A boy or a girl?

[StuStu]

Hey Guys,

So i recently made a post about fridging my axolotl because i thought he was constipated but i'm very confused.

So because i couldnt tell the sex at first i've always assumed Limbo was a boy but then about a year ago i done some research and from what i found out i thought limmy was actually a girl... no big deal, i still refer to him as a boy and he/she doesn't seem to mind

Anyways, i went away for xmas and left limmy with my sis in law and she was feeding him bloodworms. Apparently he was a happy little camper and was pooping but now he's back home and i've started him on earthworms. Ive fed him earthworms before and was reading they are a better source of nutrition for adults than blood worms so i gave him 1 a day for a few days.

All was going well but then i noticed this weird lump forming around where he poops. My initial thought was that it was some left over bloodworms in his system so i gave it a couple of days but but no poop came out but this white mucusy stuff was. His tail started to curl a lot so i figured i would try fridging him to help pass whatever was causing the problem.

Never tried fridging before so i done all the research and moved him to the fridge and he spent a good 14 hours in there but i was kinda freaking out so i transferred him back that night. There were bits of poop in the water but really nothing substantial.

Once back in the tank for a few hours the "blob" starting to poke out again and the white stuff returned, again i thought he hadn't passed what he needed so i fridged him again but this time was brave enough to leave him in there for the whole day and a whole night. Next day there were no signs of poop in the water at all so i transferred him back again and sure enough the "blob" has returned.

So i'm looking at this thing and thinking that it's too red for poop and combined with the white stuff i started wondering if maybe Limmy is actually a boy and they are sperm deposits? so now i've been doing research and im stuck

Based on what i see limmy has a small lump between his legs but not as big as the pictures and videos of other males but he is also a lot wider and rounder than males and seems to match the shape of a female possibly carrying eggs?

I've attached a few pics and hopefully we can get a general consensus on what sex Limmy actually is and maybe what's wrong with him. For all i know this could be natural behavior for males but that red lump looks very painful and his tail is clearly curling, especially at the tip.


p.s no idea why pic 5 is upside down

 

[Holly12]

Auntiejude is very good with axies! Maybe she has an opinion?

 

[StuStu]

If anyone has any input on this i would really appreciate it. I've done all the research i can and i'm pretty sure limmy is trying to lay eggs but something is wrong.

Pictures 7 and 8 show some possible eggs in what is coming out but Picture 9 is the most recent and i don't see anything else coming out. The reflection in the bottom of the tank shows the actual size of this white cloud thats been produced over the last few days.

Lim has always been big compared to other axies i've seen, maybe the reason is that eggs have been produced inside but a problem is stopping them being released and now it's too much and they are being forced out painfully?

I have no idea what to do in this situation. Only thing i can think of is fridging to relax the muscles?

If there are any breeders on here have they had this happen to any of their axies before? what would they do if this happened to one of theirs?

 

[emdalliance]

It looks like a prolapse. I don't know if trying to push eggs out can cause that, it definitely doesn't look normal per say. There should be so much "red" hanging out, there should just be a fleshy dilated "opening" where the eggs pop out of.

Do you have any access to a vet?


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[StuStu]

i really wish i did. i've been doing some research and can't seem to find one but i'll keep looking.

Prolapse, thats the word i was looking for.

 

[FX1C]

I would agree that it is a prolapse issue.

Also keep in mind that fridging an axolotl is not something you do for just a day - it's a longer term temporary solution that will help some issues - the important thing to remember is that sudden changes in temperature are really stressful for the axolotl & bringing them out of the fridge back to tank temp should be done over many hours - removing from fridge in the container of water & placing container & axolotl in a cooler box with ice it & lid closed holding the fridge temp then as the ice melts it will warm up slowly, after that you can open the lid a little & slowly bring temp back up to tank temp.

The better solution is usually to remove the axolotl & place in a large tuppaware container & give 100% water changes daily - this will not be as stressful as fridge or salt baths & you can add some black tea to the fresh water changes to add tannins to the water - indian Almond leaves added can also help as they have antibacterial properties & can soothe sore red areas.

I would try the fresh water daily with both black tea & leaves in the tub keep it somewhere cool & dark & continue treatment for at least a week to see if it helps the prolapse, if it doesn't then I think you'll need to see an exotics vet.

Good luck & keep us updated


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