Axolotls on gravel :(

[digitalxri0t]

Hi, I recently rescued three adult axolotl's who are nice colored, plump and seemingly healthy. Then...gravel in the bottom of the tank. I texted up the person I got them from who has had them since they were babies and asked her if they were on gravel before I got them..she sadly said yes.

Now all three of them dont seem to be in any distress. Theyre all eating, moving and otherwise behaving normally but there's gravel appearing over night every day. Does anyone have any experience in helping push that stuff out? Should I just wait it out over time since they seem to be having no issues? Theyre under my window (and its flipping COLD outside) so theyre staying nice and chilled. Is there anything else I can do to help my new kids?

 

[Petersgirl]

Feed worms. Lots and lots of vurms! Regular meals will encourage their tummies to empty regularly - like they do in humans. Although there isn't any proof that worms soften their leavings, it seems logical that fatty or soft foods will produce soft poops and make the gravel easier to pass. If they don't appear to be in distress, keep feeding as normal, keeping an eye out for large gravel (which can get stuck in their bottoms on the way out), discomfort, abnormal amounts of 'floating,' including just the floaty bottom, or unusual lumps in their tummy. Also look out for not wanting to eat or the mouth hanging open - these can be signs of impaction which might mean some gravel has gotten lodged in their gut. If this happens fridging may be required.

If they seem healthy just keep feeding and don't fridge, as that's only used to slow down their metabolisms to stop them digesting something they shouldn't. Hope this helps!

 

[digitalxri0t]

Logic is what I like to go by! Ill feed them as much as they will take it then. I have been keeping a keen eye ever since I put them in the quarantine tank. I was concerned about a little patch of miscolored skin which lead to me discovering this much more important issue. So far no floating, gaping mouths or the like. I will be sure to look closely for anything stuck though! I didn't figure fridging would help any at this moment. Thanks so much for the reply!

 

[Petersgirl]

No problem Feed as much as you would normally, as many as they will eat comfortably without being sick (my six incher, for example, can only eat one worm a day or she'll be sick). Hopefully this will keep her motions soft and easier to pass. Hopefully in time you'll stop seeing gravel at the bottom of the tank and won't have to worry about it anymore.

 

[digitalxri0t]

Usually mine only eat once a day. However having only had these new kids for a few days I don't know much about them. I did feed them yesterday which they took without hesitation but didn't seem inclined to have more after that. Can't say as I blame them what with a belly full of rocks.


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[Morrison]

Same thing here. Bought a huge male axie 3 months ago and he still poops gravel. He wasn't on gravel when I bought him though. I just feed him a lot indeed. If you see gravel in the tank, remove it immediately before they eat it again.

And they should really come up with something called Lax-a-lotl to make them 'do their stuff'.

 

[digitalxri0t]

Oh god, I've heard stories about them taking forever to pass gravel. What irritates me more is they were not on gravel in the picture taken, they were in black sand. But they're pooping out neutral colored gravel. The water they were in was also yellow and leads me to think they put them in another tank for the picture and that my poor kids were under very bad care. I hope your guy is doing well though! This is a very scary process x.x


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[Morrison]

Oh yes it is.
Thank god he's doing fine. He eats, poops and behaves like a normal axie should.

 

[Petersgirl]

It's never nice to be shocked by something that happens to/comes from/appears on your baby, but we do our best to make sure they get better

Just wondering, Morrison, did you fridge yours? I'm reluctant to suggest it because it's so stressful, but I'm wondering if you did and whether it was beneficial to your babies? I've just been on another board where they were suggesting it for a similar problem and I'm not so sure I should have dismissed it so quickly.

 

[Morrison]

I haven't. I'm not a big fan of fridging actually. I've done it before and it went totally wrong. Both fridged axies died somehow. I followed the steps but something somewhere went wrong and I don't know what happened. So I don't trust the fridge anymore.

 

[digitalxri0t]

I totally missed it but they really should. Maybe some day our kids will be so popular the petstores actually know what they are and specialize in them more and make products like that.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, it seems fridging is a really tricky business.