Is it cruel to keep this guy alive?

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richardj

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Got a little yellow axolotl four days ago. Never had one before, but he was up for grabs and I felt so sorry for him. He has no limbs at all and his gills are stumps. Set him up with a tank but he just hovers on the bottom looking dead. Sometimes he bobs up to the top for a bit. The only time he gets animated is when I feed him, but it takes him ages to find the food. Could he be blind as well as limbless?

I've not kept an animal for decades, but I fell in love with this guy when I saw him. I don't know if he will recover or if I am being cruel keeping him going. I've attached a photo (I hope). I'm posting this hoping to get some thoughts and advice from experienced people. Please advise me...

Thanks very much
 

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Personally, I'd say you were doing the right thing in trying to save the little 1 ;)
The limbs should grow back + the gills don't look bad to me (or is my laptop not showing the photo very well?!). I guess it is about quality of life though. Could the lack of limbs make it difficult for him / her to get about, even though s/he could turn out to be a wonderfully happy + active little guy when they have grown back?
From my limited experience, axies tend to smell their food aswell as respond to movement - what are you feeding him / her?
If it's bloodworm, you'll probably lose a lot in between the rather nice looking rocks (which will, of couse affect water quality).
 
Thanks for getting back to me Mojo. I've only had him a few days but I fancy the gills have pink bits that were not there when I got him. He does indeed find it hard to locomote. He waggles the stumps of his limbs pointlessly, but he does manage to get about the tank.

It is chunks of frozen bloodworm I've fed him. But I've kept one end of the tank without pebbles and I drop the food there so I can hoover up the bits he does not eat. But he does eat like a pig. I really don't know where he puts it. I'm assuming that is a good sign. I've read that they should be fed on alternate days, but he wolfs it down so much I have been giving it to him every day. I want to be a responsible and humane owner, so I've done some reading. But I really am most grateful for any advice from you experienced folk.
 
I think you can do your best to make his/her life as comfortable and loving as you can now that he/she is in your life. Mother nature will have the final say. As memojo said his/her limbs will grow in time. Their eyesight isnt the best anyway.
He /she has a good chance at better and living a long and happy life.
You might have help with the food finding for a while. Maybe you could use a feeding jar so the food doesnt go everywhere and he doesnt have to search for it.
Great job
 
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I does look that he goes crazy when he can smell his feed but can't track it down. What's a feeding jar please leanne? Sounds like something that would help my guy.

(I love the internet - I knew nothing about axolotl last week. Have read up on the sites and am now getting brilliant advice from you lot. Thanks so much)
 
Oh he's a gorgeous little guy. Offer him the best of life and see what he makes of it. If he gets about the tank that's actually great! Even if he didn't I'd keep him alive hand feeding and seeing where he could be in a few months time. The most important points to take into consideration are whether he seems in pain, and if he's eating and moving around then that's a good sign he's not. He's just on the mend!

How long has he been missing the limbs? Do you know his history?

A feeding jar btw is an empty jar where bloodworms are popped in saving them going all around the tank. From what I gather anyway. I don't use one but I'm sure they help with keeping the place clean! I'm sure Lea will add extra or corrections here though!
 
I'd be inclined to keep him outside of a tank in a medium sized container with daily 50-75% water changes. This will make it easier to keep his water very clean and also make it easier on him to find the food. If you can find earthworms, those would be very nutritious and less messy than the bloodworms. A feeding jar is a baby food jar(or something similar) that you put his food into. Then tip it slowly onto its side and he should go into it to eat. It helps contain the mess, especially with bloodworms.
 
Thank you so much Ersz and animalloversfb. Your advice makes perfect sense. I'm going to be a totally responsible axolotl owner. I'm so pleased that you all saying it is worth persevering with him.

His history is that he was in a big tank with some young (but bigger) wild type axolotls and some big goldfish. All of whom were picking on him. I don't know how long he had been there. I'm just so glad he is in my home now. Even if all his paraphernalia has cost me a hundred quid so far!
 
No question!

What a dude he is!

I rescued an axie in pretty much the same state, Richard. Perhaps he had slightly more in the way of legs, but not much! And now he's the most friendly, and most active out of my lot, with the only sign he'd been nibbled being one slightly shorter leg.

Make sure he can get his food, a feeding jar is a great idea, keep his water in good condition, and you'll have a fully functioning axolotl before you know it!

Oh, I know this has been touched on already, but stones are a bit of a bugger for getting stuff trapped between them. It can make keeping the water good a nightmare, plus, if you move anything, any crud just gets flung everywhere. Plus, with no legs, negotiating big rocks might be more troublesome for the little guy. Sand or a bare bottomed tank might be worth considering!

Congrats :)
 
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OK, I'll get rid of the pebbles till he has limbs again.

Is it possible he is blind though (his eyes are pinky-orange colour)? He really doesn't seem to have a clue.
 
Pinky orange eyes are normal for albinos (and golden albinos like yours) so I wouldn't worry. They don't have eyelids, so sometimes they might appear to not be reacting but they are actually having a snooze.

Afaik axies don't have brilliant vision, and rely on vibration and smell a lot, and they do tend to look a bit hapless in their wanderings, sometimes! You'll probably fiind that as axie settles in and starts to associate you with food, you'll get more of a response. Funny how much better their vision gets when worms are involved ;)
 
sorry richard I was offline for a while cause I had to talk to some naughty students:(
The other have explained what a feeding jar is and done so very well:D. I use a feeding jar so I can keep the food in one place. I use a peanut butter jar that has been cleaned out very well. This gives the axies enough room to go in and they can turn around in it if they have too.
Axies arent known for their wonderful eyesight. They can see but not very well(from what I understand anyway).
Welcome to the world of axies.....the obsession has begun:D
Please post some photos of how he going
What is his/her name???
 
Awwww what a cute little axie :love: I love that you fell in love with this little one and wanted to give him/her the best.

Your little one reminds me on my first axie. She was missing both her front legs and her back legs are deformed and useless.

She grew back one arm and has a cute little stub hand on the other. She still isn't able to move the best, but she is living a happy comfortable axolotl life and I love her to bits.

So believe me you are doing that axie a great favor. All it needs is a little love! :p some TLC. S/he will grow her legs back, especially since s/he is young. Regeneration is at its best when they are young.

All you need to do is provide him/ her a clean cool environment and feed nutrient filled foods. As the others have said, earthworms are the best! They also are the easiest to feed because they don't make a mess everywhere and you can drop them right in front of his/her face.

I'm sure you will see improvement in a short while after giving this little one a lil bit of love. :happy:

Good luck! S/he is so cute!
 
Good for you! I was just the same - got 2 axies knowing very little about them - now thanks to this site I kind of pride myself on all I know about them! *puffs out chest*.

I'd imagine that he needs all the food he can get right now - regenerating 4 limbs must be hard work!
 
Thanks again so much everyone. What a smashing forum you are. So it's stones out, earthworms in, keep the water clean and my little Jesus ought to be OK.

One more question. He is about two and a bit inches long. What size or earthworm can he handle?
 
Mine tend to eat worms about 1/2 or 3/4 their length. I tried them with those to see how they managed - with the idea to chop them into smaller pieces if they struggled, but they really don't! From the bait shop I use, those are classed as 'medium'.
 
He's only 2 and a half inches long?! Awh!

I totally forgot to mention before one of my new babies is missing most of it's front legs! It's only been a week and already her left leg especially is coming along famously! I haven't got a more recent photo yet the one attached is actually her first day home. You've heard some success stories already but just thought I'd add a bit more hope for you!

With removing the pebbles you might see your axolotl wandering around a bit more btw! Even my fully limbed lotls when on big pebbles waddled a bit and seemed to find it a bit tough to navigate over them! But mine are all kinda ditsy!

Oh, and incoming baby photo of Tumblety! This must be the 3rd thread I've snuck her into now...:p
 

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I've just discovered from the dude himself that he can eat a much bigger worm than I could ever imagine. Good grief I was so proud watching him. I think he surprised himself. I doubt he's ever had one before. I just got one from the garden and gave it a wash. Is OK to do that?

Erzs, thanks for the info about the pebbles. I see now that they are no good if he's having his bloodworm and it'll be difficult to hoover out his poo. The thing is I had read that the bare glass floor freaks them out and they can ingest gravel, so I put the pebbles in thinking I was doing best by him. Anyway, they are out now. When he does get his limbs back, what is best to put on the bottom of the tank then?

BTW your Tumblety is a star. Great that his limbs are regenerating. I'll be so pleased if my Jesus flourishes like him, right now, you'd be forgiven for thinking he's a goldfish!
 
Hahaha! Go little guy! They are brilliant at feeding time, he'll be giving you 'axolotl eyes' 24/7 now for more worms ;)

There are a few options for the tank bottom. I like sand, find it easy to clean and nice looking, also gives you something to put plants into if you get into that. You don't need much, just a cm, even!

Lots of folks have bare bottoms and I've seen some wicked slate bottoms too (oh i just love saying bottom), check out the threads in the tank section on here, TONS ideas!

Well done you, btw :)
 
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