Cloaca axolotl problem

[narcibuz]

Hi, we have problems with our axolotl. He lives alone, in a 26 gallons tank (110 liters). We use almost exclusively JBL pellets - Novo Lotl XL. A few days ago the axolotl had a problem near his cloaca you can see in the picture. Some kind of white stuff seamed to get out of the wound, but after that the cloaca seemed swollen. He is a little bit agitated, even if we tried to reduce the water temperature. Now the water temperature is around 12 degrees Celsius (53F). We only have sand in the tank and some plastic plants for decor - is it possible he may chomp on the plastic leaves? We did not change anything recently. Now he does not want to eat - he catches the pellets but then spits them out. We live in a small city and most vets I did talk with did not know what to do, so please we need any help you can offer to save MAXI. Thank you very much and sorry if my English is not so good!

 

[BasilBear]

Hello, so I think there might be a few possibilities to your problem. Its possible that he scratched himself on the fake plants (check for sharp edges) if thats the case it could be infected and that white fuzzy stuff would probably be fungus. For this I would tub him in a separate bin (clean bin thoroughly first with water) then add dechlorinated water to the bin change the bin every day repeating these steps, I would also add something called a Indian almond leaf (their this brown looking leaf that you can get online the tannins in them can help heal the wound). Do this until the wound heals fully. The other possibility is that there is nothing wrong with his cloaca and the white fuzzy stuff that came out of his cloaca is just sperm, that is completely normal. Now for the non-eating part your aquarium is probably to cold (when a axolotl is to cold there mattabilisum will slow down causing them to be sluggish and possibly not eat), I usually keep my axolotl aquarium around 65f I would slowly try to raise the temperature of his aquarium with what ever you can think of (do not do this quickly for you can put him in shock and this would make the problem worse). Also give him time for him to eat again (my axolotl went 30 days without eating but he was still at a good weight and health during this time). No matter what the case is I think your maxi is going to be fine. Also your English if perfectly fine

 

[narcibuz]

Hi and thank you for your reply. Your advice is very important to me. MAXI didn't eat even before we lowered the water temperature /before it was around 64F (18C) and seemed agitated. He is not sluggish even at the current temperature. We are based in Eastern Europe and some products are not available here, hope to find the leaves you recommended. Also Happy Holidays for everybody who celebrates!

 

[BasilBear]

Oh your very welcome and the best of luck to you and your MAXI.

 

[narcibuz]

Hi, I report after some time to tell you that Maxi seems fine. We bought the leaves you recommended and after we saw the wound healing we brought up the temperature in the tank. He seems happy now and we are happy too. Once again thank you for your kind advice . Happy axolotls dance!

 

[BasilBear]

Hello again. That is amazing news, I am so glad that things worked out for you and your Maxi!