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Illness/Sickness: Belly full of air.

GazerOfStars

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I went to Arizona for thanksgiving and tasked my roommate with taking care of my two Juvie Axolotls while I was gone. I taught him how to feed them earthworms, and to mind the temperature of the tank while I was gone.

I came back to find that one of my Axolotls was floating at the top of the tank with a belly full of air. He said that an hour before I had gotten back when he checked on them they both looked fine. The temperature then was a little hot, 72 degrees F

There was a noticeable struggle with him trying to get to the bottom of the tank. When he rested he tended to float on his side at the top of the tank. He spent his time grabbing onto plants, or getting under ornaments to stay at the bottom.

Water parameters were all fine when I came home( minus the temp)

I put the little guy in a tupperware container with some of the tank water and fridged him. As of this post he's been in there a full day. He's still eating, but the bubble is still there :(

Has anyone been through this before, any advice you can lend me? Could it be a parasite and not just swallowed air?
 

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Chirple

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Do you think it's possible they were a bit overfed and are now a bit backed-up ?
 

GazerOfStars

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It's entirely possible. My roommate did say "I fed them one time, but he kept jumping up and looking at me so I gave him some more" *Rolls eyes*

As of this post he's still in the fridge. I fed him a small piece of worm today and he did eat and poo it out later that day. Bubble is still there though :/

Suppose I should cut off on the feedings then?

One other thing worries me. I bought my earthworms from Walmart. When I looked in some of the containers of worms some had white stuff on top of the dirt (Fungus?) I made sure to pick one that was free of white.

Think these worms could have caused this?
 

Kaysie

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Keep him in the fridge, and keep offering food as long as he's eating. It might take a few days, but he should take a mighty poo, and that'll help move the air bubble out.

As for the worms, I've never had a problem with walmart worms. When worms die in the container, they go fungus-y quite quickly and can foul the whole container of worms. As long as you pick out a container that's free of fungus and gooey-looking worms, you should be fine.
 

GazerOfStars

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I just wanted to report in that my little guy is doing much better :) after being in the fridge a few days the bubble decreased in size so I thought I would reintroduce him back in the tank to see how he faired in there.

He still floated a little bit and was clever enough to grab onto a plant or stay under an oranament to stay anchored down. Within a couple of days he was bubble free(from what i could tell) and was staying at the bottom of the tank on his own.

Lately he's been leaving very loose/pile of dust poos ( diarrhea? ) but
Other then that he's been behaving normally.

If this of any concern please let me know.

Otherwise thanks to everyone here who eased my worry :)
 

Albi_the_axolotlt

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My axolotl has been experiencing something similar I put her in a container with enough water to cover her back and she got better as a few days went by, I can still see the bubble in her stomach but she's doing just fine even if it is there. I am very happy your axolotl got better!
 
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