Mikaeru
New member
Hello everyone! I just joined the forum, so I apologize if I posted this in the wrong section or anything. I really respect the advice I see posted here (which is why I decided to join), so the last thing I want to do is bother anyone!
I recently purchased two axolotls (a GFP leucistic and a wild type) from a pet store where I live. According to the pet store, they are about 6 months old. They are both about 5 or 6 inches long. I am keeping them both in a 20 gallon tank. The substrate I am using is large marbles (an inch in diameter).
However, the pet store was using small gravel as a substrate. About two days after we brought them home, I noticed the leucistic one was very lethargic and was having trouble swimming. She (I'm not sure her gender, but I usually refer to her as a she) could still swim, but it seemed like it was kind of difficult for her to get herself off of the ground. We just assumed she was less active than the wild type at first, but as the day went by, I noticed her belly looked bloated and I could see what looked like a light blue pebble inside her stomach (the gravel used by the pet store was varying shades of blue). In fact, her entire stomach looks to be a dark bluish, purplish color.
Using the advice I found on the forum, I decided the best thing to do would be to fridge her. I set my fridge at 6 degrees Celsius. I fridged her for 2 days and changed the water daily with dechlorinated, pre-fridged water. On the second day, she passed the light blue stone in her feces. I could no longer see the stone in her stomach and she didn't look bloated anymore, so I decided to remove her from the fridge, let the water warm to room temperature, and I put her back in the display tank. She was much more active upon returning to the tank.
As the day went on, I noticed her belly had some lumps in it. I also became concerned because I can clearly see her stomach as a dark blue color, while many pictures of leucistic axolotls I have found do not look like this. I believe she ate quite a bit of gravel while at the pet store, which is responsible for the lumps in her stomach. I can also feel hard lumps in her stomach (when I transferred her from the tank I gently stroked her stomach to feel them). I became worried about impaction, so I decided to fridge her again. She has been in the fridge since Thursday. I had read that 3 days is typically enough time in the fridge, so I had planned to remove her and start the process to return her to the tank tomorrow. However, she still has not passed any additional gravel, so I am hesitant to remove her from the fridge until she passes all of it. She doesn't seem to feel "bad", and she has continued to eat through all of this (with the exception of when she's in the fridge--I have offered food, but she doesn't seem interested, which I have read is normal).
Here are my questions/concerns:
1. Should I leave her in the fridge until she passes the gravel, or should I return her to the tank since she doesn't really seem to "feel" sick?
2. I know that fridging itself is actually de-stressing, but my concern is that constantly moving her everyday when I change her water is going to put undue stress on her. Is this a big concern?
3. If she is not actually suffering from an impaction at this point (she obviously has gravel in her belly, but I don't think the gravel has migrated far enough into her digestive system to technically block anything yet), will fridging her even help? Should I wait until she shows signs of impaction before fridging her, or am I doing the right thing by being proactive and fridge her before impaction occurs?
4. Is it common at all for an axolotl to die because of ingesting gravel? If I take the necessary steps to keep her healthy, is there a good chance of her surviving?
I am sorry to make this post so long. I am just really concerned and want to do everything I can to help her. I am also worried that the wild type may have ingested gravel since he was being kept with the same substrate at the pet store, but let's just hope he managed to avoid it.
Thanks so much in advanced for your help!
Sorry for the horrible picture, but you can see her dark belly very well.
I recently purchased two axolotls (a GFP leucistic and a wild type) from a pet store where I live. According to the pet store, they are about 6 months old. They are both about 5 or 6 inches long. I am keeping them both in a 20 gallon tank. The substrate I am using is large marbles (an inch in diameter).
However, the pet store was using small gravel as a substrate. About two days after we brought them home, I noticed the leucistic one was very lethargic and was having trouble swimming. She (I'm not sure her gender, but I usually refer to her as a she) could still swim, but it seemed like it was kind of difficult for her to get herself off of the ground. We just assumed she was less active than the wild type at first, but as the day went by, I noticed her belly looked bloated and I could see what looked like a light blue pebble inside her stomach (the gravel used by the pet store was varying shades of blue). In fact, her entire stomach looks to be a dark bluish, purplish color.
Using the advice I found on the forum, I decided the best thing to do would be to fridge her. I set my fridge at 6 degrees Celsius. I fridged her for 2 days and changed the water daily with dechlorinated, pre-fridged water. On the second day, she passed the light blue stone in her feces. I could no longer see the stone in her stomach and she didn't look bloated anymore, so I decided to remove her from the fridge, let the water warm to room temperature, and I put her back in the display tank. She was much more active upon returning to the tank.
As the day went on, I noticed her belly had some lumps in it. I also became concerned because I can clearly see her stomach as a dark blue color, while many pictures of leucistic axolotls I have found do not look like this. I believe she ate quite a bit of gravel while at the pet store, which is responsible for the lumps in her stomach. I can also feel hard lumps in her stomach (when I transferred her from the tank I gently stroked her stomach to feel them). I became worried about impaction, so I decided to fridge her again. She has been in the fridge since Thursday. I had read that 3 days is typically enough time in the fridge, so I had planned to remove her and start the process to return her to the tank tomorrow. However, she still has not passed any additional gravel, so I am hesitant to remove her from the fridge until she passes all of it. She doesn't seem to feel "bad", and she has continued to eat through all of this (with the exception of when she's in the fridge--I have offered food, but she doesn't seem interested, which I have read is normal).
Here are my questions/concerns:
1. Should I leave her in the fridge until she passes the gravel, or should I return her to the tank since she doesn't really seem to "feel" sick?
2. I know that fridging itself is actually de-stressing, but my concern is that constantly moving her everyday when I change her water is going to put undue stress on her. Is this a big concern?
3. If she is not actually suffering from an impaction at this point (she obviously has gravel in her belly, but I don't think the gravel has migrated far enough into her digestive system to technically block anything yet), will fridging her even help? Should I wait until she shows signs of impaction before fridging her, or am I doing the right thing by being proactive and fridge her before impaction occurs?
4. Is it common at all for an axolotl to die because of ingesting gravel? If I take the necessary steps to keep her healthy, is there a good chance of her surviving?
I am sorry to make this post so long. I am just really concerned and want to do everything I can to help her. I am also worried that the wild type may have ingested gravel since he was being kept with the same substrate at the pet store, but let's just hope he managed to avoid it.
Thanks so much in advanced for your help!
Sorry for the horrible picture, but you can see her dark belly very well.
can I ask what you're feeding her? Earthworms would be best right now, because their 'slime' coats the stomach and the gravel, making it easier to get apart/ come out. Maybe some other members can give you advice on fridging, because I'm not experienced with that.