Anyone know about their pain threshold?

[scarlet]

I have one poor axie who has had a bad life before me! He/she's about 6 mths old...one front leg is only half there,-I think it's going through a weird looking 'grow back' stage (I hope!) The other front leg looks dislocated...or it's broken-or grown back out of place or something. Will it eventually fall off & regrow? It does appear to try to use the leg when it swims. It's gills r in bad shape too. Will my poor axie be in pain? Is there anything I can do? It won't eat-but I've read this can take time. Also, the other axie stays close by it's side...I don't know if it's being a predator coz the other is so weak or if it's just being friendly. Keeping a close eye on them...have seen no agression. What do u think? I've only had them for 4 days-they both came from same tank...have had many questions but this is the only one I have not yet found an answer for. Great forum guys...so glad I found it-been VERY helpful

 

[joan]

Scarlet, have you read www.axolotl.org? this will answer a lot of your questions. As for specifics, use salt baths to prevent infections on the limbs and gills. It probably won't eat, but they can go a month without food (in some cases). If you suspect predation, seperate the two axolotls. It would be helpful to your weak axolotl to be in its own tank, then it would not have to worry about avoiding the other one or fighting for its own food. If you've only had them for 4 days, they're probably not settled yet. Keep trying live foods (such as earthworms, etc), and try the salt baths.

 

[claire]

yeah i agree with the salt baths and separation of the two. how big are they???

the limbs will regenerate quite quickly. You can also keep the ill axie in the fridge to slow down any infections that may be growing on the wounded legs.

 

[scar_let]

The sick one is 15cm (6") the other one is slightly longer & fatter. I did put the sick one in the fridge and gave it salt baths for 2 days to get rid of it's fungus-which has gone away. I stopped the salt baths after the fungus went coz it's gills aren't too good as it is and I was worried I was disturbing it too much! I might just do 1 per day? how long is too long to keep them in the fridge-I feel mean! If separating them, what is the minimum size container that u would use for the sick one? Yeah I have checked out axolotl.org ...thanx. P.S> I registered as scarlet to caudata but my email account has an error-so I can't log on until I can get my email from caudata-I had to use another name-sorry to confuse u!

 

[joan]

They're perfectly comfortable in the fridge. You can keep it there for up to a week. 1 salt bath per day sounds good. You might also want to try mixing in a little bit of salt to their regular aquarium water. If you're seperating them, make sure your second tank is clean. I'd use a 10 gallon tank (18x12x12 inches, I think) for a temporary home.

 

[claire]

well im keeping my 8-9 inch female in a 24"x 12" x 12" tank at the moment because i dont want her to breed any more. she seems fine in this and is as happy as ever!

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[scar_let]

Thanx guys! Sick one ate for the first time yesterday must be doing something right!

 

[joan]

Keep up the good work!

 

[claire]

Thats great news. Hopefully his/hers gills and legs will get better.

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Good Luck