Illness/Sickness: Charlie is still recovering

[GreerDalrymple]

Charlie is that last f my 4 axolotls who suffered from heat stroke this spring ( Newcastle, Australia).
He is about 1 year old, seems happy & is moving around in his temporary fridge container.
He has not eaten in over a week though, I try him every day with beef heart & crickets but to no avail. Apparently the fridge slows their metabolism right down so I'm not too worried as he doesn't look overly thin.
His gills took a bit of a beating before I realised it was the heat, but they are growing back nicely. I found some whiteish fuzzy stuff stuck to one though but it came off & he didn't seem to mind.

Also, I am getting an aquarium chiller on Tuesday & the tank is set up & cycling

 

[HayleyK]

Beef and crickets are not the suitable food type. They should be fed earthworms and pellets, everything else should be used as treats. Keep an eye on the white fuzz if it's cottony it is fungal and needs salt bathing.

 

[GreerDalrymple]

Thanks for that, I usually feed him earthworms but he seems a lot more interested in a cricket at the moment & I'm just trying to get him to eat something. Same with the beef heart, they are just temporary foods to try to lure him into eating (vet said beef heart was quite fatty so it would be good for him having been sick just until he's feeling better)
He bit a cricket today but spat it back out even though they are quite small.

I had been giving him salt baths for an hour every day for a week to treat a possible fungus infection so I might start that up again, even though there is no more I can see.
Do you know if it is bad to salt bath them if they are not actually infected? Thanks

 

[PatchworkClocks]

An hour sounds much too long for a salt bath. Here's a proper tutorial on how to salt bathe an axolotl. http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...axolotl/72698-salt-bath-picture-tutorial.html

Don't do salt baths again unless you see the fungus. However, if he does get fungus again, and the salt bath clears it up, it's a good idea to continue salt baths for a couple days afterward. I don't know when it was that you did a salt bath last, but stay away from it for a while unless the fungus comes back. Do not salt bathe an axolotl unless there is fungus. The salt, while useful for getting rid of fungus, makes them very uncomfortable and can mess with their slime coat if they're kept in the solution for too long.

As for feeding crickets and beef heart, a few alternatives you can try are wax worms, butter worms, frozen bloodworm and shrimp cubes, salmon/shrimp/axolotl pellets, and nightcrawlers.

 

[GreerDalrymple]

I just read that post on salt bathing & I also checked his gills out under a good light & there is a spot on fungus on one of the branches. I did a salt bath according to the new direction & will take him out in 10 minutes.
Thanks a lot for that info, & I will try getting some of those to see if they take his interest

 

[PatchworkClocks]

No worries, just trying to help. Good luck making him healthy again.

 

[GreerDalrymple]

Thank you!

 

[HayleyK]

I feel ya. One of mine weren't eating and I tried beef just for a little hope but she's now eating earthworms hoooray! Once the fungus has cleared completely, maybe a tea bath would be good to soothe their slime coats. Be sure the fungus is gone as the tannins in tea help soothe and kinda tighten their skin so if there's still fungus it'll make it harder to get rid of.

 

[GreerDalrymple]

So just make black tea but with cold water? Or add the tea to cold water until the temp. Is right?
Thanks for that, I'll give it a go when it heals a bit more as there is still a little left.

 

[HayleyK]

Plain black tea, nothing else. I boil my water and add like half a cup of boiling water and add the tea bag in it so the heat can release more tannins, add cold water and I place it in the fridge for like 20 minutes if I'm in a rush or just wait. As long as it's room temp it'll be fine, add it to their tank or a tub of fresh, cool dechlorinated water and let them bathe in it

If you are it to the tank it will be a bit yellowy tinged but will slowly be removed with water changes

 

[GreerDalrymple]

Any specific brand?
Okay thanks a bunch, I'll be sure to do that when he's all healed

 

[HayleyK]

Home brand, lipton, dilma, whatever you like as long as it's black no herbs, no infused, no green etc.

 

[GreerDalrymple]

Awesome, cheers - I'll update how Charlie goes

 

[GreerDalrymple]

Alright so I took Charlie out of the fridge tonight to do a water change & try him with some more food, & after 10 minutes with the air pump in he did a poo- he still hasn't eaten anything for almost 2 weeks though.
Will post again if I can few him, maybe he was a bit blocked up

 

[GreerDalrymple]

Just a little update.

Charlie has still not eaten, & is still in the fridge as high as the temp will go. Today he bit a worm but spat it out instantly then wanted nothing to do with it.
The chiller I'm getting which was meant to be 260 is now 480$ so it will take me a few more days to get the money for that together.
In the meantime Mustang the morpholotl is in my 4 foot set up, with ice battles floating & he is eating fine though I tried to feed him some worms today & it freaked him out - was really odd.

I think Charlie's gills are looking a bit better, I can't see any more fungus though the outer ones still are a little red.

 

[snuggly time]

Have you tried feeding something smaller like bloodworm or blackworm? My axie has been sick recently and he nipped at earthworms but wouldn't eat them. He was finally tempted by bloodworm, perhaps because they're small and easier to eat. Like we might have soup when we feel sick.

 

[PatchworkClocks]

Well, being in the fridge does slow down their metabolism, which means they don't get hungry as often. You could keep him out of the fridge for about an hour or so, until the water warms up to about 18C, then you can stick an ice bottle in to keep it cool while you feed him.

 

[GreerDalrymple]

Great news everyone, Charlie ate a cricket today!

I finally got my chiller set up today & set the temp at 16 dagree's, though it is still dropping & temp is currently 17. After getting the temp's to match by floating him in his container in my 4 foot tank as it cooled, which was at 23. When temperatures were the same I released him & he's been swimming around happily, playing in the bubbles.
I tried him with a cricket & he scoffed it down so I tried a few minutes later with some earthworms but he didn't want any. I tried again with another cricket but he seemed to be full.
Gills are still improving & I'll try him again with the earthworms over the next few days.

My morphed axolotl is being difficult with eating worms, for some reason he seems to be scared of them though it's his usual food. Gave him a few crickets too as he was looking a little skinny; I was trying to force him into eating the worms.


Thanks for te comments guys, I'm so happy- I think he will be okay

 

[xxianxx]

My morphed axolotl is being difficult with eating worms, for some reason he seems to be scared of them though it's his usual food. Gave him a few crickets too as he was looking a little skinny; I was trying to force him into eating the worms.

Does it normally eat worms ok ?

 

[GreerDalrymple]

Yeah always though I think he's just used I being fed crickets & beef heart while he's been sick.
Got a tip from another post about pouring boiling water on them before feeding them to the axie as some worm release a foul tasting excrement when scared. All fine now