FYI: BE CAREFUL! Axolotls can get egg bound

As you will have read, most axolotls have A LOT of eggs.. If yours does not and starts showing signs within a couple of days that she is agitated (not eating, droopy gills etc) she may be egg bound. You need to milk her or she could get septicaemia. I only say this because my wild axi Olive passed today after visiting the vets too late.. Because we had believed this idea that axolotls always reabsorb their eggs. Don't rely 100% on general advise, nothing is better than a vets diagnosis if the usual things (fridge, salt baths) don't work. Also the fridge can slow the process of infection making it more diifficult to recognise.

I learnt all this the hard way if you're really worries about your pet take him/her to the vet.

Thank you for the advice. I'm sorry for your loss

Thank you for sharing, that is so sad. She will be swimming with my friends, I lost five adult axies to an unsafe water treatment some months ago, and I really feel for your loss.

Sorry for your loss thanks for sharing the information :sad::sad:

Whats 'milking them'?

Did a vet actually advise you to "milk" eggs out of your axolotl? And how would one go about this?

Sorry for your lost....thanks for the info!

I'm sorry for the trouble you experienced, and I'm sure your vet is doing their best. However, Ambystoma do not get egg-bound (no salamander is capable of this, as far as I'm aware). If the eggs are not laid, they are resorbed into the body. That's a fact. If I had a literature citation handy I would post it for you but I don't. You'll have to take my word on it.

The big problem here is that vets who are not amphibian experts like to lump amphibians in with reptiles. This is a common mistake. Very few vets are going to tell you "Well, I have a lot of experience with reptiles, but I'm not an expert on amphibians". Incidentally, I would be more inclined to work with a vet who admits ignorance but shows a willingness to help, than work with one whose ego and desire for cash outweighs their ethics (or one who actually believes amphibians and reptiles have the same physiology!).

I don't dispute that there was something wrong with your axolotl, but it certainly wasn't egg binding.