Axolotl dying? Swollen neck and limbs, not eating (update)

[debadog]

Hey, I'm pretty sure I already know that this is bad but about a week ago I noticed my axolotl was looking very fat, soon after I realised she looks that way because her neck and limbs have swollen. Last week when I tried to feed her pellets or worms she snapped them up but spat them back out. I isolated her in a bucket in bottled water, and I've just sat and waited to see if there will be any change. I tried feeding her tonight and she wont even try and snap at any food. I just really don't know what to do at this point. Do I keep waiting or...?

The pic in the tank is her last Wednesday, the one in the orange bucket is today, idk if I can see a change.

 

[axolotl nerd]

Hey, I'm pretty sure I already know that this is bad but about a week ago I noticed my axolotl was looking very fat, soon after I realised she looks that way because her neck and limbs have swollen. Last week when I tried to feed her pellets or worms she snapped them up but spat them back out. I isolated her in a bucket in bottled water, and I've just sat and waited to see if there will be any change. I tried feeding her tonight and she wont even try and snap at any food. I just really don't know what to do at this point. Do I keep waiting or...?

The pic in the tank is her last Wednesday, the one in the orange bucket is today, idk if I can see a change.

i doubt she has much of a chance at survival. edema, also known as bloat, typically occurs when an axolotls liver or kidneys start to fail, and is characterized by the swelling you’ve described. if she’s not even attempting to eat, she’s probably on her way to the big pond in the sky
however, that isn’t to say this is an entirely lost cause. if she has any chance of survival, it’s through veterinarian intervention. if you have the means and motivation to bring her to an exotic vet, i would do so immediately. it’s the only way she will survive.

if you can’t take her to a vet and she isn’t getting better, i suggest euthanasia. if you need advice on how to administer anesthesia and eventually put her down, i’d be willing to offer my thoughts
best wishes, hope she pulls through
- ren

 

[debadog]

i doubt she has much of a chance at survival. edema, also known as bloat, typically occurs when an axolotls liver or kidneys start to fail, and is characterized by the swelling you’ve described. if she’s not even attempting to eat, she’s probably on her way to the big pond in the sky
however, that isn’t to say this is an entirely lost cause. if she has any chance of survival, it’s through veterinarian intervention. if you have the means and motivation to bring her to an exotic vet, i would do so immediately. it’s the only way she will survive.

if you can’t take her to a vet and she isn’t getting better, i suggest euthanasia. if you need advice on how to administer anesthesia and eventually put her down, i’d be willing to offer my thoughts
best wishes, hope she pulls through
- ren

Thank you for responding, appreciate your honesty. I'm willing to pay for treatment if it actually has a change of success and wont just be led on a merry dance with the vet ordering x rays and other expensive nonsense that prolongs her suffering. Is there a circumstance where treatment could actually help her? I dont trust the vet to be truthful - I had a quick chat with her today and while she will agree to see axolotls I dont think shes necessarily an expert on them. I know you can euthanize with clove oil but I'm nervous and not sure if it's just easier and safer to let a vet do it?

 

[axolotl nerd]

Thank you for responding, appreciate your honesty. I'm willing to pay for treatment if it actually has a change of success and wont just be led on a merry dance with the vet ordering x rays and other expensive nonsense that prolongs her suffering. Is there a circumstance where treatment could actually help her? I dont trust the vet to be truthful - I had a quick chat with her today and while she will agree to see axolotls I dont think shes necessarily an expert on them. I know you can euthanize with clove oil but I'm nervous and not sure if it's just easier and safer to let a vet do it?

if it were me, id probably have the vet drain some fluid and see if things improve, hopefully if you have a good vet she will be truthful and honest in her likelihood at recovery
i personally would prefer to euthanize my own animal, though i would ask a vet for guidance

 

[debadog]

Final update to help those who go looking for answers like I did - I decided to leave Darwin alone and see if nature would take its course, the drive to a vets would have been long and stressful for her and I decided it wasnt worth putting her through uncomfortable and expensive procedures for an illness which was, in all likelihood, going to be fatal. This was a suspected organ failure, not septicaemia or another bacterial infection as she had it for over a month and it didnt affect her tank mate. From my research I could see that veterinary intervention in cases like this are very rarely successful and even if it was it could just come back in the future. Anyway I went away for a couple days and came home and knew she had to go, she was so bloated she was ready to pop and she was basically just existing at this point. I wanted to put her to sleep myself so I didnt have to take her in the car and also pay a £95 vet bill (!) but I couldnt find clear enough instructions for an adult and it made me panic a bit.

Shes the same axie as the one in my profile pic, my first one, so sad to see her go so young (5 1/2) but hope this is informative. I read somewhere this may have been caused by her eating too much nutrient rich food so I'm going to try and make worms a bigger part of their diets going forward.