Bloated Axie?

[watertiger21]

I've always though my axie was just chubby, but now I'm worried that she might actually be bloated. I've checked all over the place, and there's no vet that'll treat an axolotl around here (even if I drive an hour in either direction).

First, what do you think? Bloated? She's been this same size for a long time (weeks).

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Second, any suggestions? There's no gravel in the tank, just fine sand. I feed her bloodworms and pellets I got from the breeder, plus an occasional small earthworm. Water temperature never goes above 65 degrees Fahrenheit, but it usually stays at about 62. She still has an appetite and eats whenever I give her food. As an experiment to test if it was bloat, I tried not feeding her for a week. She didn't get any skinnier but stayed the exact same.

I'm probably just going to put her in the fridge and cross my fingers.

 

[Morrison]

I'm not sure. I have two female axies and they're pretty round as well. Don't think it's bloat. I think they're just full of eggs. (I mean, it's not getting worse).

I wonder what other people think about your lotl.

 

[watertiger21]

Okay, I'll force myself to calm down and not freak out just quite yet.
I didn't realize that females may be a bit chubbier than males.
I shall await a few others' opinions and we shall see!

 

[Kaysie]

She looks pretty big.

Since you're keeping her so cold, it could be that she's not metabolizing food so fast. Try withholding food for a little while (more than a week), and see if that changes anything.

 

[xxianxx]

We had a discussion in chat about the pics and the consensus is that it looks like it is bloated rather than gravid.

 

[Olivia97]

If she's bloated wouldnt te rest of her body be swollen as well?

 

[watertiger21]

She looks pretty big.
Since you're keeping her so cold, it could be that she's not metabolizing food so fast. Try withholding food for a little while (more than a week), and see if that changes anything.

Okay. No feeding for awhile (lol she's not gonna like that... loves her food waaay too much!)

Does that mean that putting her in the fridge is actually a bad thing to do in this case? And even though the tank is always at 62ish, she's always been very active.

 

[Kaysie]

She's plenty cool enough; there's no need to fridge her.

 

[watertiger21]

Okay. Thanks everyone! (I hopped onto chat and scrolled back to the part where everyone was discussing.) I shall follow your advice!