperature is around 66-68 F. I don't know the pH but I have never done anything to alter it, and we have been in the same location with the same water source for about two years. The only other things in the tank are a sponge filter, PVC pipes for hides, sand, and moss balls. (As an aside, I did have Java moss in there three years ago but he was eating it.)
Lastly...when he was much younger (about 1-2), I know that I did not keep him in the best conditions (we did not have A/C at that time and I did my best with fans and bottles, but I know that the tank temperatures got above 70 at some points). Could this be having an impact on him now? :/ Is there a way to know when/if he has definitely deteriorated to the point of suffering? It is upsetting to see him suck up food and then appear unable to swallow it, and also upsetting when he ignores it even when it's wiggled in front of his face.
This has been going on for so long and I have tried so many things that I am not sure there is anything else to be suggested, but if you've read this far thank you and if there is anything else you can suggest thank you again in advance.
I have a five-year-old leucistic male who has increasingly been refusing food for about nine months. Previously, his diet consisted of Hikari Carnivore Sinking Pellets, with frozen bloodworms as an occasional treat. Currently, he is refusing (or is unable?) to eat almost all foods offered.
In addition to the Hikari pellets, I also tried feeding axolotl pellets from Ed's Fly Meat, which he ate maybe once and now ignores. I have also tried worms in every way I can think of: live, chopped, blanched, soaked, Canadian and European nightcrawlers; these sometimes get sucked up but then are spit back out. I have left live worms in the tank overnight, but he won't touch them (and possibly is afraid of them). On the advice of another forum, I tried feeding raw chopped shrimp, which he did eat with enthusiasm for several months before again losing interest. He will still go for bloodworms, but the last time I fed them to him, he seemed to have difficulty swallowing them?
About six months ago, I did fridge him, hoping he'd pass a blockage or something. He was in there for a week; on the second day the water in his tub turned neon green and I was not sure if that was the result of some kind of infection or from him possibly eating part of his moss balls? When I returned him to the tank, his appetite did seem to pick up, but over time started dropping again.
About one and a half months ago, I fridged him for two and a half weeks, during which time he did eat some shrimp in the fridge and successfully pooped. I've since returned him to his tank, but his appetite hasn't come back, and he's noticeably lost weight. I have seen him swallow shrimp only to spit it back up three or four days later, partially digested. I have looked inside his mouth when he does this and can't see anything blocking his throat, and he has pooped so I don't think there is a blockage further down?
Today I tried force-feeding him according to the sticky post, but my fiance and I could not get his mouth open and we were afraid of hurting him, so I returned him to the tank without having fed him anything.
During all this time, his behavior actually has not changed and he has not been showing other signs of stress. He is not any more or less energetic than previous. He still comes to the front of the tank when people come into the room. He has always swum around a lot for an axolotl from what I understand?
Tank parameters are ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrate ~5-10ppm. Temperature is around 66-68 F. I don't know the pH but I have never done anything to alter it, and we have been in the same location with the same water source for about two years. The only other things in the tank are a sponge filter, PVC pipes for hides, sand, and moss balls. (As an aside, I did have Java moss in there three years ago but he was eating it.)
Lastly...when he was much younger (about 1-2), I know that I did not keep him in the best conditions (we did not have A/C at that time and I did my best with fans and bottles, but I know that the tank temperatures got above 70 at some points). Could this be having an impact on him now? :/ Is there a way to know when/if he has definitely deteriorated to the point of suffering? It is upsetting to see him suck up food and then appear unable to swallow it, and also upsetting when he ignores it even when it's wiggled in front of his face.
This has been going on for so long and I have tried so many things that I am not sure there is anything else to be suggested, but if you've read this far thank you and if there is anything else you can suggest thank you again in advance.
