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Escape Artist!

Bernynz

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Sqawashii is an escape artist?!? :eek: My partner found him on the floor in front of his tank this evening! :( My partner picked him up and he wiggled heaps and didn't move much when we put him back in, but hes moved a little bit since :( The only place he could have gotten out is at the back of the lid, where the corner is cut off the glass for pipes to come out of the tank but it doesn't look like it because I would have thought that there would have been marks across the lid (its a lil dusty..) so were not even too sure how he got out - but he did! And it was a decent fall for the wee guy as his tanks up on a cabinet.

he looks like he may have either ripped his skin as he was getting out of the tank or he has a fungi growth!! :( hes also on the bottom of the tank behind the filter and his body's curved upwards and isn't moving much at all. I think he may have puked up his bloodworms from yesterday???! Cuz i dont think there was anything where he is for him to eat.


Any suggestions on how or why he could of or would of gotten out? The pH and ammonia levels are fine as i check them fortnightly and i feed him every second day. Hes been swimming around his tank a lot more in the past day or two we've noticed.

If anyone could help that would be great, im really worried about him :(
Berny
 

Jacquie

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Hi Bernynz,

Axolotls have been known to pull off escapes worthy of Houdini, they can and do jump out of tanks. If the tank is full to the top, he could also have wriggled through the gap with ease as axies do like to climb.

For the hard to seal areas such as the glass gaps in the tank corners, you can stuff foam sponges or seal with duct tape to make it escape proof.

He will be in shock and probably won't move much after his fall. Try offering food each day.

Fungus will attack vulnerable spots such as wounds and if the axie is stressed he will be susceptible to fungal infection - just keep an eye on him. Clean water and cool temperature will help him recover.

Is he eating?
 

Bernynz

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Hi there,

thanks for the reply. theres about an inch between the top of the water and the top of the tank. We placed a small wooden box over the hole for now. I put some pellets infront of him cuz he usually loves them, but it looks like hes puked all over them??

if its a fungal infection, i should put him in the fridge yes?
 

Jacquie

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The fridge certainly won't hurt and will aid him to relax and heal. It will also give you a very clear idea of what's 'going in one end and going out the other'.

You will need to prepare a tub of fresh dechlorinated water and if the tub is clear, cover it with a teatowel so the light coming on and off does not disturb the axie.

His water will need to be changed once a day. Keep some dechlorinated water in the fridge for water changes, this will ensure the axie is not subjected to temperature shock.

While in the fridge, the axies metabolism will be slowed right down so he may not be inclined to eat. The weight loss is also slowed right down as well - depending on how much damage he may have sustained, he will probably be in the fridge for quite some time.

Fungus is a white cottony substance and will be attached to him.

Could you post a photo of your axolotl?
 

Bernynz

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Yep I will post a photo in the morning before i put him in the fridge, i think that would be the best thing at the moment.
The water that i replace his water with is just dechlorinated water yes, not water from his tank cooled down?

I dont think its a fungus infection.. it looks like hes got a slice in his skin, or kind of as though hes peeling.
Hes got his head stuck in between the filter and the rocks and isnt moving at the moment.
 

Bernynz

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We put him in the fridge, my partner thinks hes dead but hes not!!! as i moved the filter, he came swiming to the top really fast and made like a gurgling sound and 'puked' the just kept floating around the tank. my partner touched him a few times and he didnt move, then suddenly took off around the tank than stoped, floating on his side. His skin is also peeling a lot, like when he swims off you can see little particles of skin being left behind him.

So we scooped him up and put him in a container, where my partner continued to tell me hed karked it (hes so nice..) and he lifted Sqawashii's head out off the water which he didnt really respond to either till the second time where he held his head out of the water till he swam away (just to prove that hes alive)


I got some photos of when he was in the bottom of the tank and some when he was in the top. Some of them arent very good but ill load them up when i can find the camera cord.


berny
 

Bernynz

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hi yes hes definately an axolotl, i got him from a friend who breed him.


hes floating on his side now, so i thought he was dead - his tail is curved and 1 or 2 of his gills are shrivled up. his front right leg is also tucked up under his body - maybe broken after the fall??
but then when i checked on him just before he was flicking his gills heaps..

ill get some pictures of him and upload them soon
 

ferret_corner

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I don't know how long he was out but if he lost his slime coat and his upper layers of skin dried out - isn't it possible those are being sloughed off and POSSIBLY leaving him open and vulnerable to a systemic infection?

He sure sounds like a fighter. Is a trip to the vet impossible?

Sharon
 

Bernynz

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my partner said he felt slimy when he picked him up but we have no idea how long he was out of the water.

his gills are uncurled a bit more, but he can swim properly - sways from side to side the opposite way to his tail if that makes sence. he doesnt move unless prodded and flots on his side, and swam away from live wiggling earthworms which hell normally greedily snap up.

im not sure if the vet would know much over here? no-one knows much about axolotls and hardly anyone knows what they are in the first place lol. i think id have more luck at animates or wet pets, well knowen very good pet stores.
 

blueberlin

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Please do not get medical advice from a pet store! Even if they don't know anything, they will feel obliged to tell you something to protect their status as experts. If you look for a vet with experience with amphibians but can't find anyone (you may be surprised), then rather just ask here. Here, everyone is dedicated to axolotls and among us, there is a lot of combined learning and experience.

Good luck to your Houdini.

-Eva
 

Bernynz

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hey guys, just letting you know that he passed away yesterday..

i cant think of anything i did wrong :(
 
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