Still sick and I need some help with my Axl

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epiphany101

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I have a sick Axl, that's his name since he's an axolotl. I have him in the fridge, this is day number 5. I have given him a daily salt bath to help with the white fungus growing from his gills. From the looks of the poor fellow, it seems he gulped a piece of gravel (yes it will be changed before he goes back in the tank) he has a bulge on his side in the stomach area. My question is this: Can he pass this piece of gravel? How long will it take? I took over care of him 3 months ago. I'm in college and my student worker job is in the lab. We've already had one close call with him which i was able to get him back to health. Please, any advice?
 
Re: Still sick and I need some help with mt Axl

Hi
It depends how big the piece of gravel is.

He's in the right place to try and pass it.
If its too large it may need removing by a vet.

Mel
 
Re: Still sick and I need some help with mt Axl

Is he still eating? Pooping?
 
Re: Still sick and I need some help with mt Axl

Thanks for your reply's. He still won't eat, but continues dump a lot of ****. I don't understand how he can still poop so much after not eating for 2 weeks:confused:. I'm still holding out hope for the little fellow and will do everything in my power to get him swimming happy around his tank again. Still in the fridge and will try to feed him shortly. As I'm new to this I'm looking for any advice I can get to nurse my buddy back to health. Thank you again for replying.
 
Re: Still sick and I need some help with mt Axl

My axolotl just pooped in the fridge, and she hasn't eaten in about a month. It surprised me.

Have you removed the gravel from the tank?

If he's been in the fridge for 5 days and still hasn't passed the gravel with normal defecation, you may have to think about taking him to a vet to have it removed.
 
Re: Still sick and I need some help with mt Axl

Thanks Kaysie, today is day 5 and he has only 1 dropping today as opposed to quite a bit yesterday. He still won't eat. So my next question is should I slowly bring him back to normal temp to see if he will eat. I can't get him into a vet until Monday (I can already hear what the college is going to say about the vet bill), or should I keep him cooling in the fridge until then? I'm also still getting some of the white stuff from his gills during the salt baths. How long does it take to get rid of that stuff? Are there any other suggestions out there? Poor fellow has had a rough go of it lately:(
 
Re: Still sick and I need some help with mt Axl

Keep him in the fridge. When you do take him to the vet, it will be easier for them to see what's going on without some half-digested food in the way. Axolotls can go a remarkably long time without food.

Fungus around the gills can take a while to go away. You can increase your salt bath concentration a little bit, but don't go overboard or you can cause skin irritation and bleeding. Don't use more than 3 teaspoons per liter. Also, you can increase duration to about 15 minutes.
 
Thanks Kaysie, this is day 5. He still won't eat and has only 1 "dropping" in his tank as opposed to yesterday when there was quite a bit. Should I keep him cooling in the fridge until Monday when I can get him to vet or bring him back to normal temp. to see if he will eat? I can already hear what the college is going to say about the vet bill.."You did what??":eek: LOL they will get over it! The gravel has been removed from his tank to avoid any future incidents such as this. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm kinda stuck here and don't know what to do for the little fellow:confused:
 
You're doing great. The biggest thing is getting the gravel out of his tank and out of his belly. After that, he should go back to a normal healthy life.
 
Well...after 3 days with no poop in his dish Axl is off to the vet tomorrow. Hopefully we can get the little fellow straightened out and back to doing the backstroke:happy:
 
What is an Axolotl's life span? Axl is 4 years old. The college has decided not to pay for him to go to the vet, unlike the turtle last year:mad:. So, I'm bringing him back to normal temp. and will attempt to feed him again. Possibly force feed if necessary. Any suggestions as to how to proceed from here? I'm not 100% that he swallowed a rock.... :confused:. Not sure what else to do at this point....
 
Axolotls can live 10-15 years. How big is the gravel he was kept with? There is no point in force feeding if he is impacted..it could even make the situation much worse. Only advice I can give at this point is to see a vet for x-rays or a diagnosis.
 
Thanks, I had already discounted the idea of force feeding for that very reason. Since I'm a student (on a student budget) I'm taking up a collection from the science staff to get the fellow to the vet and at least see what's up with him. I have brought his temp up some and he started pooping again...I will take his temp back down after his next salt bath. Thanks for your help. I appreciate any and all advice,I'm new to this and have become attached to the lil critter:happy:
 
You could also contact the vet you were planning to take him to and explain the situation and see if they'll be willing to work with you. I had a newt with an abscess, and the vet was so excited to work on such a 'different' animal that he gave me the x-rays for free (with the condition I allow him to use them as he wanted, like presentations and such), and marked the medication as topical rather than injected to bring the price down.
 
Ok...after much discussion with a local vet, he suggested force feeding a little mineral oil along with some blended nutrients. Has anyone heard of using this method? What is the best recommendation for high nutrient content as I can only give him a little at a time. Earth worms have been his favorite, the vet suggested they are not high enough in calcium. Any suggestions?
 
If you're going for calorically dense, try some mammal meat. Beef heart is usually available. Frozen stuff falls apart easily, so you could mush some up and put it in a syringe with a long nozzle on it (not a needle, obviously) and try putting that in his mouth.

I would do this in a small control tank, versus in the big tank. Then if it makes a mess, it's not all over the tank.
 
Thanks Kaysie, I have some shrimp pellets that I can blend with the mineral oil and just bought a feeding tube for him. He is in a large petri dish for now. From what I have read about force feeding is to wrap him in a wet towel while performing the procedure. Since I am going for my nurse practitioners license, I'm being told this is my first patient:happy:
 
Best of luck. If you have a chance (like having a friend observe), try to do a photo series. It would be great to have for future use.
 
Sadly enough Axl did not make it:(. Thank you for your suggestions and help with him. This has been a learning process and after all the research I've done I feel I could almost write a paper on Axolotl's health and biology. I'm looking for a pair of Axolotls for the college. If anyone has information concerning adopting a pair please pm me. Thanks
Dave.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about Axl. I've been following this ever since you posted it, hoping that he'd make it through okay. =/ It's a shame the college wouldn't pay for the vet fee, it might have made all the difference. Again, I'm really sorry for your loss. =/
 
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