Boyancy problems

[kayleighh18]

I've had my axies since june this year and over the past few days one of my leucistic ones (salamence) has been sitting at the top of the tank and when he goes to the bottom he cant seem to keep his tail and bum on the floor. at first i thought it was a game he/she decided to play but when i woke up today he was sat at the top of the tank and was playing dead i woke him up gently by moving the plant he/she was sitting on and he/she swam to the bottom of the tank and still wasn't putting his back end down to the floor, i went out and when i came home he/she was playing dead again. is he/she ill and is there anything i can do to stop him/her doing this? as his/her 3 tank mates are perfectly fine.

 

[kayleighh18]

after reading through a few posts I have realised salamence has constipation... how can I help him/her pass it?

 

[auntiejude]

Waxworms are nice and fatty - they can provide the 'lubrication' to help him/her poop. You may get told to put your axie in the fridge - not really necessary unless it's been a week and still no poop (and fridging is stressful for the axie).

Othe than that, just let nature take it's course.

 

[kayleighh18]

thankyou i will keep an eye on him/her (so hard to tell sexes at their age) and will try to get a hold of the worms as i said ive only become worried as it happenes evey so often but today he/she seems to be sitting at the top of the tank a lot more n plays dead to the point he/she made my brother jump when he/she woke up once we moved the plant and scarpered to the bottom of the tank

 

[ETNiESdublin]

Having same issue myself only not as bad.. Tuco's bum looks like its floating up a bit, he hasnt been floating badly though.. and has been pooping.. hope its not another problem

 

[Petersgirl]

Some axolotls can be 'floaty' or often get constipated - Galaxy, my Golden Albino, often floats her bottom in the air when constipated.

Keep feeding regular meals - such as waxworms, like Auntiejude suggested - and the food will lubricate the gut and allow nature to take its course. It should eventually pass. Some 'lotls are also prone to wind - again, regular meals will help this to pass. You may have one particular 'windy' lotl who just gets a lot of gas.

Not to be a negative Betty, but do either of you have any gravel or sand in your tanks, or any stones smaller (or even slightly larger) than your axxie's heads? I'm just checking to be sure it's just a regular old food blockage and not a substrate issue.

As for the 'playing dead,' that can be really scary - Galaxy does this a lot. I have found that sometimes when their tank is at optimum temp for them (at the moment my tank is at 18 degrees thanks to the Cornish winter) they have major chill-out moments where they literally look nonresponsive. Another thing they do is 'sleeping' - Gally will lie motionless on top of a filter and only if I really prod her will she move. Big meals also seem to make them 'sleepy' as they digest.

 

[ETNiESdublin]

I have really fine sand in my tank.. I was thinking this could of been a problem, he does tend to gulp up alot of it but usually spits it all back out, its quite fine sand

 

[layna]

Try hand feeding, or using a jar/dish when feeding this reduces the amount of sand intake and encourages them not to dig in the substrate for food and subsequently eating it