Illness/Sickness: My axolotl very sick very worried!

Hello
this is my first time on any forum

I'm hoping someone can help me
I have 2 axolotls golden albino male and white albino female
My male is very sick at the moment not sure where to start. Combination of things leading up to this mess
Long story short
my male starting refusing food - at this time i was traveling away alot with work so my partner was feeding them for me and i fractured my right arm was in plaster for a few weeks (so was trying to feed them left handed and then wrapped my arm in glad wrap and rubber glove to feed and clean their home.

It's been about 5 nearly 6 weeks since he's eaten. I bought both axolotls at the same time not sure how long they in lfs about 6 or 7 months ago both have been trouble free till last 6weeks
Both have been living on pellets only
i tried a few different things in the last couple weeks - lean streak, chicken, meal worms, blood worms any thing to get my male to eat he lifts his head to look but just wont eat

About 10 days my female (she is feeding normally) had a chomp at him and mangled his right back leg it looked abit nasty for afew days and just started to look abit better last night when to my horror this morning found him belly up. He still alive but is very weak i helped over and my female has had another go at him on right front leg (flesh only from what i can see) and right side gill area. He still can move around
Last week took water sample in to lfs they couldn't find anything wrong with water
He moves around the tank, his gills are good colour alittle short but till this morning were good a took pics with me to lfs and apart from his leg and being alittle thin they thought he looked pretty good considering how long since he has eaten
I always feed with reptile thongs and hve never had any problems till now
They are in a 60l x 30w x 35d and hve bigger stones on the bottom of tank and piece of pvc pipe and ornatment shaped like old pipes for them to hide in. No light on tank and no plants (took them off about 3months ago)

I just wondering if to fridge him - have been reading and looking at this site hoping to find answers
for afew weeks now was abit shy about going on line

I live in Mackay Qld and i know the temp's are abit hot here. considering getting a chiller for my axolotls
I feel like a terrible owner and i don't wont to loss my golden guy. I have only had fish tanks for about 18 months so still heaps i don't know my lfs is really great with info and help

I've very stressed about what to do
What do you think?

Yes, first thing to do is to isolate this injured axie by fridging. Advantages are as follows.

1 - Help destress, boost immunity and aid recovery and regeneration.
2 - Allow you to monitor the feeding and behaviour etc.
3 - Away from the other aggressive axie.

Try live blackworms to stimulate appetite.

Can you post up some photos? I will have to assess its severity and work out a plan for you.

Hi,

Sorry i missed your post. I tend to log in and off very briefly each time between my lab experiments, teaching and lunch hour and in my haste probably overlooked your new photos.

The injuries are indeed rather nasty. Firstly, how mobile and functional are the two injured limbs? The hind limb injury looks like a good candidate to heal back if the limb is still mobile and no infection sets in. The forelimb has quite a severe injury so i doubt its functional. With a wound like that, there is a high chance that infection will set in.

Fridging is a must throughout, i would recommend you fridge for at least 6 weeks. How much water are you placing in the tub? It should not be too excessive such that the axie floats. It should only be enough just to cover the back. That would prevent floating which itself is stressful to the axie. http://www.caudata.org/axolotl-sanctuary/Fridging.shtml

Bloodworms are ok but blackworms are best. You want to provide easily digested, easily consumed food that stimulate the axie's appetite while being fridged. Hence live blackworm is best. Alternatively chopped earthworm segments might do. You can also tempt the axie with bits of prawn.

To prevent infection, fungal or bacterial, you must change the water in the tub daily. Ideally, i would give the axie a course of prophylactic antibiotics. Frankly, i would opt to amputate the forelimb and allow it to grow back again neatly. Leaving necrotic tissue sometimes hamper the regeneration process or cause the regeneration to be less than perfect. The upside of leaving it though is that if the wound does regenerate, it will heal faster as there is a 'scaffolding' of existing skeletal structure. The hindlimb if functional, should regenerate. If the hindlimb cannot move (ie dragged about limply), then i would amputate that as well as it would ultimately become necrotic.

With good blood supply and nerve function, an injured limb can grow back.

Other than that, your axie is a good size and has no visible signs of infection.

Here is a list of herpvets in australia.
http://www.caudata.org/axolotl-sanctuary/vets.shtml

chillers are fantastic! i bought a second hand one for $300 (half price) off ebay. it was a huge cost for me but well worth it. i never have to worry about the temperature being too high ever
mel

Hi!

My two cents, if I may.

Firstly, the 'gulping' of air. Axolotls can do this frequently as they take in more oxygen. My suspicion is that if there is gill trauma they may not be able to take in as much oxygen as usual through the gills.

Secondly, please please make sure you use dechlorinated water when carrying out the water changes in the fridge, and keep bottles of freshly prepared de-chlorinated water in the fridge to use, to maintain a constant temperature.

Thirdly, just use enough to cover the Axie's back, and firmly wrap a tea towel around the container so that the opening and closing of the fridge (the light) doesn't disturb him.

:happy:

Or, the occasional shred of cooked cod, mine enjoys. But ONLY as a treat, mind!:supercool:

Did you take him the the vet?And try feeding earth worms from bate shops.

Sadly, the front foot is already 'dead' and its best to have it amputated by a vet. The recovery will be better with the injured limb amputated.

Yes, there is some fungus on the hind limb. However, do not give a salt bath yet. As the wounds are 'open', the salt baths will be a real torture.

The site to amputate from is best decided by your vet. If the upper arm area is still alright, the amputation can be from the elbow down. Nontheless, amputated limbs will regrow back albeit very slowly in adult axies.

I'm sorry I can't help you with the vet thing, but I just wanted to say I wouldn't worry about him not eating. Axolotls can go for quite a long time without food, especially when fridged as thei metabolism slows down. Keep trying though and good luck with the vet, I've been follwing this thread closely.