Concerned about possible constipation and dietary issues

[Snowy_Mass]

Hello there Caudata

I come to you baring concerns about my axolotl Toothless and his pooping and diet. For the last week or so I have not seen a single turd nugget. I've fasted him, removed his tree hide to see if he was pooping in there (he wasn't) and have considered fridging. Here's the thing, I'm not really noticing any other symptoms, his spine is straight, his tail isn't bendy, his gills point back, he doesn't teem really swollen, he isn't lethargic and tonight has been rather active, he seems fine. The worst is I've seen him float up around the butt occasionally, but nothing he doesn't correct on his own. Here are some photos of Toothless taken tonight. Am I crazy and should just trust he's OK or are there some signs I'm not seeing? I don't wanna fridge the guy without knowing for certain it's necessary ya know? Seems like a risky procedure to do because of a hunch.

Also while we're on the subject I wanted to ask a less illness related question and more a general quirk. Today after a fast to try and get him to poop I went out to Wal-Mart and bought him some Canadian Nightcrawlers to try and mix up his diet. Usually I feed him Hikari Carnivore Sinking Pellets and he is still eating those fine, but when I gave him the chopped up worm he spit it out and won't eat it again. Is my axolotl a picky eater or is there something more serious to worry about?

 

[Calgarycoppers]

Many nightcrawler have a horrible bitter slime coat. Try dipping in boiling water to strip the slime coat you can also use garlic juice

I wouldnt fast to get to poop its counter productive.

Add some fat to the diet with repashy bottom scratcher or grub pie or thawed raw salmon, shrimp or cod.

 

[AMurry24537]

I wouldn't worry too much about the poop--different axolotls seem to poop at very differing rates without any discernable reason. Some poop every day, others poop every week and a half. They may also be what I like to call "sneaky poopers" where they poop in very well hidden places and you really only find the poop while you're cleaning out the whole tank. Food types and temperature are factors in the "rate" however.

I've noticed that my axolotl poops less often when I've been feeding him pellets than when I feed him worms. When I change his water, the new water is usually a few degrees colder than his old water. I give him lots of time to adjust, but there's still a temperature difference and the colder water means that he usually poops right after I give him new water (of course, right?).

You could try fridgeing him, but I wouldn't do it for more than half an hour. It doesn't really seem necessary here, but it should help. To cause less stress to an axolotl that is otherwise behaving normally, I would suggest adding a small amount of treated and refrigerated water to his aquarium, just to slightly decrease the temperature. Or any other means of slightly decreasing the temperature tbh. The more you can keep him in his own tank and not stressing out, the better.

For the food thing, he may just have a) not been hungry b) not been used eating live food and panicked or c) it may have been a bad worm. Try again a little later with a different worm. When mine was about 7 inches long, I would usually cut a worm in half or quarters (depending on how picky he was being). Once they're full grown, you shouldn't have to worry about cutting them up.

 

[tarynalison]

I wouldn't worry too much about the poop--different axolotls seem to poop at very differing rates without any discernable reason. Some poop every day, others poop every week and a half. They may also be what I like to call "sneaky poopers" where they poop in very well hidden places and you really only find the poop while you're cleaning out the whole tank. Food types and temperature are factors in the "rate" however.

I've noticed that my axolotl poops less often when I've been feeding him pellets than when I feed him worms. When I change his water, the new water is usually a few degrees colder than his old water. I give him lots of time to adjust, but there's still a temperature difference and the colder water means that he usually poops right after I give him new water (of course, right?).

You could try fridgeing him, but I wouldn't do it for more than half an hour. It doesn't really seem necessary here, but it should help. To cause less stress to an axolotl that is otherwise behaving normally, I would suggest adding a small amount of treated and refrigerated water to his aquarium, just to slightly decrease the temperature. Or any other means of slightly decreasing the temperature tbh. The more you can keep him in his own tank and not stressing out, the better.

For the food thing, he may just have a) not been hungry b) not been used eating live food and panicked or c) it may have been a bad worm. Try again a little later with a different worm. When mine was about 7 inches long, I would usually cut a worm in half or quarters (depending on how picky he was being). Once they're full grown, you shouldn't have to worry about cutting them up.

hi this is totally not my thread but thank you so much for this comment, i’ve only had my axolotl for a few days and am worried about how often she should be pooping and eating! this really helped! thank you!!

 

[Autistic Catholic]

Wow! What a beautiful looking Axolotl! I really like melanoids a lot. How is Toothless doing now? He's sweet. Anyway, let us know how he's doing because I really think he's pretty.