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Is there anything wrong with my axolotl?

mkw

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I have 2 axolotols which i got at the same time in March this year. They are approx 6 months old. Recently i have noticed that the smaller of the two is looking really small. The other is growing quite a bit, both lengthways and widthways but this one is looking really thin and is about an inch shorter in length. Her body width is quite a bit thinner than her head and the skin on her body is quite wrinkly. She is also very pale, almost white and her gills are more white than pink. Does anyone know if this a sign of illness or anything that could escalate into a problem? Or is it all normal??
Thanks
 

melfly

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Hi
Doesn't sound too worrying to me.
Axolotls can and do grow at different rates.

Can you post some pictures?

Mel
 

mkw

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Hi
Doesn't sound too worrying to me.
Axolotls can and do grow at different rates.

Can you post some pictures?

Mel

As soon as i can get some pics with decent light I'll post them. I was hoping it was just "one of those things" and that everything was ok!
 

HitmanSougo13

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Hello! It's possible one is actually a little younger then the other if they aren't siblings. But if they are then it's not too surprising that one grows faster than another. They are at their growth spurts I guess you can see it that way so in a month's time, an axolotl can grow an inch per month during their pre-adult phase.

Due to the age of being 6 months old, you may not be able to actually determine their gender yet.
 

mkw

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Hello,

I've still got trouble with one of my axolotls. The smaller of the two actually appears to be shrinking!

She is very pale, gills have almost no colour at all and is extremely skinny. Generally looks badly looked after. She has barely eaten in around 3 weeks, managed to get her to eat a few meal worms and earthworms in the whole time.

I've tried meal worms (normal and mini), blood worms, krill, mysis shrimp, earthworms (whole and chopped), cherry shrimp, theres a couple of guppys in the tank, daphnia, chicken and ham.

I've even tried fridging and salt baths just in case the problem was something that wasn't visible.

I have no way of testing the tank water but the thing is her tank mate appears to be "perfect", nice colour, ideal size and weight and extremely active!

Oh yeah, i forgot to mention, the poorly axy is still very active and nosey like normal. I just can't understand what is wrong! HELP!
(i would take pics but i have camera trouble at the mo)
 

melfly

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Can you keep her seperate for a bit and try to feed her bloodworm or earthworm.
What food was she on before? mealworm and earthworm?
It could be the mealworm clogging her up a bit. Is she pooing?

Mel
 

mkw

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Can you keep her seperate for a bit and try to feed her bloodworm or earthworm.
What food was she on before? mealworm and earthworm?
It could be the mealworm clogging her up a bit. Is she pooing?

Mel

She was on bloodworm before and was eating it fine, she was a bit fat at one point!
Tried her on everything else since. She had a few mealworms but then started to refuse them. Now onto trying earthworms which she had a couple then stopped being bothered about them too. Tried feeding her seperate and in the tank with the other axolotl but she just doesnt seem bothered about anything, even the worms when they are wriggling around right in front of her face! :confused:
 

Bellabelloo

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Can you tell us a little more about what you have in your tank and what size is this little one? Also tank readings for temperature ( it has been hot lately ) , ammonia, nitrate. nitrite . A picture would really help too. I would not do salt baths unless there is fungus, the procedure can be stressful.
 

mkw

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Can you tell us a little more about what you have in your tank and what size is this little one? Also tank readings for temperature ( it has been hot lately ) , ammonia, nitrate. nitrite . A picture would really help too. I would not do salt baths unless there is fungus, the procedure can be stressful.

I have no way of testing the water and cant post a pic atm.

the temp has been around 20-22 with a fan cooling the tank.
 

scariefaerie666

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If you can't test the water, take a sample to a pet shop. Most of them will do you a free water test and be able to tell you the readings, though if the other is fine, its not likely to be a water quality issue. It may be that something she's eaten has had some kind of parasite or a problem with it...
How big is your tank?
And when my housemates axolotl wasn't eating, he tried feeding her whole, defrosted or fresh prawns. She absolutely loved them and fattened right up...
It might be worth isolating it and try feeding more often, but it's difficult to say without pictures.
xxx
 

mkw

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Before


P1030521.jpg



After

P1040010.jpg


Hope these help, i know they arent the best but still! better than nothing
 

mkw

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She actually looks a lot thinner but she was mid turn when i took the pic!
 

melfly

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She is thin but she's not in a bad bad way, well not from what i see.

Did you mention whether she is still pooing?

Mel
 

mkw

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She appears to be yes, she seems so different from before though. Surely its bad!
 

sek

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Do you still have sand substrate? Is there anything she could have swallowed to make her ill?
I'm thinking it might be the temperature of your tank. Do you own a fan? A good trick I learnt is to put a wet cloth over the fan, with it on facing the tank.

Hope this helps and good luck with your axie!
 
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oceanblue

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One possibility is that you are not doing anything wrong but that this animal has a genetic problem delaying the usual transformation to the adult form of blood pigment haemoglobin, a condition called temporary anaemia.

See the anaemic entry on this page Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center

Try to keep the temperature on the cool side and eventually it will probably grow out of it and become a healthy adult.
 

mkw

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Do you still have sand substrate? Is there anything she could have swallowed to make her ill?
I'm thinking it might be the temperature of your tank. Do you own a fan? A good trick I learnt is to put a wet cloth over the fan, with it on facing the tank.

Hope this helps and good luck with your axie!

I have sand in the tank and a few MASSIVE pebbles for decoration on the floor, nothing she can swallow. I've got a fan but can only get it to 20 degrees minimum, i've even tried ice packs with the fan but oddly it stays the same

Hows the wet cloth idea work?
 

mkw

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One possibility is that you are not doing anything wrong but that this animal has a genetic problem delaying the usual transformation to the adult form of blood pigment haemoglobin, a condition called temporary anaemia.

See the anaemic entry on this page Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center

Try to keep the temperature on the cool side and eventually it will probably grow out of it and become a healthy adult.


That explains the colouring but would that have anything to do with her not eating?
 

oceanblue

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It might, anaemic axolotls cannot grow as fast as their tissues are oxygen starved by the lack of the oxygen carrying haemoglobin. Cooling improves the situation as more oxygen can dissolve in the clear part of the blood and the cooler axolotl metabolises slower.

Axolotls do sometimes go off food and stop growing without obvious explanation. I've currently a 23cm not quite adult which stopped eating and lost weight, it's never been on gravel, the water conditions were ok and are now perfect as it is isolated. I've cooled it to about 14C in a cellar. After 10 weeks of not eating I tried putting it in a small container with lots of daphnia and mosquito larvae. The mosqito larvae slowly vanished and none changed into pupae. It still won't eat properly but is no longer loosing weight.

I would advise against the wet cloth idea. It makes the air cooler but you want to get the cooling from the tank and this is best done by blowing the fan across the surface of the water, drawing heat from the tank not the cloths.

Try not to worry too much about this axolotl, it may be smaller paler and thinner than your other but it still has quite a bit of reserve fat and if you keep it cool it will probably continue to grow slowly and eventually thrive.
 

mkw

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It might, anaemic axolotls cannot grow as fast as their tissues are oxygen starved by the lack of the oxygen carrying haemoglobin. Cooling improves the situation as more oxygen can dissolve in the clear part of the blood and the cooler axolotl metabolises slower.

Axolotls do sometimes go off food and stop growing without obvious explanation. I've currently a 23cm not quite adult which stopped eating and lost weight, it's never been on gravel, the water conditions were ok and are now perfect as it is isolated. I've cooled it to about 14C in a cellar. After 10 weeks of not eating I tried putting it in a small container with lots of daphnia and mosquito larvae. The mosqito larvae slowly vanished and none changed into pupae. It still won't eat properly but is no longer loosing weight.

I would advise against the wet cloth idea. It makes the air cooler but you want to get the cooling from the tank and this is best done by blowing the fan across the surface of the water, drawing heat from the tank not the cloths.

Try not to worry too much about this axolotl, it may be smaller paler and thinner than your other but it still has quite a bit of reserve fat and if you keep it cool it will probably continue to grow slowly and eventually thrive.

Thanks for the advice, i think the only way i can get her anywhere cooler is the fridge, would this be ok or is that too cold?
 
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