Illness/Sickness: Impaction from sand???

shells

shells

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I woke this morning to find my lovely Abraham floating tail up (classic impacted stance) the thing I want to know is it possible for him to become impacted from the sand? :confused: I've never seen him "eat" the sand and when ever he's taken some up with food i've watched him spit it out, I'm sure some has made it's was into his belly though. He has since been placed in the fridge with water just covering him to lower his stress levels.

Could it possibly be anything else? There is nothing else in the tank for him to injest, his in a lovely 3ft tank all by himself and the water chemisty is fine...
 
It is possible but quite rare. He'd normally have to actually be eating the sand just for the fun of it. My axies will clean up the sand after eating a frozen bloodworm cube and they'll end up ingesting a bit of it, but that always seems to pass fine, so unless he's just been gobbling up the sand when you aren't looking then I doubt it's that.

Do you have snails he could have eaten? Is it possible he's just decided he wants to float? Does he look distressed by not being able to get the bottom of the tank?

Sorry for the questions, just makes it easier to identify if he really might be impacted from something...
I'd say if he doesn't look too distressed about floating it's possible he may have just gulped some air which he should eventually burp out.
 
I have not found any snails in the tank.

He can get to the bottom of the tank but only manages to get his front legs down. It's hard to tell if he's getting stressed, however I did see him this morning moving about under the plants to try and get his back legs down, which is what led me to believe he wasn't the most comfortable. He's such a character he could have decided he just wants to float!

Have I done the wrong thing by placing him in the fridge? I can't do much about it now till I get home as I'm at work.

Thanks for your help.
 
danchristopher said:
It is possible but quite rare. He'd normally have to actually be eating the sand just for the fun of it. My axies will clean up the sand after eating a frozen bloodworm cube and they'll end up ingesting a bit of it, but that always seems to pass fine, so unless he's just been gobbling up the sand when you aren't looking then I doubt it's that.

Do you have snails he could have eaten? Is it possible he's just decided he wants to float? Does he look distressed by not being able to get the bottom of the tank?

Sorry for the questions, just makes it easier to identify if he really might be impacted from something...
I'd say if he doesn't look too distressed about floating it's possible he may have just gulped some air which he should eventually burp out.
Click to expand...


I had a problem a couple weeks ago with a sand eating axolotl. A vacation in the refrigerator sorted him out.
My thread has a video of him throwing up sand - all in all he ended up throwing up about 2 and 1/2 teaspoons worth!
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...f58-sick-axolotl/80313-i-have-sand-eater.html
 
OMG! That's alot of swallowed sand poor thing.... I'm assuming seeing as you have a sand eater you now have a glass bottom?
 
danchristopher said:
Sorry for the questions, just makes it easier to identify if he really might be impacted from something...
I'd say if he doesn't look too distressed about floating it's possible he may have just gulped some air which he should eventually burp out.
Click to expand...

I forgot to add that Abraham did pass poo yesterday not alot but it was some which all adds to my confusion.. maybe there's more to pass? Maybe he has something else wrong with him :(
 
Do you feed only bloodworms? I suggest trying to refrigerate him for a few days to see what he passes, then try feeding him an earth worm. Don't be surprised if he does not eat right away because the cold can decrease their appetite.
 
He rarely gets bloodworms, is usually fed on earthworms from my worm farm. He spent a couple of weeks on pellets as I was away and in the trusty care of my flatmate (she loves him as much as i do! and well versed in proper care of axies) she just draws the line at digging up wriggley worms.

Am I causing undue distress or damage by having him in the fridge?
 
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shells said:
He rarely gets bloodworms, is usually fed on earthworms from my worm farm. He spent a couple of weeks on pellets as I was away and in the trusty care of my flatmate (she loves him as much as i do! and well versed in proper care of axies) she just draws the line at digging up wriggley worms.

Am I causing undue distress or damage by having him in the fridge?
Click to expand...

I would say no, the fridge lets them literally 'chill' out so it shouldn't be causing any stress. I think the fridge is probably a good place to have him in this case to see what he passes over the next 24 hours.
When did you last feed him though? If it was quite recently then he might throw up his food but that's nothing to worry about, just a natural reaction to stop it decomposing in his gut.
 
Phew, I thought that might be the case. He was fed on tues so hopefully most has been digested. I'm guessing if not alot passes and he continues to float tail up upon reintroduction to the tank a trip to the vet maybe in order.

While I call Abraham a he I'm almost confident he's and she! Is it possible she could be egg impacted even if there is no tank mate? Do females still lay eggs while on their own??
 
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