Constipated Axolotl Solutions?

[AxieTails]

Hello folks,

I believe my axolotl, Neo, has become constipated and I'm a bit concerned and wondering if I should do anything other than sit and wait. I changed her water last week and she didn't poop that day, so it's been a bit. I try to check every night but have not seen any "logs" or piles of dust. The last time I changed her water (before last week), it seemed she had been constipated then as she let out the biggest poop I believe I have ever seen from her.

I feed her soft axolotl pellets from Invert Aquatics, 2-3 of them every 2-4 days. I haven't stopped feeding but the last few times I've fed her only 1 pellet in hopes it will help move things along while not being too much to process. She still seems to have quite an appetite. None of her decor is small enough to swallow, though I have found a few chunks in her sand (some I believe are charcoal from the filter), so I really hope she hasn't ingested any of that. I don't watch her a lot but so far have not noticed any behavior that is out of character for her (ex: her rear floating). In the past few months I've begun adding a mineral solution to her water, kind of like Holtfreter's. I'm not sure if this is to blame for anything but I'll include the info just in case.
The room she's in is on the cold side, we're in winter now and I don't heat that room. Her thermometer did break and I will be honest in saying I've neglected to replace it yet, which is irresponsible of me, so I don't have an exact temperature. I will go to the pet store for one soon.

In skimming this topic I've seen people bring up fridging. Is she definitely constipated or even impacted? Should I try fridging? Should I see if I can find a vet that will see axolotls? Looking for some insight, thank you!

If you need any more details or pictures, let me know.

 

[wolfen]

what is the solution you are using? what are the chemical/mineral ingredients.
try a more natural and digestible diet ie.. worms, shrimp, fish etc..

 

[AxieTails]

what is the solution you are using? what are the chemical/mineral ingredients.
try a more natural and digestible diet ie.. worms, shrimp, fish etc..

I do have freeze dried bloodworms, I'm not sure if they fit what you are suggesting. My town is covered in frozen snow, not sure when I can get to the pet store.

Her solution is aquarium salt, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, epsom salt, and sodium bicarbonate.

 

[wolfen]

bloodworms should be fine, salt, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium sulphate (epsom salt), bicarbonate of soda (baking soda/sodium bicarbonate) are the same ingredients as holtfreters + magnesium sulphate, the solution won't cause constipation due to the salts although if used only recently may require a period of time to adjust to the waters chemistry (normally not required but axolotls can be awkward at times).
do you know what the solution levels are? normally 50% holtfreters + 0.1g/l magnesium sulphate is best for balance, comfort and prevention of illnesses and infections where as 100% holtfreters + 0.2g/l magnesium sulphate is best for treatment and as a medicine used in conjunction with other medications ie.. methylene blue, acriflavine etc..

 

[AxieTails]

bloodworms should be fine, salt, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium sulphate (epsom salt), bicarbonate of soda (baking soda/sodium bicarbonate) are the same ingredients as holtfreters + magnesium sulphate, the solution won't cause constipation due to the salts although if used only recently may require a period of time to adjust to the waters chemistry (normally not required but axolotls can be awkward at times).
do you know what the solution levels are? normally 50% holtfreters + 0.1g/l magnesium sulphate is best for balance, comfort and prevention of illnesses and infections where as 100% holtfreters + 0.2g/l magnesium sulphate is best for treatment and as a medicine used in conjunction with other medications ie.. methylene blue, acriflavine etc..

It looks like she ate most of the bloodworms. I was worried she wouldn't since they float at the top. Unfortunately I don't think I see any stool...

My document says "Diluted to 50% so we are around: 80g salt, 2g calcium chloride, 1g potassium chloride, 4g epsom salt, 4g bicarb, for the whole tank." My tank being about 76 liters. The document is kind of vague so I'm not sure what exactly I meant by "diluted to 50%".

 

[wolfen]

for 76 litres the level for 50% holtfreters + epsom would be.. 133g non-iodised salt, 3.8g calcium chloride, 1.9g potasium chloride, 7.6g epsom salt, 7.6 bicarbonate of soda.
link to holtfreters info etc.. Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity

 

[AxieTails]

for 76 litres the level for 50% holtfreters + epsom would be.. 133g non-iodised salt, 3.8g calcium chloride, 1.9g potasium chloride, 7.6g epsom salt, 7.6 bicarbonate of soda.
link to holtfreters info etc.. Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity

Yes, I think I remember losing something in translation so my proportions being off, but sticking with it because I assumed it was close enough and best to not change it for now.

Is there anything I can do besides feed her the bloodworms?

 

[wolfen]

ensure that the water is cold (not too cold 10> as her metabolism needs to function like normal), ensure that the water is oxygenated enough (this is to discourage surface gulping and substrate swallowing), feed meat food ie.. bloodworm, shrimp etc.. refrain from feeding pellets for now (make sure diet is balanced ie.. eyed food as well as worms).
if magnesium sulphate is increased ie.. from 0.1g/l to 0.2g/l for laxative effect also increase salt level from 1.75g/l - 3.5g/l to ensure fungal protection.

 

[AxieTails]

ensure that the water is cold (not too cold 10> as her metabolism needs to function like normal), ensure that the water is oxygenated enough (this is to discourage surface gulping and substrate swallowing), feed meat food ie.. bloodworm, shrimp etc.. refrain from feeding pellets for now (make sure diet is balanced ie.. eyed food as well as worms).
if magnesium sulphate is increased ie.. from 0.1g/l to 0.2g/l for laxative effect also increase salt level from 1.75g/l - 3.5g/l to ensure fungal protection.

I did set up my heater in her room, keeping it on the low side as I haven't gotten a thermometer to monitor yet. Not trying to make the room warm just... Not so cold. I'll see if I can get a ride to the pet store before work, otherwise I'd have to wait until Monday (It's Friday as I'm typing this). You say keep the water oxygenated, so I should get some sort of bubbler/airstone or is there another way? (I was always worried those stressed axies out but maybe my line of thinking is wrong...)
I was going to ask if buying whole animals/parts would be different from the pellets but in hindsight it does make sense as there's also wheat, yeast etc in her pellets. If I recall correctly really the only axolotl prey they have are bloodworms but I'll ask when I'm there for other supplies (I stick to pre-killed)
I did not know magnesium sulfate could have a laxative effect

As an update on Neo, I still have not noticed any behavioral changes, but I'm still worried. Kind of weird to me that she'd keep her appetite if she's constipated (but again that may be a wrong line of thinking)

 

[wolfen]

the easiest way to increase water oxygenation is with fine air stones (the smaller the bubbles the better)
have you done a clean of the sponge part of the filtration (most filters either have only sponge or sponge as the mechanical filtration), if there is muck in the sponge then she is managing to defecate.
pre-killed is fine, there are plenty of frozen foods that are suitable just ensure that it is animal based due to axolotls being carnivores ie.. bloodworm, brine shrimp, mysis, krill, chopped cockle, chopped mussel, chopped prawn, beef heart.

 

[AxieTails]

the easiest way to increase water oxygenation is with fine air stones (the smaller the bubbles the better)
have you done a clean of the sponge part of the filtration (most filters either have only sponge or sponge as the mechanical filtration), if there is muck in the sponge then she is managing to defecate.
pre-killed is fine, there are plenty of frozen foods that are suitable just ensure that it is animal based due to axolotls being carnivores ie.. bloodworm, brine shrimp, mysis, krill, chopped cockle, chopped mussel, chopped prawn, beef heart.

Thank you for your help.
I plan on going to the store tomorrow. I know they have air stones, thermometers and will ask if they have any other animals besides bloodworms.
Her filter media is a sack (not sure what it's made of, some fibrous material) with charcoal bits. I gave her a new one last water change, so I could check it to see if it looks mucky.

 

[AxieTails]

Update:
A few days ago I found what seemed to be poop in her tank, yay! However I'm still concerned. Looking at her the past few days, her midsection seems almost asymmetrically bloated. Should I be worried? I'll attach photos.

I've added freeze dried bloodworms and frozen brine shrimp to her diet. She's eaten pretty much all of them. I fed her a few of her pellets after she passed stool as well. I got an air stone, still working on figuring out how to set it up.
Since getting the thermometer her temperature seems to stay around 64 degrees fahrenheit / 18 degrees celsius. I wouldn't be surprised if it had gotten colder for a period as we recently had an ice storm.

 

[wolfen]

Looking at how her waist area is compared to upper torso it doesn't look like bloating.

 

[AxieTails]

Looking at how her waist area is compared to upper torso it doesn't look like bloating.

I see. Maybe I'm just catching her at weird angles?
If I notice anything else/can get a better look I can add more photos