Illness/Sickness: HELP PLEASE! my axolotl is in bad shape

So about a week ago me and my girlfriend were browsing at a local pet shop and she was interested in the axolotls. We had no idea what they were or how to care for them so of course we asked the workers. With a little guidance (which turned out to be horrible) we bought the axie that day. I wish we had done some more research to prepare ourselves for what we were taking on.

At the petstore we were told that he would be very low maintenance aside from weekly water changes. They also said that they do not like hides and do not need air filters. Once i got home i was skeptical of what i was told so i went on this site and read thread after thread for hours. Scared for Bil's (axolotl) life i went to the petstore the next day to confront them about the wrong information given. They had also told us that we could buy any tank and put him in there without any problems (i later learned of cycling from this site). I think that may be the reason why he is sick.. After being told wrong information i just grabbed an air stone and filter to hopefully help his tank. I did not want to deal with those idiots anymore.

Anyway, today is day 4 of having Bil. For the first 3 days he seemed very healthy and energetic. He would do laps in his tank every night. But about 2 days ago i noticed his right front leg was not being used much, i figured it wasnt anything and hoped it would be okay. The next day both his front and back right leg were looking hurt so i was worried, but his gils weren't forward so i figured he wasnt that stressed and it would go away.

Today this morning i checked on Bil and it looked like he was dead! He was floating with his head toward the bottom of the tank . After a while he moved and i felt a little relived but still worried. I had to leave for work so i couldnt help him at the time, but i decided to go to the pet store to get some aquarium salt and crickets (what i was told he was raised on) to try to feed him. I came home from work to check on him later today and his gils were faced almost directly forward and he was barely moving. Very worried i cleaned the tank as best i could without doing a full water change and tried to feed him the crickets, but no luck. So we decided to give him a salt bath, AND when i took him out of the tank his front arm seemed to crumble off i continued with the salt bath in hopes that it would help whatever is going on with him. But after the salt bath in the fridge his back right leg had also come off!! I did not know what to do so i put him into fresh water and back into the fridge where he is now Then i had to leave for dinner and when i got home i checked on him and his lip seems to have the same thing! it looks like its coming off !!! could it be a flesh eating bacteria??

Ive been reading and reading but i cant find anyone the same as my situation! PLEASE HELP ME!!!! i dont want to loose this little guy hes about 3.5inches and lost both his front right hand/arm and back right foot!!

i am sorry, i know we didnt take him into the right conditions and i by no means mean to torture or ment for this to happen to him dont hate me

You're doing the right thing researching here - I think this is the best place for information on these little guys. I've read so many stories like this starting from misinformation from pet shops!!!

I don't know what's going on with the legs coming off (I'm sure someone else can help with that - photos would help enormously), but crickets aren't the best foods for them. Try earthworms or some frozen bloodworms - as much as he'll eat at this point, but bear in mind that his appetite will drop whilst in the fridge so don't force it.

Also, I don't know that a salt bath was the best thing - certainly a spell in the frisge in fresh, clean, dechlorinated water will do him good, but when he's stressed like this, a salt bath won't help.

I would invest in a water testing kit - even just the test strips would be ok - just to give an indication of the water quality, and let us know what you find. Some pet shops will test the water if you bring in a bottle of it

What temperature is the tank at? Is there bright light?

Please don't give him any more salt baths!!!

He needs to be in intensive care, and in shallow (just deep enough to cover his body) fresh, dechlorinated water in the fridge. When you add water to your tank do you add drops of "dechlorinator" first?

Read this for more info http://www.caudata.org/axolotl-sanctuary/Fridging.shtml

Can you post some photographs of your axolotl? Also some of his tank would be helpful as well.
(When you reply to this, at the bottom of the text box is a button [Go Advanced] click this and you will see an 'attachment' button with a paper clip icon which you can use to add photo's)

Have you heard of testing water parameters? If so, can you test yours and post the results. If not, take a clean bottle, jar or similar with some of your tank water in to another fish store and ask them to test the parameters for you.

Can you also tell us about the filter you bought? What kind of filter is it? Is it the powered kind? What is the brand / model and how big is your tank? (I'm wondering if this is the case, if your axolotl has been injured by getting limbs caught in the intake, also forward facing gills might be a sign of stress caused by too much water flow. - See Axolotls - Health & Diseases)

Sounds like you are having an awful time with little Bil. Was he in a tank with lots of other axolotl when you purchased him? I am wondering if the legs where damaged by his previous tank mates. Also, has there been any cotton wool like growth on his limbs?

OH god that sounds so scary with the arm and leg falling off!... morphyrichards is correct, do not give salt baths unless you see columnaris bacteria on its gills. Now his arm and leg will grow back but it needs to survive this.

How big is bill? Can you explain how you transferred him from the bath to the tank? If it's a juvie, their limbs are super soft and weak even another juvi can bite it off easily...I hate to say this...but I'm not sure if there was any possibility that the limbs broke off upon touching them. You mention crickets, is he big enough to eat a whole cricket?

siona said:

You're doing the right thing researching here - I think this is the best place for information on these little guys. I've read so many stories like this starting from misinformation from pet shops!!!

I don't know what's going on with the legs coming off (I'm sure someone else can help with that - photos would help enormously), but crickets aren't the best foods for them. Try earthworms or some frozen bloodworms - as much as he'll eat at this point, but bear in mind that his appetite will drop whilst in the fridge so don't force it.

Also, I don't know that a salt bath was the best thing - certainly a spell in the frisge in fresh, clean, dechlorinated water will do him good, but when he's stressed like this, a salt bath won't help.

I would invest in a water testing kit - even just the test strips would be ok - just to give an indication of the water quality, and let us know what you find. Some pet shops will test the water if you bring in a bottle of it

What temperature is the tank at? Is there bright light?

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UGH i think it might be too late.. hes looking worse.. his face is starting to fall off it seems, form his lip and spreading to the front of his face. i wonder if i am making him suffer and should do something to either end it, i dont want to torture him..

I will not give him anymore salt baths, thank you for the advice. I just did it once because i was freaking out and wanted to do anything i could to help him.. i already changed the water that i had in the tank when he was in there, i did not test it. At the pet store i was told that tap water would be fine, i live in Hawaii and from what i know the tap water doesnt have much or any chlorine.

the temperature is cool in the tank, dont have an exact degree.. its half full in a big room and i had a fan on it.. There is no light above his tank.

&& i will try to take a picture of him in his current state, i hate looking at him though, i feel horrible.

morphyrichards said:

Please don't give him any more salt baths!!!

He needs to be in intensive care, and in shallow (just deep enough to cover his body) fresh, dechlorinated water in the fridge. When you add water to your tank do you add drops of "dechlorinator" first?

Read this for more info Axolotl Sanctuary

Can you post some photographs of your axolotl? Also some of his tank would be helpful as well.
(When you reply to this, at the bottom of the text box is a button [Go Advanced] click this and you will see an 'attachment' button with a paper clip icon which you can use to add photo's)

Have you heard of testing water parameters? If so, can you test yours and post the results. If not, take a clean bottle, jar or similar with some of your tank water in to another fish store and ask them to test the parameters for you.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice on the salt baths, i will stop!

Will take pictures right now.

I should not have thrown out all the bad water, as i thought i should get a fresh tank ready for him when he recovered from the fridge. but no luck with the fridge yet he looks worse!

morphyrichards said:

Can you also tell us about the filter you bought? What kind of filter is it? Is it the powered kind? What is the brand / model and how big is your tank? (I'm wondering if this is the case, if your axolotl has been injured by getting limbs caught in the intake, also forward facing gills might be a sign of stress caused by too much water flow. - See Axolotls - Health & Diseases)

Click to expand...

its just a stone filter so i should not see any problems with it sucking in his limbs.. Its "marine" brand? and it said for up to 20 gal i think? and hes in either a 5 or 10 gal tank.. There is not any waterflow from the filter. I blocked it with a rock but just wanted to get some air in the water, and not have it completely stagnant. (pet store told me stagnant is fine)

bellabelloo said:

Sounds like you are having an awful time with little Bil. Was he in a tank with lots of other axolotl when you purchased him? I am wondering if the legs where damaged by his previous tank mates. Also, has there been any cotton wool like growth on his limbs?

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it is awful , i feel HORRIBLE about him

yes, when i bought him he was in tuberware looking container with about 20 axolotls. He was of the bigger ones in there, and thats why i chose him because i thought he would have the best chance to survive and looked healthy.. The limbs look like there is some sort of mold or "cotton wool" on it.. but i am not sure. hopefully can get pictures to help..

HitmanSougo13 said:

OH god that sounds so scary with the arm and leg falling off!... morphyrichards is correct, do not give salt baths unless you see columnaris bacteria on its gills. Now his arm and leg will grow back but it needs to survive this.

How big is bill? Can you explain how you transferred him from the bath to the tank? If it's a juvie, their limbs are super soft and weak even another juvi can bite it off easily...I hate to say this...but I'm not sure if there was any possibility that the limbs broke off upon touching them. You mention crickets, is he big enough to eat a whole cricket?

Click to expand...

Bil is about 3 - 3.5 inches.. to transfer him from the tank to the bath i used a net. He did not fight it at all and barely moved. When i put him into the tuberware for the salt bath i noticed his foot was floating next to him

I have not fed him crickets till he got sick because at the pet store they told me that frozen brine shrimp would be okay. He ate it when we first got him, but now seems like he has NO appetite what so ever.


BTW - i went to the pet store the other day and all of the axies left seemed fine !

Here are some pictures attached..
Sorry couldnt get a good picture of his face
+ why would the infection only be on his right side?? any ideas?

I feel so bad, please help !

Hi bil, Dont stress yourself too much. Lil bil should be ok if you keep him in the fridge for a while. Going by the photos his legs dont look to bad to me. Ive seen this before after a bite from another axolotl. If they look like cotton wool at the ends, I know everyone says dont do salt baths but, I tend to use a pinch of tonic salt and keep in the fridge, the fungus will just drop off. As for the face doing it I cant advise you on that, hope someone else can, Hang in there.

I agree with Shelley, keep fridging him/her for a while. Additionally, perhaps you should invest in some water de-chlorinator for aquariums. According to this thread from another forum Hawaii has some of the best water out there but still uses chloramine Hawaii's Tap Water | Honolulu | Yelp

Also use this site Axolotls: The Fascinating Mexican Axolotl and the Tiger Salamander as well as this forum to do as much extra research into caring for them as you can.

Thanks for the help guys. Today when i was changing bil's water i noticed that he has some white stuff on his tummy too? is that a really bad sign?

Hey, I dont think anything with bil is really bad. Are his gills looking better after being in the fridge? Not sure about his tummy. Is it a white film like slime?

carlos said:

Hey, I dont think anything with bil is really bad. Are his gills looking better after being in the fridge? Not sure about his tummy. Is it a white film like slime?

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My girlfriend said his gills are looking a little better, but still the same.. he was also curled up

She changed his fridge water this morning and said that there was a white looking slime on his tummy.


+ how do we feed Bil when he is in the fridge ?? he doesnt seem to have any appetite.

Their metabolism slows down in the fridge so the fact that he isn't eating (much) in there is pretty normal.
Anyway:
Does the whiteness on the belly looks a bit like this on the snout of this axie? (or is it more 'fluffy'?):

mm. yeah, it kind of looked like that. just a bit thicker. he also has that white stuff on his lips too. what is that and is it really serious? thanks for the help!

There is no need to feed at all when in the fridge. there metabolism slows right down and passes anything that mite still be in the stomach which is why its also good for when they are trying to pass stones. Dont feed him untill he is back in normal temp water. Id leave hin in fridge till he looks better or for about a week.

carlos said:

There is no need to feed at all when in the fridge. there metabolism slows right down and passes anything that mite still be in the stomach which is why its also good for when they are trying to pass stones. Dont feed him untill he is back in normal temp water. Id leave hin in fridge till he looks better or for about a week.

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Hi I would be tempted to still try and feed you axie whilst in the fridge as Shelley says their metabolism slows right down BUT some still eat! I know mine have in the past and even currently my axie with poorly feet is stil munching a worm every day. Its worth putting a nice wriggly worm in there every day for say about an hour and that way if they feel like a snack its there and if not after an hour take the worm out and let the worm breathe a sigh of relief :happy:

It's my experience that no matter how well fed axolotl babies are, they will react to anything remotely wormlike waving in front of them by biting. These bites are extremely prone to fungal infection and if water quality is anything less than perfect and if the the water temp creeps up just a little, the problem becomes greatly exacerbated.

With babies around 3"- 4" I think normal salt baths might be too aggressive. I've had great success by simply directing a flow of water from a small plastic pipette directly at the fungus and dislodging it. I repeat perhaps 4 or 5 times over the day and by the end of the 2nd day there's usually no fungus left. As a last resort I have used a cotton bud to remove fungus clinging to a wound. It's important to change 100% of the water after each "wash". I actually change containers too, so I can wash each contaminated container and pipette with a salt and baking soda solution.

While the little fellers are in the fridge I keep a lot of 2 litre milk containers full of dechlorinated water with them so that water temp always remains at about 8 degrees Celsius.

I wouldn't worry about food while he's being fridged.

When he's on the mend give him bloodworm and/or earthworm.

carlos said:

There is no need to feed at all when in the fridge. there metabolism slows right down and passes anything that mite still be in the stomach which is why its also good for when they are trying to pass stones. Dont feed him untill he is back in normal temp water. Id leave hin in fridge till he looks better or for about a week.

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oh okay thanks! is there a certain amount that is too long to leave in fridge??

zoezakella said:

Hi I would be tempted to still try and feed you axie whilst in the fridge as Shelley says their metabolism slows right down BUT some still eat! I know mine have in the past and even currently my axie with poorly feet is stil munching a worm every day. Its worth putting a nice wriggly worm in there every day for say about an hour and that way if they feel like a snack its there and if not after an hour take the worm out and let the worm breathe a sigh of relief :happy:

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im not sure where to buy earth worms. any suggestions?

esoteric said:

It's my experience that no matter how well fed axolotl babies are, they will react to anything remotely wormlike waving in front of them by biting. These bites are extremely prone to fungal infection and if water quality is anything less than perfect and if the the water temp creeps up just a little, the problem becomes greatly exacerbated.

With babies around 3"- 4" I think normal salt baths might be too aggressive. I've had great success by simply directing a flow of water from a small plastic pipette directly at the fungus and dislodging it. I repeat perhaps 4 or 5 times over the day and by the end of the 2nd day there's usually no fungus left. As a last resort I have used a cotton bud to remove fungus clinging to a wound. It's important to change 100% of the water after each "wash". I actually change containers too, so I can wash each contaminated container and pipette with a salt and baking soda solution.

While the little fellers are in the fridge I keep a lot of 2 litre milk containers full of dechlorinated water with them so that water temp always remains at about 8 degrees Celsius.

I wouldn't worry about food while he's being fridged.

When he's on the mend give him bloodworm and/or earthworm.

Click to expand...

yeah i did not know about how all the water temps and quality had to be perfect for these little guys but i will try to get on that asap.. & i will try to remove the fungus, it wont hurt him right?

I'm pretty sure axolotls' can be left in the fridge for a while without having any harm done to them. I know people keep them in the fridge for the summer if they can't keep the temps down. I get my earthworms from walmart, but any bait shop should have some as well.

Not sure if you have a garden but if you do have a dig around you will find a few worms there as long as you dont use any chemicals in your soil that will be fine.

He may eat a worm he may not but it does not hurt to try, my fridged axie is eating a worm every other day at the moment