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Illness/Sickness: Columnaris...tail falling off??

Ikeymoe

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i have 4 axies, 2 of which got what i figure is Columnaris, I used a methane blue solution in the water which seemed to work really fast as all the fungus dissapeared overnight. They both seemed to come right except the ends of BOTH their tails have now "fallen" off. They have sort of more like "rotted" off as the blood vessels retracted (i could see this clearly on the white axie) Only about 1.5cm of the white axies tail fell off and he now seems pretty good now, but my black axie it was more like HALF his tail. It went sorta fuzzy and then eventually disentigrated away in the water. Looks ok i guess except about 2cm of his "spine" or tailbone is dangling out the end??? he is still eating and looks perky...what the hell do i do??? im abit worried:sad:
 

leilu

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Axies have amazing regeneration skills even able to regrow upto 30% of brain material, so if i was in your position i would look at how they are doing generally. you say they are purky, eating, look generally well? water changes regularly? if they are quite well i wouldnt immediatly panick. there will be lots of people posting to try help you out. probably someone knows what to do.
If they are looking unwell maybe they need putting in the fridge til you can get some more advice. sorry i cant help more

leilu
 

Erzs

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Is the solution in the axolotl's tank water? Are all 4 axolotl's in the tank and were all treated with the solution?
 

vlcuXX

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Depends if you used the solution on all the axies in the water or only the infected ones because it could affect the other axies that arent diseased too :confused:
 

Ikeymoe

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i keep all four together in same tank so when i noticed the columnaris on 2 of them i quickly did a water change and added the solution with all 4 axies in it- i was worried the other 2 may have it also- even tho i couldnt see it! i now have George (the one with his half tail missing) in a seperate tank and no solution in the water.as i am wanting to keep a close eye on his healing. other 3 seem ok in there normal tank in clean water. what will putting him in the fridge do? will he heal faster? i have using ice etc to keep his water cool but cant seem to keep it below 20 degree C
 

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Erzs

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Ouch poor guy! I'm desperately hoping an experienced axolotl owner will pitch in on this thread because this feels way out of my knowledge base!

I'm concerned the solution if still in the water with the other axolotls could do more harm. But I feel the only way of countering that is a full water change which of course starts the cycling process again and could also do more harm than good! But you said you now have them in clean water, so have you already done this?

If I were you I would ring a vets for advice, explain exactly what's happened and what solution you used. You may even want to take George in for a consultation. Also possibly calling the company who make the product you used (did you buy it? I have no experience with that product) and telling them what's happened to find out if it's occurred before and what the best course of action would be.


As far as I know axolotls heal faster in normal water, not the fridge. As long as he's eating and not showing any signs of stress I wouldn't want to slow down the healing process. However, it looks as though there may be fungus on the bone (I can't make it out too clearly) which is usually treated with a salt bath (and fridging) but given his raw flesh is also visible I personally don't think I'd do this (the salt bath). I would have him at the vets to see if they could supply me with any antibiotics. I just remembered what you said about the temp being at 20. Is it still there and you're unable to lower it?

I'm sorry I'm not much help I'm pretty much brain storming along with you here!
 
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Ikeymoe

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solution has been taken out of water with other 3 axies and they are back to normal as far as i can tell. yes this looks nasty alright! the stuff i used was actually for fish as i did not realise about the differences until i got onto this website. it was a methane blue based but contained 0.01% methane green which i have read can be toxic to axies.i used a half dose as i was a bit scared of the strong blue colour it went in the water!! however, when fungus was totally gone i removed him from this solution (was in solution for approx 3 days) and it was AFTER this his tail changed colour and rotted away.although it could have been a side effect from the solution.... what looks like fungus on his tail bone is actually a bit of flesh left rotting away on there. i know this is so awful looking!!!

that is a good idea and i will ring company that make the solution as they are a NZ based company. the pet shop here is totally useless as they were the ones who sold me the stuff!!!!

definate that this is not other axies attacking him.
 

Ikeymoe

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have been down to pet store that sold me the tonic i used. they rang manufacturers for me. none of them think it was the tonic that caused the tail rot, could be stress related? they recommended using a methane blue only solution to keep infection away and said sometimes tail rot cannot be cured?? hmmmm......i guess i just need to deal with the wound and make sure it doesnt get infected. would methane blue be good for this??
 

Erzs

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If his tail gets worse I would really advise you to get George to the vet rather than risk this occuring again (even though if it's "Methylene blue" according to Axolotl.org that's "non-toxic in low dosages").

For now to prevent infection during the healing process be sure to keep him in clean, cool water. I wouldn't add any other solutions to his water just now (apart from dechlorinating it of course).

Without knowing what's causing it I don't feel it can be treated correctly unless by someone with experience. Be sure to keep a close eye on him and should it worsen either call or get him to the vet. =[

As for stress causing the finrot, has George or your other axolotl show any signs of stress?

Let's hope the worst is over and now it's just time until it grows back. =]
 

Ikeymoe

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yes i will call into vet and see what they say. i am doubting any vets here know anything about axolotls. it is hard as people just dont seem to know alot about them, this website is the most helpful source i have found.

I will keep George isolated in his own tank for now, keeping it extra clean and i have been using ice blocks and frozen bottles to keep water cool.

i think his fin parts either side of the wound have grown possibly a millimetre so i hope hes on the mend. Just risk of infection i am worried bout.
I did not see any signs of stress in my axies, they have been perfectly fine for the last year or so together in their large tank. I think the fungus may have caused the stress, as he was covered in it his whole body- (the water got too warm as far as i can tell this caused the columnaris) it happened virtually over night so maybe this was extra stressful hence his tail falling off....

thankyou for all your help. i will let you know how i get on and hopefuly post a picture of a nice new tail growing back!
 

Erzs

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That's such good news that his tail is already on the mend! Please do keep us updated! And I understand with struggling to find a vet who even knows what an axolotl is! So best of luck to you, I hope you find one. =]
 
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If I were to guess, since their whole body was that covered in fungus, perhaps as the fungus sloughed off, it took some layers of their skin as well. Their tails are fairly thin, especially at the end, so it wouldn't take much to wear it away. Its possible the methane green caused some of this reaction or at least made it worse.

Like others have said, just make sure his water is kept very clean to ward off further infection. Hopefully it will start to regenerate soon!
 

Black leaves

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one of my axie also have the same prob, today i treat him wit salt bath, its looks very painfull to him.... he really look painfull............. blood start coming out from its tail when i start the treatment and he struggle so much in there... im sooo sad.............................. its looks like he will die after this treament............................... :(:(:(:(:(:cry:
 

Ikeymoe

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oh dear, this doesnt sound good. a salt bath may not be a good idea if there is raw flesh showing like George has?? im sorry to hear that your axie died.

George looks as though he is on the mend. The piece of bone hanging out the end of his tail has now fallen away and looks asthough the skin is closing over. definately new tail fin growing. i will post a new photo in a week or so, so you can see progress. Im so pleased it looks so much better!
 

AuraCantos

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I'm sorry to hear about your lotl, Black Leaves...


But I'm so glad to hear about yours, ikeymoe! :) Sounds like your little one is in good hands.
 

Bellabelloo

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A year or two back I had a similar problem with my melanoid axolotl. His tail tip seemed to erode . In the early stages I tried salt baths, but the erosion continued quite rapidly. It never looked like fungus or even a bite. He shared a tank with father and he showed no signs of anything what so ever. The water parameters where always good and the temperatures below 20 degrees. I then treated him in a separate container with methylene blue, at the same time I kept him in the fridge while I carried this out. It may have been up to 5 days. Again there seemed to be no improvement. Finally I was speaking to a friend who suggested trying almond leaves, she sent me a batch and I promptly added one to his water. It may have been coincidence, but his tail quickly healed and grew. It might be worth a try, or try doing tea baths, the link below ( You'll need to read down to Daniel's piece about Tea baths)
Caudata Culture Articles - Illness Part 2
 

Erzs

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Wow Bellabelloo...do you know what it is about almond leaves that can help the healing process in axolotls?
 

Bellabelloo

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The tannins in tea ( and almond leaves ) seem to work as an anti fungal and antibacterial treatment.
I would like to point out that my axolotl's tail did not get as quite bad as Ikeymoe axolotl's tail. I had consulted a vet, armed with information on the treatments not to be used, but she couldn't come up with anything safe. Since then I use a different practice that is linked to a vet school. Should this repeat itself I would not hesitate in taking him to a vet, at the time using the almond leaves was a last resort....which for me seemed to work.
 
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