Hi Orangebud,
Your axie might have a fungal infection on its gills. That would cause it to lose its appetite so the worms have nothing to do with it.
You would have to fridge and perform salt baths on the axie to treat fungal infections.
http://www.caudata.org/axolotl-sanctuary/Fridging.shtml
Fridging your axie will destress it, boost its immune system and render harmful pathogens (both bacterial and fungal) less viable.
- Set your fridge to about 5 degree celsius.
- Put your axie in a container large enough to allow it to stretch its limbs and tail comfortably.
- Fill with fresh dechlorinated water enough to submerge it but not allowing it to float.
- Cover with a lid. You can use a perforated lid or netting to prevent it jumping out.
- Use a tea towel to cover it to keep the environment dark.
- Perform 100% water changes daily with clean dechlorinated water.
- You can pre prepare bottles of water in the fridge.
- Continue to offer a variety of nutritious food daily. Try live wriggly food like blackworms, bloodworms, earthworms. You can also try the usual pellet, offer treats of shrimp and fish etc. Otherwise you can also blend everything in a food processor and then roll the resultant mash into a pea sized ball to try offer your axie. Remove uneaten food within 20 min.
I would try fridging your axolotl for 2 weeks and continually monitor for improvement. Please update on the progress every couple of days.
Fungal infections will also warrant salt baths. You basically
- Dissolve 2-3 flat teaspoonfuls of non iodised salt such as freshwater aquarium salt, kosher salt or sea salt to a litre of clean dechlorinated water in a tub.
- Do not use table salt, chicken salt etc.
- Place your axie in the tub for 10-15 min but not any longer.
- Prolonged soaking in the salt baths can damage the axie's gills and skin.
- You can do this once daily and monitor for progress.
- You may also gently tease out the fungal mass with a cotton Q-tip while in the salt baths.
- It is normal for the axie to 'struggle' a bit in the baths due to the stinging sensation on the infection site.
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/salt.shtml
Cheers